DeeGee
Well-Known Member
The local Breton club have arranged a cruise to the east coast of Ile de Brehat, for an weekend overnight stop at a little mousehole, not identified in any pilot books, and thus peaceful and ‘plenty of room’. Until the day of the cruise, Skip and Wife have no idea of where the mousehole is, depths etc. The trip is to be led by a local pilot (marine), who has little need of charts.
On Saturday, there is a briefing at 12, with departure at 1530, using the last hour of the spring ebb. The forecast is overcast, virtually no wind, with some F4 NE coming in Saturday night and Sunday. So, at least, the return trip should be fun – coming back on the spring ebb, will be about 3kts, wind with tide for a change. HW at the mousehole will be about 2230, LW 0500 Sunday.
A pleasant 20mile motor, follow my leader, finds Skip and Wife at ‘the mousehole’. The biggest ship, a 42ft Moody, with 35m of chain and 45lb CQR, drops in a spot which will be 3.5m LW, 12.5m HW, Mr Moody mentions that he has put 25m out. As it is v calm and flat, Skip and Wife, with two other boats are quite content to raft up to the Moody for a convivial evening. Skip flakes out before the party is over, as he is knackered from a soiree the night before.
Skip wakes up at 0100, to find the boat pitching a lot, and goes up to have a look at things. It is blowing 14kts, and there is no sight of any other boats, just Skip and the Moody. Skip, with a low freeboard 36ft, is pitching out of synch with the Moody, and the 1.5m lateral gap which Skip had arranged between their masts now seemed rather small. Skip thought about the Moody’s scope, but since it is now half-tide, it is past worrying about. The pitching is something else. The sky is still 100% o/cast, and there is NO moonlight or starlight. The only thing to be seen is the Moody’s anchor-light. It is clear to Skip that the pitching is likely to get some roll going with is at some point, and then the rigging of the two boats will be in serious trouble. The thought of the damage makes Skip’s mind up – he has to move, and put down his own hook. Mr Moody is in full agreement.
The mousehole is about 100m wide, and there is about 100m from the ‘mouth’ of the mousehole till it gets too shallow. The northern and southern sides are nasty craggy rocks with some sticky-up outliers. To the west are shallows, to the east is the open sea, and the sea is clearly getting well stirred up by the NE’y. Go out to the east, and it will be wind against tide (ebb tide will be running up the eastern coast at about 3kts by now – most of the reason for the confused sea, even in the mousehole).
Skip has a powerful hand-held searchlight. He now uses it for a look around. The rocks to the North look v near, so do the ones to the South. His Yeoman plotter is downstairs, Wife can do the helming, but with Skip at the bow to drop the chain, there is noone to plot where they are. The searchlight is a spotlight and can only be used from the cockpit, it shows only the place it is pointed at, and kills any chance of night vision, even if there were starlight.
The area outside the mousehole is somewhere Skip has never been, he has charts, but the channel down to the River Trieux is narrow, and had numerous dangers. The tide is running 3kts northerly up that channel against the tide. To the North is the open sea, but it would mean beating up confused water with 3kts escalator underneath.
What now, Skipper ?
On Saturday, there is a briefing at 12, with departure at 1530, using the last hour of the spring ebb. The forecast is overcast, virtually no wind, with some F4 NE coming in Saturday night and Sunday. So, at least, the return trip should be fun – coming back on the spring ebb, will be about 3kts, wind with tide for a change. HW at the mousehole will be about 2230, LW 0500 Sunday.
A pleasant 20mile motor, follow my leader, finds Skip and Wife at ‘the mousehole’. The biggest ship, a 42ft Moody, with 35m of chain and 45lb CQR, drops in a spot which will be 3.5m LW, 12.5m HW, Mr Moody mentions that he has put 25m out. As it is v calm and flat, Skip and Wife, with two other boats are quite content to raft up to the Moody for a convivial evening. Skip flakes out before the party is over, as he is knackered from a soiree the night before.
Skip wakes up at 0100, to find the boat pitching a lot, and goes up to have a look at things. It is blowing 14kts, and there is no sight of any other boats, just Skip and the Moody. Skip, with a low freeboard 36ft, is pitching out of synch with the Moody, and the 1.5m lateral gap which Skip had arranged between their masts now seemed rather small. Skip thought about the Moody’s scope, but since it is now half-tide, it is past worrying about. The pitching is something else. The sky is still 100% o/cast, and there is NO moonlight or starlight. The only thing to be seen is the Moody’s anchor-light. It is clear to Skip that the pitching is likely to get some roll going with is at some point, and then the rigging of the two boats will be in serious trouble. The thought of the damage makes Skip’s mind up – he has to move, and put down his own hook. Mr Moody is in full agreement.
The mousehole is about 100m wide, and there is about 100m from the ‘mouth’ of the mousehole till it gets too shallow. The northern and southern sides are nasty craggy rocks with some sticky-up outliers. To the west are shallows, to the east is the open sea, and the sea is clearly getting well stirred up by the NE’y. Go out to the east, and it will be wind against tide (ebb tide will be running up the eastern coast at about 3kts by now – most of the reason for the confused sea, even in the mousehole).
Skip has a powerful hand-held searchlight. He now uses it for a look around. The rocks to the North look v near, so do the ones to the South. His Yeoman plotter is downstairs, Wife can do the helming, but with Skip at the bow to drop the chain, there is noone to plot where they are. The searchlight is a spotlight and can only be used from the cockpit, it shows only the place it is pointed at, and kills any chance of night vision, even if there were starlight.
The area outside the mousehole is somewhere Skip has never been, he has charts, but the channel down to the River Trieux is narrow, and had numerous dangers. The tide is running 3kts northerly up that channel against the tide. To the North is the open sea, but it would mean beating up confused water with 3kts escalator underneath.
What now, Skipper ?
