Hartlepool to Gibraltar 2007 in a Bavaria 37 07/09/07
The date was Friday 7th September 2007; I was part of the three man crew delivering a Bavaria 37ft yacht called ‘Christybelle’ from Hartlepool to Gibraltar. The other two crew members were Karl as skipper and Les as a crew member. They were both from down south and I had met them for an hour or two a couple of days earlier. Karl seemed to be a very quiet type and Les seemed as if he could talk for England, so two sides of the spectrum.
We set off from Hartlepool marina lock at 13.00hrs heading for Brighton our first port of call with Wendy and Alan waving us off and wishing us a safe passage. (Wendy and Alan are the owners of Christybelle) Karl had some stuff to pick up from his mam’s house to take back to his boat that he lived on in Gibraltar. On route Karl knocked up a meal of some sort of multi bean stew which wasn’t bad at all. We were motor sailing under the main as the wind was right on the nose – typical. Started the watches at 19.00hrs of 2hrs on and 4hrs off – I was on 22.00hrs – 00.00hrs then 05.00hrs – 07.00hrs.
We passed Flamborough Head at 23.30hrs, with just the stars and the drone of the engine for company, three ships went by all heading the same way. Then it was through the oil fields with all the rigs flashing and sounding their standard warning of 2 short and 1 long, (you are running into danger). It was quite a mild evening and dawn but also pretty damp in the cockpit with no wind to write home about and still under engine, we had covered 119mls in 24hrs.
Saturday 8th 
Back on watch to the sound of the boom swinging from side to side in the lumpy seas, I fitted a boom preventer which soon sorted the problem. There had been a safety notice over the radio warning that there were six very large cargo hold lids floating in our area coloured green. Fat chance of spotting them in the dark, just hope we don’t happen to find them with our bow!
Sunday 9th 
The watch system of two on and four off is working well as is the sleeping accommodation. Les in the forepeak, Karl in the saloon and me in the chain locker – not really, I have the large stern cabin. This is all just as well with the amount of different beans that we have all had in the last few days. The ozone layer will be decidedly thinner after this trip if Karl continues cooking. So, in December when you’re walking around Hartlepool in shorts, it’s thanks to Karl and his bean stews. I hope he has something else in his cook book! The sun finally came out and we had a decent wind to sail by and were doing 7.5 kts at times.
I was off watch and lounged on the foredeck with a book and a cup of tea – great! Arrived and moored up in Brighton at 18.00 hours after a 358ml sail. We all had a wash and brush up and then went out for a couple of well deserved pints, followed by fish and chips and an early night. They weren’t bad drinkers for soft southern wussies – or at least Karl wasn’t, Les was on halves of lager – say no more. Karl was going to his mam’s house for the night and to get his stuff together to take to Gibraltar. We arranged to meet him at 09.30 the following morning for breakfast in the pub.
Monday 10th Les and I went to meet Karl for breakfast at 09.30hrs, we waited until 10.30hrs and he hadn’t turned up, so we had ours. He eventually turned up at 14.00hrs, with no explanation just a long face. We fuelled up and filled the water tank, carried out engine checks etc, while Karl went to get a Spanish courtesy flag and some food shopping. (I hope its not bloody beans again). He could only get a Portuguese flag so if we were stopped we would have to tell them that we thought that Spain had been invaded and taken over by Portugal – will this cunning plan work – No – but it sound like a recipe for a term in jail. On the subject of recipes – yes more sodden beans I think that this warrants all three of us going on the next shopping expedition! I had never realised that there were 500 different variety of bean until now. Eventually set off at 16.00hrs and headed for the Channel Islands in a comfortable force 4, we were sailing at last and headed for warmer climes, I hoped! We had a very tasty beef and ale stew with beans in of course prepared by Karl. The watch systems started again I was on at 21.00hrs – 23.00hrs then 03.00hrs – 05.00hrs, it felt really good to be sailing again and on a beam reach – superb. There weren’t many ships around but there was a sky full of stars including several very impressive shooting stars. Tuesday 11th At 07.00hrs I was woken up due to a strange noise coming from the engine, also a smell of rubber burning. I got up and told Karl and Les, we opened up the engine compartment; the belts looked ok so Karl was going to leave it till our next stop in France. The engine wasn’t running right so I shut it down to check properly, the belts were ok so we started it up again and found that we had no cooling water coming out of the exhaust, only steam! This obviously pointed to the impeller being at fault. Karl and I stripped the pump down and found the impeller in bits with all the vanes off. We found all but one of them, then removed a few hoses and located the missing vane, refitted the hoses and a new impeller, restarted the engine only to find that the auto helm had stopped working. Karl found that it was where the ram fitted onto the rudder post, so he made a temporary repair until we pulled in and sorted it out properly. (If the engines note changes, there is usually a reason so it’s well worth checking before any serious damage is done, it’s also good to have someone handy on board – well done Karl) At 12.00hrs we were passing the Channel Islands and heading for Cameret in France. We were running under foresail and maintaining 4 – 5kts. We sailed along the coast of Finistere in yet another crystal clear night/morning there were a few ships around and we had to alter course several times simply because they’re a lot bigger than us. Wednesday 17th I came off watch at 03.00hrs then was back on again at 07.00hrs until 10.00hrs as we do 3hr watches during the day with 6hrs off. I made breakfast, beans on toast? No way! It was cereal with egg and bacon butties to follow and a nice cup of tea. I then sat in the cockpit and laid on the foredeck (not at the same time, the boats a bit bigger than that) the sun was out and it was red hot, great. We were still following the coast of Finistere at 7-8 kts with no land or ships in sight. We were going to Cameret to fill the water tanks, provision up and sort out the autohelm and also get a five day forecast for the Bay of Biscay prior to crossing. We were running down wind which caused a few creaks and groans – from the boat not from the crew. We eventually arrived in Cameret at 17.00hrs after a terrific 385ml sail. Thursday 18th Provisioned up with not a bean in the trolley, water and fuel tanks filled and we set out at 14.00hrs to cross the notorious Bay of Biscay a total of about 360mls we gave one Euro to Neptune for our ticket across, and promised him that he would get another at the other side (never pay the full price until you know you’ve arrived safely). Les and I had also lit a candle in the church near the marina to help us across; any help at all is well worth getting. 
Once we were clear of any rocks etc we set the cruising chute in quite light winds but were still doing a respectable 4-5kts. Karl had got his fishing rod out and promised us fresh fish for tea, (there’s no such thing as a ‘Bean Fish’ is there?). In any case they’d have to be racing fish to be able to throw themselves on his line as our speed had increased to 6-7kts, so I’m not holding my breath.(But I may have to if we keep eating BEANS)! It came over the radio that there was going to be a controlled explosion in the area that we were in, anyone seeing three grown blokes sat with their fingers stuck in their ears would think it very strange! We had tea at 18.00hrs, quite difficult to eat with fingers still stuck in your ears so we pulled them out and got on with our tea –What the ----- was that! Only kidding, it’s all pretty quiet and non explosive! Friday 14th Started my watch again, 19.00 – 2100hrs / 01.00 – 03.00hrs and 07.00 – 10.00hrs by my second watch we were well into Biscay and had about 315mls to go to Portugal. The night was ink black with the sea and sky blending as one except for the stars and the occasional wave breaking. It was very eerie, being alone just plodding on into the intense blackness with just our wake showing as it snaked away behind us like a white road. The phosphorescence was also glowing like stars in the black water as it was disturbed by our bow wave. Then I heard a very loud exhalation very close to the boat that stunk of fish. It was a very large whale, the boat was 37ft the whale was about 10ft bigger and it passed within 12ft from the stern of the boat. I don’t know what type it was, but not the type to hit at 7kts in a plastic boat! A very sunny morning after the damp night, with dolphins playing around the boat, then another two whales appeared about 20ft away not as big as the other one but fantastic to see. An aeroplane flew over us very low and gave us the once over. There had been VHF calls asking boats to look out for two yachts in our area that were well overdue. Saturday 15th Nearly half way across Biscay and still under the cruising chute maintaining 4 – 5kts in a light northerly wind. We passed a yacht sailing the other way and altered course to see if it was one of the yachts they were trying to locate, but it wasn’t. I threw a bottle over the side with a message in; it’ll be interesting to see if it’s found as I’ve included address and telephone number. (It was found by a guy and his daughter as they walked along a beach near Carmarthen in South Wales on 9th February 2008, he rang me up and we had a good chat) The wind picked up and our speed increased to 7.5kts in glorious sunny weather in a moderate sea but with a large breaking swell. Sunday 16th 
We were getting ever closer to the crossing of Biscay with about 75mls to go. The phosphorescence in the water was really intense it lit up the surrounding area with billions of dots of white light. We then crossed a huge patch of it, as big as a football pitch; it looked like a large spacecraft was just under the surface of the water, very strange!
I was woken up at 06.00hrs by Karl saying that there was thick fog outside, so I immediately got up and donned oilies, lifejacket etc and clipped on to scan for any ships. Apparently Karl had got up for the loo and saw Les making a cup of tea in the galley. Karl popped his head up outside and saw the fog and that visibility was down to about 20 - 30ft. Les told him that it must have just happened when Karl rollicked him for not telling him about the fog. (I didn’t hear any of this as I was off watch and asleep until roused by Karl) Looking into fog is a very tiring routine but has to be done as we had no radar on board. It improved to about 100ft and eventually cleared. We saw several Sun Fish, Karl reckons that’s a sign that we were getting into warmer waters, they should be renamed and called Fog Fish! We were heading for Camarinas in Spain for an overnight rest, then the fog returned as thick as ever so we proceeded with caution. Eventually arriving in Camarinas at 19.00hrs after 450mls; it seemed to be a very nice marina and after tying up we went out for a couple of beers. A yacht from Hartlepool called the ‘Olive Mary’ came in shortly after us with a guy called Dave on board, he’d just sailed Biscay on his own and was eventually heading for the Canaries to work as a Farrier so he joined us for a couple of pints as well. The ‘Olive Mary’ had been owned by a lovely guy called Eddie and he had planned to sail it to the Med, he’d prepared it all ready but before he could set off he had a stroke and died. I’m sure that he’d be pleased to know that she eventually set off and was well on her way to the Med. Monday 17th Probably setting off today – weather dependant and head for Leixoes in Portugal. Dave on board ‘Olive Mary’ decided to sail along with us as well. The weather wasn’t too bad, cloudy with a few spots of rain but unfortunately no wind. 
The wind did pick up to 11kts so we put up the cruising chute again and we were off. After a while a dark cloud was approaching us from astern moving pretty quickly, in fact to quickly, we had to drop the chute in a dramatic style as the wind went from 11kts to 28kts in the blink of an eye. With Karl on the helm and me and Les on the foredeck fighting with this huge piece of Terylene it was an exciting ten minutes or so as it was quite a struggle in them conditions and with the boat on her ear, but we managed. We then put out the Genoa and were sailing at a serene 4 – 5kts, and then the wind picked up again and stayed strong. We were surfing with a large following sea doing 7 – 8kts under just the Genoa. Dave in ‘Olive Mary’ had to leave us as his auto helm was playing up and he headed for another port to sort the problem out, which was just as well with the weather that came our way.
Back on watch at 23.00hrs, a few fishing boats about but it was quite a rough night with force 7 then down to force 6 winds, still under Genoa but only half! The boat was handling really well with no problems at all just a bit uncomfortable if you were trying to sleep. Tuesday 18th This morning we were greeted with about 30 dolphins swimming in the large waves and leaping out of the water alongside us. We arrived in Lexious at 14.00hrs in red hot sunshine after 138mls. Karl did his usual trick and disappeared without telling us, so we didn’t know if he was shopping for food or not, in fact we didn’t know anything (a very strange practice). I went for a couple of drinks with Les and did a bit of shopping for some decent food plus a couple of bottles of wine. We both had a lovely tea with some wine, still no sign of Karl then we went to the yacht club for a couple of beers then turned in for an early night just as Karl decided to turn up. Wednesday 19th Slipped the lines at 09.30hrs and headed for Lagos (we thought) with a strong N/E wind but still very warm and sunny. There were large breaking swells and we surfed down them at 7 – 8kts. The wind kept up until about 22.00hrs then dropped off and disappeared altogether, so it was back on with the motor, but we also had to conserve fuel, which was another sticky point! Thursday 20th Still motor sailing at times but we had covered 60mls in 12hrs which was pretty good. Spoke to soon, the wind just stopped as if it had been unplugged. It was no good trying to sail in 1 – 2kts of wind so it was back on with the donk the iron spinnaker, we ran it at 1100 to 1300rpm to maintain a speed of at least 4kts through the water and hope that the wind puts in another appearance. 
We were been plagued by moths, how come when we were nearly 30mls off shore, loads of them fluttering around the stern light and in the cabin, where are they going to go when we chase them? The sun came up and they all disappeared, Karl decided to try his hand at fishing again. He did eventually catch a Garfish which he said was inedible, of all the fish in the ocean he had to catch probably the only type that you can’t eat, put the frying pan away again Les! It was another red hot day, this is definitely what sailing is all about the engine was off and we were cruising along at about 5kts dressed in shorts – not a load of oilies and sailing in rain, hail and sleet, superb!
Friday 21st 
On watch at 03.00hrs as we were passing Lisbon, there was a fantastic lightening display going on ashore but heading out to sea so it should reach us shortly. It did, and created quite a wind so I had a great watch with exhilarating sailing before it settled down to a steady 14kts. We were heading for Cape St Vincent then east. Hope to stop off again in Portugal before pushing on to Gibraltar, but I can’t get an answer out of Karl as to whether we are or aren’t.
I had to really twist Karl’s arm to pull into Lagos or anywhere else for that matter, Les wanted to pull in as well so it wasn’t just me being awkward. We had had some really bad seas and to try to sleep in either end of the boat was pretty difficult if not impossible, Karl was ok he had the saloon with the least motion but Les and myself were knackered. We also only had a quarter of a tank of water and under half a tank of fuel, no milk or bread etc so I pushed him into putting into Lagos, this could possibly be construed as the 1st mutiny! Pulled into Lagos at 21.00hrs and tied up on the fuel berth and waiting pontoon after a 320ml sail, to enter the marina you have to go under a bridge this stopped opening at 18.00hrs.
Saturday 22nd 
Had a great nights sleep, Karl had got up early and done his disappearing act yet again, Les was up as well but Karl didn’t tell him where he was off to. He came back just as we were having a cup of tea, jumped on board and shouted, ‘Right let’s get this boat ready for sea before they charge us for the night’. Les and I had discussed this and decided that we would pay for the marina berth as we wanted to stay and have a look around also to have a shower and a decent meal. Karl had a carrier bag with a loaf of bread six bread buns two tins of hot dog sausages and three onions, was this yet another miracle in the making?
I asked about fuelling up, filling the water tank and getting a new gas bottle he said he wasn’t going to as we were going to sail all the way, at this point I refused and told him that I would fuel the boat, get a gas bottle and fill up with water. He said that it wasn’t my job to do that, he was right, it wasn’t it was his! He then upped and walked off the boat, I had a word with Les and he was up for a look around Lagos a decent meal and a shower, he also agreed with the fuel situation but I would have done the same even if he hadn’t. This could be classed as the second mutiny I suppose. I got the ships papers and passports and went to the marina office to book in and Karl turned up tripping over his lip and dodging the dummies that he had spat out, I had another word with him saying that we would stay on the waiting pontoon and would be ready to sail after a meal, shower and a look around Lagos. Les and I still had to pay for the marina berth even though we were on the waiting pontoon, but as the bridge closed at 18.00hrs we wanted to be able to get away when we wanted. (Karl had just delivered a yacht to Falmouth from Gibraltar and had fuel problems which ended up with him being towed into Falmouth at a cost of £1,000 to the owner, say no more - I certainly didn’t want this to happen to Alan and Wendy)! Karl didn’t want to go for a meal so Les and I went off for a look around Lagos and had a fantastic meal for 9 Euro, walked back to the boat and went for a shower before setting out again to have a proper look around and get a bit of shopping in. We had a look around the marina and a walk to the beach for a paddle then fed the stray cats that were housed on the side of the pier, (someone has built them a large cat house where people feed and water them) We were fuelled, watered and gassed up and ready to start our last leg of 178mls to Gibraltar, slipped the lines at 17.00hrs with a good NW wind force 5-6 blowing, but it didn’t last and the engine had to go on at 23.00hrs. Sunday 23rd 
Had a great sail in the early hours but then the wind dropped off to nothing so it was back on with the engine to maintain 4kts, this had to be the hottest day yet it was sweltering. Karl was back fishing and he caught another fish – well hooked it. It was leaping out of the water but broke his line he thought it was a Bonito Tuna – to big for the frying pan anyway.
There were some very large cross seas running which was quite uncomfortable due to having no wind at all so we were just motoring through them. (These are the type of conditions that stir up all the crap in a fuel tank if it is low on fuel) We ended up motoring through large oily looking seas until we reached the Gibraltar Straights. Monday 24th 
The wind went from absolutely nothing at all to 32kts as we entered the Gibraltar Straights creating very large seas, this was the worst we had encountered all trip, we finally motored through it and anchored in La Linea Bay until we could get a marina berth, Karl had called them up but they said that they were full,
Karl said that he knew it wasn’t and I took Karl and Les ashore in the dinghy to go and have a word with them. 205mls. We had sailed a total of 1,856 miles in eighteen days.
On the way across I saw Phil Berriman a mate of mine from Hartlepool (He tried to set up an offshore off licence in the North Sea) on his yacht Golden Harvest and went and had a drink and a chat on board, he was over there treasure hunting with underwater robotic things, he was also raising anchors and chain off ships and getting a fantastic return on them as scrap. 
They met up with Alan and Wendy when they were ashore, Karl managed to secure a berth in the marina, and I went back out in the dinghy to pick them up and we took the boat around to its berth then went for a drink with Alan and Wendy said they were going to stay in a hotel in Spain leaving the boat for me and Les for a few days, which was very nice of them.
Karl, Les and I went back to the boat and I helped Karl take his stuff across to his boat and to have a look around it. We never stopped getting on with each other even after the minor incidents, I’m quite easy to get on with but I do speak my mind. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing I don’t know but I’ve always done it (never with intended malice) and I’m to old to change my ways now! I got Karl on one side and had a good chat with him, pointing out where I think he could improve if he was to make a career out of yacht deliveries. Karl was a good lad and a very good sailor and I would certainly sail with him again, he listened to what I had to say and agreed with 99% of what I said. There were three major points, one was his disappearing acts – not a problem if he let the crew know what was happening, second was his manners – no please or thank you or asking if anyone else wanted a bite to eat etc, and thirdly – when we struggled with the cruising chute on the foredeck which was very hard work and quite dangerous there was no – well done lads or anything else, these might sound like minor things but in a small environment it caused a problem and not only for me! We parted as really good friends and we still keep in touch, I really hope that I see him again, even if it’s just to see if he’s changed. After all that I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to go sailing with him again. Tuesday 25th / Wednesday 26th I went off to explore Gibraltar on my own and to do a bit of shopping; I walked along to the site of the cable car to take me to the top of the rock. On the way I visited the cemetery dedicated to the sailors that died during the Battle of Trafalgar, so many graves and most of them explained their age how they had died and on what ship, I found it quite moving. I then visited the Fire Station that was close to the cable car and I had a tour around it with a cup of coffee and a chat with the lads on duty. (I’ve still got a bit of fireman in me even after 5yrs retirement)  I caught the cable car to the top, what a magnificent view, while I was up there I asked a lady to take my photo, she then pointed her camera at me. ‘I thought that this is going to less than useful’, so I explained and gave her mine to take a couple of photo’s with, we got chatting and I went for a coffee with her and her husband, they were from South Africa on a cruise. There were plenty of Barbary apes around and they all looked quite cute especially the baby ones, until they spied someone with a carrier bag or any bag, then they made a dive for it thinking that it contained food. So not really all that cute after all, the firemen told me that they sometimes have to go to the top of the rock to retrieve passports, wallets and purses that have been thrown over the top by the apes.
I went up again with Les on a tour and we made the mistake of having an ice-cream in the mini bus, one of the apes jumped through the window and snatched Les’s ice-cream off him biting him as it did, I threw mine out of the window to a another couple that were probably going to do the same, sod that! We visited the cave that had been turned into a theatre and the tunnels that were used during the Napoleonic wars it was all very interesting with loads to see.
We then went to have a look at a couple of yachts that were for sale and that Les was interested in before making our way back to the boat to get ready to out for a meal on the evening with Karl, Alan and Wendy.
On our trip over Karl mentioned that he liked black pudding, (as I do as well) so we bought some from each country that we visited; England, France, Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar. The overall winner was definitely – France. Black Pudding with apple, it was superb. 
Gibraltar is a really nice place to visit with plenty of history; I could certainly go there for a holiday and a really good look around. There are plenty bars and restaurants and as I said some great places to explore. Gibraltar is definitely a place to revisit in the future.
Mike Fellows 2007 ‘CHRISTYBELLE’ 7/9/07 – 25/9/07 HARTLEPOOL TO GIBRALTAR The good yacht ‘Christybelle’ and her three man crew Left Hartlepool headed south on ninety degrees true We followed the coast as much as we could Our passage time was proving to be quite good Stopped off at Brighton to fuel and eat Next it’s the Channel, now that’s no mean feat We crossed it with ease and head south with the tide Passing Jersey and Guernsey on our port side Then onto France and tied up in Cameret To have a well earned rest and call it a day Then it’s the notorious Biscay and its huge daunting bay It all brings to mind what the old sailors say That this really is a most treacherous coast Once you have sailed it then you can boast As we sail ever onward through the pitch black night Up pops a large whale which gives me a fright We follow our Rhumb line of course two o seven Look up at the night sky, that’s what I call heaven The large cruising chute billows out tight As it pulls us along through the dark of the night The wind increased and the sun showed its face Now we’re off sailing at a right cracking pace Nothing to do except read in the sun The autohelm sees that everything’s done White caps are showing and the swell is quite large But everything’s ok with ‘Christybelle’ in charge Eight days out and we’re still sailing well Even through the large breaking Biscay swell Biscay at night what a place to be As black as velvet and nothing to see 360 degrees you can turn your head around But I guarantee there’s no land to be found It’s just so dark that your nerves are quite tight Thank goodness for that welcoming tri-colour light Now we’re across and day dawns once again In a few hours time we’ll be tied up in Spain As we leave Spain and head even further south The weather is poor, but we’re not down in the mouth One hundred and thirty miles to our next port of call And that will be Leixoes in Portugal Fishing boats here and fishing boats there Some come pretty close as if they don’t care We’re flying along on course two o five Now Chritybelle feels as if she’s really alive The spume was flying away from her bow If only Alan and Wendy could see her right now From force six to zero the winds been and gone We’ll have to resort to the engine being on In order to put more miles under her keel This is the only answer we all feel Over the city of Lisbon a lightening display To see this at home you’d be pleased to pay Forked and flashing across the night sky When it strikes the water the sparks do fly The wind has got up and the swell is quite high It seems to stretch from the sea to the sky It’s eleven o’ clock and breakfast’s all done Now I can go and relax in the sun To read a book and enjoy a cup of tea It’s quite relaxing just watching the sea Set off again on course one one five The wind is up and the boat feels alive We went into Lagos as we were in need of a rest A lovely place to visit, I was most impressed Then it’s off again for the final stop To Gibraltar a mere two hundred mile hop She’s very proud and so she should be Sailing nineteen hundred miles without a calamity So it’s a big thank you for keeping us safe and well That great little ship called ‘CHRISTYBELLE’ Mike Fellows 2007 Comment on this article Tell us your story |