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.