Sailing across the Bay of Biscay was a sailing adventure that created challenges and struggles along with excitement and reward. It was difficult, to say the...
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in our last episode we took advantage of
a few strategic moves and worked our way
through the English Channel to camera
Sumer on the northwestern tip of France
in this episode we weight import for
nine days for a favorable weather
opening to take on the challenge of
crossing the infamous Bay of Biscay
otherwise known as the valley of death
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we were lucky we had the best possible
conditions we could hope for during the
worst possible time of year to make this
crossing but even on a good day the Bay
of this guy is ruthless fdisk a very
challenging body of water Michele
mentioned the valley of death I mean
that might have been true in the Second
World War
today we don't have to fear bridge
bombers anymore but we still have some
challenges in the most recommended time
to cross the bay off this case early
summer May June July the least for
coming a time as fall after early winter
starting with the equinox and the
falling still and of end of September
that's when it will be some say left
over hurricane left overeating because
hurricanes and the Caribbean move
northeast and become depressions they
gotta hit the Bay of Biscay first on the
hit Europe and they bring with them a
high swell traveling thousands of miles
across the Atlantic and when they hit
the continental shelf when the sea bed
raises from 5000 meters to 15,000 feet
to only 100 meters it's like 300 feet
and those long harmless well gets deep
and create breaking seas that are very
feared among sailors Biscay was the one
thing that scared me the most and I was
anxious about it and anticipated it and
but at the same time I was excited about
it because it's such a great challenge
and I know that there are some seasoned
sailors out there who would look at me
and say what's the big deal of a you
crossed the Bay of Biscay at a bad time
of year but in pretty good conditions
but for me not being a very experienced
sailor this was monumental and it was
scary and it was torture at times I
cannot tell a lie but it was also beauty
full and magnificent and it was amazing
to be in this body of water and getting
through it it's surviving it and you'll
see there are times when I don't feel
very well at all but I still appreciated
the beauty that was around me and in the
experience
we're getting ready for our departure at
a couple of hours and we're ready and
I'm excited that today I am feeling more
excited than nervous and I think that's
a good sign of course I'm a little
nervous because it's the Bay of Biscay
and so we have to respect that but we
have good passage plan and we think we
have a great opening we've been sitting
here for nine days waiting on it and now
it's here so we're ready at times it was
a glorious passage filled with playful
dolphins a whale sighting a full moon
lighting our way each night in bright
sunny weather
at other times the constant pounding of
the 3 to 4 meter waves rocked our bodies
and our minds and as breaking seas I
mean a wall the worst possible winter
ation in one across the Bay of Biscay
from the North Sound is Southwest
because this is what brings the heaviest
storms to the brave Biscay and this
brick is what brings the heaviest season
to the Bay of Biscay which makes me miss
Kate we just discussed one of the most
challenging but in waters so what we
were waiting for nine days and kama mr.
mayor is easterly or not only winds and
they would allow us a straight course
and set a straight course toward Laconia
and also would create seas that would
not be too high breaking because they
were coming from the continental shelf
into the deep sea enough from the deep
sea onto the continent of jails we
departed with calm waters into the
Celtic Sea
we had another opportunity to play with
the dolphins but this relaxed calm
atmosphere did not last long in the
beginning it was pretty smooth sailing I
mean I actually took a nap out on the
deck with the puppies and everything was
fine and but I knew that that was gonna
change I knew better than to think this
is how it's gonna be the whole way and I
remember at one point I asked Mike
when will we be the babies guy and his
response was you'll know it when we get
there and I have to say okay pretty soon
after that the waves started really
rolling and getting bigger and the boat
started really moving a lot and yeah you
have to remember that there are much
larger heavier ships than see Falcon
sitting at the bottom of the Bay of
Biscay and don't think this wasn't on my
mind but yes when we rolled it to the
Bay of Biscay we knew it and things
started rocking and things started
getting uncomfortable immediately after
about 12 hours of the constant pounding
of the waves and the neverending rocking
and rolling all night long by the next
morning the Bay of Biscay finally got
the best of me but I tried to stay
positive
it's a beautiful morning but it's been a
rough morning for me sick ever since had
to cover my shift in bath 8 o'clock but
it really is beautiful the waves are
really high
the weather's really nice it's just very
windy and I'm just two days two nights
yeah this passage was rocky and
uncomfortable at times and I wasn't
spared for seasickness either but I must
tell you I must tell one thing is this
as good as it gets at the Bay of Biscay
this time of year
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inside this drum plant right here has
been my friend about having to wait
morning it's really beautiful and we saw
huge little dump it again yesterday
one of these big huge wave surfing along
with this that's very cool
very good
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they don't one of us got much sleep last
night so I'm gonna let Mike sleep a
little later their spot for a while so
we got we took down the man last night
so windy and we right now have this
whole jib and the Jenna wah
so workers along
that poor hugging this drum winch and
hanging over the stock rail here that
will get better saying we weren't able
to get video that effectively shows the
size and consistency of the waves we
were too busy holding on and suffering
from the effects of them
just haven't had any break from the
waves the winds going the right
direction that's all good but these
waves have just gone on the entire time
we haven't any
and
so
yeah day three day three here I was
still the same the wind was coming from
the right direction but we had a 67 over
the last 40 hours which was tough on
both of us and Michelle was I being too
well but I must I must I must say she
showed up every shift I'm with or two
hours shifts then four hour shifts at
times because was just pretty heavy to
be out there for four straight hours
fishing in the night but no matter how
she felt she showed up for a watch and
she made to the end of the watch and I
must say I was not feeling too well
either
but it's what we do you know is what we
do we just get over it we we know how to
deal with it and we must function we
cannot except on a 2 and 2 crew in
challenging conditions we cannot accept
it for any one function no matter how
seasick
we're struggling but good news is we're
in less than 24 hours play
so tomorrow we'll be spanked maybe
hydration has said it a little bit my
legs are all not Ian's arms Sheldon I'm
sore just nod
it's brutal but in there on Thursday
morning after three days of constant
heavy waves battles with seasickness and
exhaustion
we finally saw land Hey see land which
is a mate I don't think I've ever come
alive but so happy to see land away
though but
okay starters almost yes
we got what about six more hours
already there
I don't think I've ever been so happy to
see layout in my life
still far away but who knows a tough one
we're not there yet
you're finally got some speed water
and I would make it the rest of the way
I always say this I'm I'm glad we did it
but I don't ever what to do it again you
don't want to say it's getting good you
asked me today yesterday ask me tomorrow
and
maybe there'll be different you remember
the guy from the Norrell in headlamp and
yeah sure
it helped me when I sat down there feet
open and he sailed miss Kay in October
and he told me that his wife still was
awesome
pourquoi France
hola espana but we were still seven
hours from our port and the challenges
did not end there
we were so relieved when we made
landfall in Spain and then all of a
sudden somebody just switched off that
ventilator
you know switched off the wind from from
from from 100 to zero in a few minutes
and a few hours later there was zero
visibility so we had a challenge of
another kind zero visibility it was hard
to see the stern from the Bell
I'm not kidding maybe another six hours
five or six hours from Laconia and we
were we were relieved that we actually
made it
we was just another another body 2530
miles and all of a sudden there was a
Friday I remember that very well
there was a Friday crossing us very
closely maybe half a mile and then to
Michelle see the Brits gone Bridge of
the Friday scans we just saw the little
part of it you know and then the whole
fried or disappeared behind a curtain of
fog and a few minutes later we were in
the same curtain of fog and it was just
it was you didn't see we were around
maybe two miles from land
we knew that because we need to like go
into that bathe we're lucky Rania's
located we were giving sound signals of
course and we knew that some of the
Fisher's they don't have a song you know
you just see them when they're already
kind of - too close - oh I had friends
sitting there waiting for us in Laconia
and he said yeah the weather's not that
bad like when the otherwise probably
just found a place to anchor or request
the radar assists from Laconia port
which is available probably wants to I
would have done but then
two or three hours in the thickest fork
that we had in this journey it cleared
up just a little bit just enough to see
where you are and what's around you
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I mean I loved it I mean no matter I
just said it I was seasick myself at
times but I loved it because I mean
every moonrise was just a spectacular
event by itself every sunset we had
clear skies for three straight days not
a single cloud on the horizon and the
lot the moon was so light at night it
was sitting in the cockpit and the moon
shadow it was just the most romantic
thing you could ever think of in us we
made it through the Bay of Biscay and
I'm pretty proud of that I would like to
know what some of those seasoned sailors
out there have to say about their
experience in the Bay of Biscay and I'd
also like to know what your advice would
be what is your advice for battling
seasickness and hanging in there and
when you're so tired it's so sick and
you have to keep going and we would love
it if you'd leave us some comments down
below and tell us what you do or what
your advice is and also what your
experiences were in the babies gay we'd
love to hear about this was the Bay of
Biscay on four very good days for this
time of year in our next episode we
explored the gorgeous Spanish coastline
and sail into Portugal on our way to
Morocco
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