<< Etape précédente
Third
Leg 17-08-06 till 26-08-06: Rob, Anja, Salvatore and Haude
1.
Stonehaven to Holy Island 103miles, 3-6bf
2. Holy Island to Kirkehamn, 316miles, 3-7bf
3. Kirkehamn to Mandal 57miles, 1-4bf
4. Mandal to Lillesand 50miles, 3bf
5. Lillesand to Skagen 81miles, 0-4bf
Etape
3+: Rob, Salvatore
1. Skagen - Copenhague 147M, 1-8Bf
2. Copenhague - Copenhague 5M, 2Bf
3. Copenhague - Klintholm 54M, 3-7Bf
Etape
3++: Rob, Jens, Salvatore
1. Klintholm - Teerhof Insel 129M, 2-6 Bf
Fri
18/8 - Sat 19/8: Stonehaven - Holy Island (Lindisfarne)
Reaching
Stonehaven was an exercise in itself, only a week after the foiled
attack on BA aircraft bound for the US. The evening before taking
the plane from Geneva, an email from BA recommends not taking any
fluids, not even in the hold luggage - i.e. no toothpaste, no suncream
etc ! On arrival in Gatwick, even transit passengers are kindly
requested to leave the airport buildings completely, literally into
the street, before going through no less than 6 security checks,
complete with frisking, and the famous clear pastic bag to hold
handkerchiefs and the like.
Amazing
but true, I have only 2h of delay on arrival in Edinburgh - and
thus I meet, by chance, Susan, Mathilde and Peter in the railway
station !
The
Imram meanwhile is in Stonehaven with only Anja & Salvatore
on board. After shopping in the evening, and taking fuel in the
morning, we leave for Bell Rock and Holy Island.
Weather
on the way isn't impressive - with some violent gusts in the vicinity
of Inchcape - a notorious reef, awash most of the time, some 10
miles out of the coast near Dundee, on which Bell Rock lighthouse
has been built between 1807 and 1810 under the direction of Robert
Stevenson. The light is called Bell Rock because of the 14th century
attempt by the abbot from Arbroath to install a warning bell on
it. Legend has it that the bell was subsequently stolen by a Dutch
pirate. Although 28 m tall and equiped with a light with a nominal
range of 18 nm, we only see Bell Rock when we're less than 2 nm
away.
The
wind quiets down afterwards, and on approach of Holy Island we find
ourselves in dense fog - to the extent that the cardinal and lateral
marks for the sandbanks near the entrance become visible only when
they are a few boat lengths away. We don't regret that the boat
is equiped with a radar ... On arrival at the nominal harbour, we
anchor and go to sleep - it is only later that we discover the castle,
abbey and other boats anchored nearby.
SMS
19 aug 2006
Arrived
in holy island, lindisfarne. Verx fast, 6bf, great sailing.
Terrible fog. Imram is missing you. |
Holy
Island, also known as Lindisfarne, is one the first places in the
present UK to have been "visited" by the Vikings in the
year 793. It is a kind of British Mont St Michel, accessible via
a causeway only at low tide. Well worth a visit, if only for the
tidal landscape, the castle at the entrance to the bay (construction
started in 1550), the ruins of the Benedictine Priory (built during
the late 11th century), and the village.
During
the day, we understand the source of our power supply problems:
the 2 service batteries badly need water, 3.5 l of it as we discover
later ! Salvatore manages to convince a bus with retired British
tourists to take him to the nearest fuel station, in exchange for
an account of earlier Imram travels - and thus we manage to fix
our battery problem.
Since
good things rarely come alone, Haude informs us during the day that
she has managed to find a plane ticket to Edinburgh, and in the
evening she joins us in Holy Island. After a stroll over the island,
and an as usual superb dinner, it is bed-time ... and departure
for Norway in the morning.
The
Imram had arrived in Stonehaven a few days earlier and most of the
crew had left ... to the effect that we were only 3 on board.
We leave Stonehaven just before noon, so as to arrive
with favourable tides in Holy Island. On the way, we pass by Bell
Rock lighthouse - over 10 M out of the coast and built on a rock
which is most of the time under water. Its construction, under Robert
Stevenson in the early 19th century, earned a place in the BBS's
Seven Wonders of the Industrial World. Weather is appropriate when
we finally see the lighthouse, at a distance of only 1.5 M: 6 Bf
wind with rain.
In the early morning we arrive at Holy Island. Entry
is in principle well marked by a transit - but unfortunately, we've
very dense fog. Approaching by radar, we only see by eye a cardinal
mark which is important for the approach, when we're roughly a boat
length away. After anchoring, we go and sleep - when waking up a
few hours later, we at last see the other boats moored in the vicinity.
Holy Island was in 793 the first British place raided
by the Vikings. There are ruins of an originally 7th century monastery,
several times rebuilt, and a 16th century castle. Already impressive
by themselves, the tidal changes of the landscape make the place
truely unique.
Meanwhile, the service batteries of the boat are
desperately low in water to the extent that the autopilot frequently
fails to work. Salvatore is charged with the task of finding distilled
water. Bearing in mind that Holy Island can only be reached over
a causeway at low water, timing is critical. A regular round trip
to the mainland by bus could therefore take 8 hours. Instead, he
manages to get a ride from a tourist bus to the nearby town of Berwick-upon-Tweed
in exchange for ... telling the passengers the story of the earlier
Imram tours. And he finds distilled water just in time to take the
regular bus from Berwick-upon-Tweed back at low water.
Later in the evening, Haude joins us. She only learned
on Tue of the trip and discussed the issue with her chief on Wed.
Plans for a meeting point were made Wed night and plane tickets
were bought on Thu.
Sun
20/8 - Tue 22/8: Holy Island (Lindisfarne) - Kirkehamm (Hidra)
SMS
20 aug 2006
Left
for Norway. 3bf, N. Haude had no pb finding us. All in very
good mood. Keeping you updated. Refilled service battery w
3l of HO2. Say hello to matty. |
A leg which will enter the Imram history book: the
actual crossing, from Holy Island to Joessingfjord, of 315 M was
made in 47h55 mins, on a single tack, without engine, and using
only positioning by sextant.
After
lunch in the Joessingfjord, we decide to move to Kirkehamm which
proves an excellent choice: a charming village on an island that
offers beautiful hikes. We stumble onto the remainders of an aircraft.
Numerous wild berries are found all over the place. A superb dinner
concludes this crossing.
SMS
22 aug 2006
Arrived
in Joessingfjord. Excellent crossing. 315m, 48h. Super cool.
Great sailing. 3-7bf. Real fast. Sextant has been tried, works
great. Sun! :-) :-) :-) |
Wed
23/8: Kirkehamm (Hidra) - Mandal
Quietly hopping along the coast ... we spend the
night anchored in a bay.
Thu
24/8: Mandal - Lillesand
Long
spinnaker tack, which ends moored in Lillesand. The place has a
choice of approach routes, all of which seem to use the church as
reference point. It is easy to imagine what the view from the church
is like !
SMS
24 aug 2006
Arrived
in Lillesand. Really, really pretty! Sun. Spinacker.:-) leaving
tomorrow for Danmark. Any decision on final destination? Smiles
anja. |
Fri
25/8 - Sat 26/8: Lillesand - Skagen
Crossing the Skagerrak is something one doesn't
take lightly in general - but this time, there is strictly no wind
most of the way !
The real surprise comes when approaching Skagen:
an endless string of cargo ships is entering and leaving the Baltic.
Cargo traffic is not something the Imram is used to - but it will
stay with us until Lübeck.
In
the early morning, we moor in the harbour of Skagen. Last night
on board for Anja and Haude - they leave in the morning by train
for Geneva.
Sun
27/8 - Mon 28/8: Skagen - Svanemøllen (København)
Leaving Skagen on a Sun morning is an experience
one should not miss. It starts Fri evening and Sat morning when
an armada of Swedish boats arrives, filling the harbour to capacity
- one can literally cross stepping from one boat to the next. The
reason for this invasion is easy to guess. On Sun morning, the same
fleet does the return trip - with their autopilot and GPS finding
the way.
Presumably, the Danish weather forecasters had joined
in the party: they announced perfectly nice sailing weather for
the next day. With a crew of just 2, we therefore leave with optimism
for København. But ... in the middle of the night, the wind
suddenly picks up to gale force while we are about to cross the
cargo routes at Anholt. Fortunately, the wind direction is favourable
and we continue our route, under bare poles, at a speed of 4-5 kt.
In the late afternoon, we moor in the Svanemøllen
harbour.
Tue
29/8: Svanemøllen - Royal Palace (København)
Maybe the shortest leg of the season: 5.2 M to move
from the harbour to downtown, making photos of the Imram with the
Mermaid in the background, and then mooring between Royal Palace
and Opera House. Probably the most civilised mooring ever for the
Imram !
Wed
30/8: Royal Palace (København) - Klintholm (Møn)
Mostly gentle wind, but a near gale on arrival in
Klintholm - just as unannounced. Fortunately, the island of Møn
turns out to be well worth the visit and we spend the whole of Thu
there too, walking and bicyling, waiting for the wind to settle.
Klintholm used to be a fishing harbour, which has in recent years
been enlarged with a harbour for sailing boats. A small restaurant
nearby serves delicious flounders.
In Klintholm, we meet Jens, an old friend from CERN,
who will stay with us for the final bit to Germany.
Fri
1/9 - Sat 2/9: Klintholm (Møn) - Teerhofinsel (Lübeck)
Not anymore listening to the Danish weather bulletins,
and relying instead on the Northwood weather charts, we pick a slot
- and arrive without further surprises in Lübeck.
Jens introduces us to a Germany delicacy, the Kurrywurst:
a finely ground sausage of rectangular cross section, with a brownish
jam on top. The latter alledgedly contains the spices from which
the thing gets its name. The lady correctly diagnoses us as beginners
in the art of eating this culinary masterpiece and directs us to
a table where she explains how to dismount the paper tray and transform
it in pliers with which the sausage can be eaten. Professionals
do this while walking, it seems. Later that night, we have also
a more conventional meal - which turns out to be of remarkable quality.
The Imram is to spend the winter on land - and for this, the mast
has to be taken down and disassembled. The exercise takes us a couple
of days and on Tue we leave for home.
Total:
log_Luebeck @ 15534 - log_Brest @ 12626= 2908M
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