Back in Gruissan

We had a variety of winds on the trip; most frustratingly the NW which was getting us to Gruissan at a steady 6+ knots went into the West when we were about 25 miles off which meant a beat and 3 times the distance to cover.

We were towing a fishing line yesterday and noticed that it had gone slack. When we pulled it in the paravane and all the tackle was missing. It was a clean break, so we are wondering if a big fish had it.

We sailed through the night but did not see any other yachts, very different to night sailing in England.

Heading West

As the weather is looking unsettled and we do not want to get stuck in or East of the Golf du Lion we have set off in the direction of Sete rather than heading direct to the Balaerics or Port Vendres.

We are expecting some stronger wind over the weekend and hope to make Gruissan before it arrives as there is a good anchorage there.

La Ciotat

We had a couple of nights on the anchor off La Citotat and then came into the old harbour as there were strong winds forecast and as it is still forecast we will be there a fourth night.

La Citotat is an old town which still has an active ship yard and the old harbour is surrounded by a church, houses and shops, very much the focus of the town.  We are enjoying our stay here: good markets on Sunday and Tuesday, delicious swordfish steaks last night and a nice atmosphere walking around the old narrow streets.  The only downside has been loud music till late at night from the restraunt behind the visitors moorings.

Outside the town, paralleling the beaches, are busy tourist developments (we were anchored off them) but you would not know it when in the town.

Heading back west

We had a good sail from Embiez to La Ciotat on the 22nd, starting in no wind and ending in a F3 sea breeze.  As usual most boats were motoring, often with all sails up and the autopilot on.

Below is a photo of the 2 smaller islands that are adjacent to the Ile d'Embiez and below that a photo of the anchorage off the marina (though we suspect anchoring is discouraged out of the main season) with Mango in the background.  The ile d'Embiez is all about Paul Ricard who bought the island in 1958.  The island is very clean, well laid out and has all the signs of being extremely well run, we would certainly go back again.

There is another strong wind warning for a couple of days time so we are debating where to go.  La Ciotat would have been a good anchorage but there there is an anchoring exclusion zone which extends a long way off the beach so we are in 6m of water rather than the 2m of water that we would prefer for sitting out a gale.

Today we sailed from La Ciotat to Cassis and back. The scenery along the coast is stunning with wind and rain sculptured cliffs and the sail would have been fine, despite light winds, if it was not for motor boat wash.  We had thought to stay in Cassis but the anchorage is open to the current wind and swell and the harbour looks as if it could be a tight fit for us so we came back to La Ciotat.  Below is a photo of the back of the Bec de l'Aigle, the very distinctive headland just south of La Ciotat.

The water here is so clear that although we are anchored in 6m of water, I can stand on the bows and follow the anchor chain along the bottom and clearly see the anchor.

A bit about Mango

We have had some questions about how Mango is set up, especially as we have changed her quite a bit since we bought her, principally by adding a 'pod', a small cabin in the middle of the boat.

 The picture above is Mango at anchor with the swimming ladder deployed, it has taken ages for us to find something that will work.  In addition you can see the pod, our Forgen wind generator mounted on one of the pushpits which we have added and the wind vane steering.  You can also make out the new netting and bow and stern netting beams that we have added if you look closely.  The big grey bucket like thing you can see in front of our mast is for the anchor chain and rode.

The picture below is of the chartroom. We used to do all the navigation in here, but it is inconvenient to be constantly climbing up and down so now we use it as an office and for planning and do most of the navigation in the pod.

Below is a picture of the pod.  You will see that there is a wide ledge in the entrance to the pod which is a great place to sit.  We have also added a cover over the engine which doubles as a table and we put in canvas screens in the hatches into the hulls to keep out the spray when going below in rough weather.  We also added a canvas spray dodger to the pod entrance to give standing headroom there. You can also see the new aft netting which makes a great space to relax on.

 Below is a picture of the galley with its alcohol cooker.  The only changes we have made here are to add the shelves along the side of the boat which give additional storage a work space.

And finally, the pod.  We built a whole new centre section for the boat in order to have the pod and it has made a huge difference to the comfort aboard.  There is the option to convert the pod into a dinette but with just the two of us aboard and warm dry weather we tend to eat in the cockpit and leave the cushions down as it is easier to put the bottom boards from the dinghy on top of them to make a navigation area rather than use the table.  To the left of the picture is an instrument panel which hinges back out of the way against the bulkhead.  We need to move the VHF radio in here and I would like to redo the switch panel at the front of the pod.

Below is a video of a walk around Mango at the time this post was created.

We left the Rade d'Heyers on the 17th as a strong NW was forecast, we needed
to re-water etc, and the Marinas there are expensive and full. A beat into a
W4 got us to Toulon where we anchored off Saint Mandrier.  Toulon harbour is a
fantastic stretch of sheltered water with a dramatic backdrop of mountains.

We had one night in the marina at Saint Mandrier which we used to do all our boat jobs and go up the mast to check that all was well. We liked the town but the wash from ships and ferries is bad.

Heading west from Toulon having passed Cap Cepet

We are now anchored behind the Ile d'Embiez after a pleasant day sail
yesterday which included anchoring (under sail) behind Cap Sicie in crystal clear water and swimming with a school of little blue fish. We discovered that our new aft netting is an ideal place to lie and dry off in the sun and also to sit and read. 

The forecast was for a light NE but as usual a sea breeze predominated so we had a beat and a fetch to get round Les Magnons cardinal to get round into the back of the island.  We had hoped to anchor away from everyone but the weed on the bottom was so thick that the anchor did not get through it so we had to move to where we are now.  The upside is that we are within an easy row of the island.

Cruising the Rade d'Hyeres

After a couple of days in the anchorage we found in Porquerlloes (now nick named pork rolls by Helen) a strong NW got up which the anchorage was open to and it was forecast for overnight; so, after an abortive attempt to get into the nearby marina, we anchored in a bay behind Giens along with a load of other boats.  The strong wind disappeared not long after we got into the anchorage so that was a blessing.  The next day we sailed round the coast of the bay to a little bay which we really like as an anchorage and are back for our third night after a sail round Cap Benat and back which was ruined by the wash from all the power boats - at times it was like the Solent in a force 6 without the wind.

We have now had 6 nights on the boat since leaving Frioul (and not been off the boat other than for swims).  We still have about 4 days water and plenty of fuel but are out of fresh food as we had not anticipated being on the boat quite so long without shopping.  We are not sure what we are going to do next as it depends on the weather but aim to stock up so that we have the option of heading for Corsica or the Balaerics if we get a good weather window.

Heading to the Porquerolles

We spent more time in Marseille because of strong wind warnings for a number of days, which also means nasty seas.  The meteo got it right as when we got the ferry back one of these days the water was going over the bow of the ferry and clear back to its stern, 24m back, as it punched out into the waves.  Being warm water it was not a hardship but we were glad not to be at sea.

We left Port Frioul on the 11th August with the intention of sailing straight through to the Porquerolle islands.  However, the initial NW 2-3 died away until we were motoring as we approached Cap Sicie so we ended up anchoring for the night on its East side were a small number of other boats were anchored, a real find.

We had a couple of notable events on the trip: a swordfish jumping out of the water nearby and a helicopter with 'Marine' written along the side circling very low around us before hovering behind a boat going the other way.  We assume it was an arranged practise!

As we got close to the Porquerolles the number of yachts and motor boats we saw increased dramatically; it would appear to be a major destination for yachties and all the anchorages were very packed.  Fortunately, the coast here is different to that south of Cap Sicie and we are able to get into shallow water and anchor where the other yachts can not get (we just have to wait for the day trip motor boats to go at the end of the day if space is short when we arrive).  The downside to being here is the wash all the motorboats blasting around create.  The water is warm and clear so we have been enjoying swimming and being able to see where we have dropped the anchor and how it has set.

Visiting Marseille

We ended up spending 3 days visiting Marseille and got a 48 hour city pass which worked out as good value as it gave reduced or free admission to a large number of things as well as free use of public transport. We managed to get internet access via our MiFi sorted out (the magic was finding the correct APN) and new tyres for Helen's brompton.  We now have access to 3 different mobile phone networks which has paid off as coverage varies between them.  Unfortunately the battery on my spare phone died so we have to swop SIMs if we get desperate.

The two highlights were the Beux Arts exhibition of impressionist era paintings (though the paintings we have liked most are still the ones in the exhibition we saw in Sete) and visiting Le Corbusiers' City Radieuse.

Roof top of the City Radieuse

We were fortunate to be able to visit 2 of the cells (flats) in the complex as well as wander around it.  The cells are compact with amazing attention to detail, especially in how people would live in them: for instance the windows on to the balcony are designed in such a way as when they are closed they double as a seat.

We climbed up to La Garde, the Catherdral overlooking the Marseille, which gives spectacular all round views.

Friouls and Ile d'If from La Garde

Looking North from La Garde

The wackiest thing we saw was the pink dolphins in the pool at the bottom of the palace that is now the arts museum on one side and the natural history museum on the other, reminded us of our friend Mitch's pink flamingos, but we suspect these are not lit.

The Friouls

On a recommendation from Nautiland in Gruissan we moored in Port Frioul rather than going into Marseille.  This turned out to be a good move as when we went into Marseille the port was packed and noisy so we had quiet evenings, cheaper mooring and a pleasant ferry ride if we wanted to go into Marseille.

Port Frioul is an old navy harbour created by building a seawall between the 2 islands.  As the islands are immediately off Marseille and are wind and sun blasted their main use appears to have been military and they are covered with fortifications dating from the late 1600s to WW2.  The other main use was as a quarantine island.  All around the islands are small bays (calanques) and people come out from Marseille to spend the day there either on their own boats or the via the ferry. The pictures below are from a walk on our first evening after most people had left.

Unusually, we had an alongside mooring; but this was because we were a catamarran, all the other moorings are stern to except on the North side of quai 1 which appears to be for large boats or overflow.

Photos and update to Marseille

Photo below is just after launching in Gruissan with new bow beam and netting and the passarelle for getting ashore (a ladder with a plank on it and wheels at the dock end).

Gruissan with new bow beam, netting and passarelle

After Gruissan, where we had 3 days at anchor in the outer harbour waiting for the window to improve, we had a fast reach to Sete where we visited a fabulous impressionist exibition at the the Paul Valerie museum.

on visitors pontoon in Sete Marina

Bit of a squeeze getting in and out of the Marina and a lot of wash from fishing boats but a very pleasant town to stop in with fantastically fresh fish available.

From Sete we wanted to go direct to Marseille but the wind was on the nose so we ended up in Sainte Maries, a very pleasant old fishing village in the Camargue.  Very flat wetlands all around which is not our cup of tea so one bike ride was enough and we left as soon as the wind served.  For once we were not the most unusual boat in the harbour as a proa arrived whilst we were there.

Camargue flamingos

After some initial motoring we had a spinnaker reach from Saint Maires in the Camargue to Marsellie which was fabulous.  The weather is still unsettled (that means high liklihood of strong winds) so we are still in Marseille being tourists which we are enjoying a lot.

We are back in the water and have left Gruissan after sitting out strong winds for 3 days at anchor in the lagoon.  We visted Sete which we liked a lot; a fishing port full of canals in which we discovered a fabric shop shop where we got some material for a light weight awning. Currently we are in Saint Maries in the Camargue and contemplating where to go next.