May 16-20th, the Preparation... Sailing off! |
The adventure begins.... I flew in from Rome on May 15th, picked-up a rental car and next morning drove to Grandson to pick up Alain-My Captain and sailboat owner. We then proceeded to drive to Port Camargue, in Southern France, close to Montpellier where the sailboat is docked. The check-list and preps are tedious and numerous and Alain being a very careful navigator, every detail is double-checked! This is a rare moment before going for dinner... The captain a little more relaxed! |
The skipper fooling around...! Hey! I don't have all the responsibilities on my shoulders, and besides, true to my focus, somebody has to have fun and lighten up the load!
Gee! One of the batteries is dead. Luckily, Alain has a spare one and the change was rather simple even if it meant disconnecting all the cables, moving a couple of those 50 lbs batteries over etc... All I did was help lift and watch.
And the "Boat Journal" has to be kept up to date, with all details of repairs, upkeep and daily happenings. I must admit Alain has a very funny way of recording the daily events. I will eventually include some of his entries later... just to make you laugh!
May 21st... The wind is not good (East wind right in front... pushing against us) to sail East but we're leaving anyways, using the motor to make some distance.
We did raise the "foc" (French term for that front sail... Hey! I'm learning the French terms and it's a language of its own so give me a break. Learning in English too would be too much for this little brain... just trying to keep my cables and sailor's knots straight... or should I say properly tied?
The sea was calm with big gentle swells, partly cloudy with some sunlight coming through. I thought it was a perfect day... and then, the dauphins showed up for a little while. Rather brief and too fast for me to take some good shots when they gently came out of the water. Oh well, I'll get another chance in the coming weeks...
... not in Kansas anymore... Definitely a different landscape... or should I say "seascape"!!!
So we got to our first stop along the Southern coast of France at 4pm, got a space in the little Port of Carry-le-Rouet, had delicious seafood dinner... but no internet connection anywhere!