la coruña, a coruña

Raivo on piano with Sonia at the bar, La Madame

La Coruña, Galicia, Spain

Sonia and Jose on an afternoon sail with us.

La Coruña, Galicia, Spain

Tormentina poses in front of the carne - San Augustin Market

La Coruña, Galicia, Spain

San Augustin Market

La Coruña, Galicia, Spain

Siboney in our coffee - Cafe Verdura

La Coruña, Galicia, Spain

Besos for Raivo.

La Coruña, Galicia, Spain

la coruña, galicia, spain

Last week we were waiting for favorable and light winds to make our crossing of the Bay of Biscay.  Everyone warned us that it could get quite nasty in the autumn, so James and I were both getting antsy to leave before the seasonal shift.

On Wednesday, we spent our last evening in France in La Trinité with our friend and very talented sail designer, Stephane Fauve.  He sent us off the pontoons just before midnight, making sure our bellies were full & content with classic Brittany fare of galettes and crêpes.

Very light winds - lighter than expected - so we had a gentle three day passage.  Too slow for us, but we were happy to not experience any aggressive conditions in the Bay with the kids on the boat.

We arrived in La Coruña, Spain on Saturday evening.  Our local friends Jose and Sonia have given us a huge and warm welcome.

la trinité-sur-mer, brittany, france

After a month of being at the Base de sous-marins, we were finally ready:  new rigging, updated electronics, serviced sails. We even got immunizations done for Raivo, thanks to the help of our kind friend Dr. Yann Rochas.

We said goodbye to a few people, but goodbyes are difficult for us, especially Tormentina.  So at 12 noon on Monday, Simone Gaeta from the BP Team gave us a helping hand off the dock, and we sailed to La Trinité-sur-Mer to test out all of our systems.

Beautiful day on the Brittany coast:  Starboard tack out of Lorient, one gybe to port to slide through the peninsula, then upwind with 1000 litres of ballast into La Trinité.  We pulled up to the marina at 5pm and are now tied up on the pontoon next to all the rock star boats like Sodebo and Safran.

Last time Anasazi Girl was tied up next to Sodebo was in 2008, at the Shosholoza base in Capetown, South Africa.  I was pregnant with Tormentina at the time, and Thomas Colville was making repairs on a hull after hitting an iceberg in the Southern Ocean.  He saw my big belly, and said, "You're pregnant?  You have to eat, please come, we have lots of food, eat!!"

Now it is Wednesday, the town of La Trinité is quiet and sleepy, and we are waiting for weather to leave the Bay of Biscay.  Tonight at 10pm it is looking good for us to leave the dock.

banque populaire v, lorient, france

The Maxi Trimaran, Banque Populaire V, is back in the water.  We stored Anasazi Girl's mast underneath the Tri while we were waiting for our new rigging.  We have been watching the progress of this world class team as they prepare her next to us on the docks in Lorient.  Everyone is very focused, hard-working and incredibly good at what they do.  They are also very relaxed, friendly and kind to our family.  Read more about this amazing sailing machine here:   Maxi Trimaran BP V.

lorient, france

Tormentina on our walk today along the waterfront, Lorient.

dock life at the bsm, lorient, france

We love this place, Lorient.  On the docks, we are surrounded daily by a group of incredibly fast minds involved in the sailing industry.  They are super nice people and very switched on - world class sailors, designers, builders, adventurers, creative thinkers and problem solvers.

Our work list is finally shrinking for the next leg of our family voyage to Capetown, South Africa.  New rigging arrives tomorrow and the mast goes back in the boat this week.

Tormentina already falling in love with the French sailors, esp. Tanguy de Lamotte and Benoit Marie on the chocolate boat.

bsm, lorient, france

Life at the submarine base...  She is a bird, waiting to fly.

banque populaire imoca 60, bsm, lorient, france

Banque Populaire's IMOCA 60 came out of the shed this week at the BSM in Lorient.  Then at first light this morning, Armel Le Cléac'h + the Banque Populaire crew were there with smiles to do the 90 degree stability test.

We handed down Raivo's outgrown Transatlantic action suit (from Patagonia, Inc.) to Le Cléac'h's 9 month old son, certain he is another sailor in the making.

base de sous-marins kéroman, lorient, france

We left St. Quay on Sunday morning and arrived at the Base de Sous-marins Kéroman in Lorient on Monday night.  It was beautiful sailing around Brittany.  The flat seas inside the island channels were an unexpected treat, and we wished that Anasazi Girl had a lifting keel so we could do some further exploring.  We passed the Figaro boats racing and so many other sailboats that we lost count.  It reminded us how deep the sailing lifestyle is part of France's culture.  All of the old lighthouses shifted us backwards through time and I experienced one of the prettiest sunsets during a watch on deck with Raivo.

We have had an excellent experience with Olga + crew at the Port Captain's office.  They are efficient, super friendly and warm, knowledgeable, and set us up with a bicycle and bike trailer for the kids.  The docks are safe and in very good condition, clean showers without the damn tokens, grocery, bakery, restaurants, and the museums within easy walking distance of the boat.

Anasazi Girl feeling like a tiny little boat - surrounded by the giant superstar racing sailboats - Groupama 2, Groupama 70, Groupama 3, Foncia MOD70, Race for Water MOD70, Virbac Paprec Absolute Dreamer 3, Prince de Bretagne Multi50, and Banque Populaire's Trimaran V.  My little girl Tormentina is really tiny next to all the giant hulls.  What an amazing playground and classroom  for her, to take in the design and craftsmanship that goes into building and sailing these performance sailboats.

multi50 class - st. quay portrieux, france

st. quay portrieux, france - port d'armor

We checked out the Multi50s at Port d'Armor during their preparations for racing.

st. quay portrieux, france

On Wednesday, August 17, we were blown away that we had been in France for exactly one month.  Raivo was now 11 months old.  I was a month older.  James and Tormentina were too.  Time was marching forward, time to keep our lives in motion.

There was a good forecast for wind, so we planned to leave Caen that afternoon with the Avocet 50/Citoyens du Monde.  We were en route with them to St. Quay Portrieux for the Multi50 races scheduled to start on Friday morning.  http://www.class-multi50.org/en/english.html

When it came time to depart the dock at 3 pm in time for the bridges to open, the Avocet only had one working engine, and no ability to maneuver in the canal.  JFL asked James if we could tow them.  I thought he was kidding, but realized he was completely serious.  Fortunately Laurent Meyer was there with us to tie and throw the lines to the Avocet, while James drove Anasazi Girl, and I managed the kids.

Anasazi Girl towed (a first for her), slowly but steadily, the 50' cat behind her down the canal.  The Pegasus Bridge opened a second time to let us through, repairs were made while underway, and by the time we arrived at the lock in Ouistreham around 6 pm, both engines for the Avocet were back in business.   JFL is one lucky guy.  Thanks to Laurent for the baked goods, good humor in the canal, and his skill with making the tow lines happen.

The lock opened at 10:30.  It was dark, I was nervous about tying into the wall, and missing our friendly calvadosed fishermen who were there when we went through the first time.  We managed the wires just fine while the water inside the lock was drained and we were lowered.  With two more fenders, plus one borrowed from the Avocet, the concrete walls did not get the better of us.

Once the lock was re-opened, we were off and bound for Brittany.  Very bumpy, but excellent wind for the first half of the trip, then no wind and current against us for the second half of the trip.  Not my favorite conditions, but luckily the kids slept through most of it.

We arrived in St. Quay at the Port d'Armor Marina just under 24 hours after leaving Ouistreham.  It was before dark, and we side-tied to the Avocet.  Nice to not have to think about docking, tired and late at night.  Even nicer to have friends while in a foreign country.

We have been watching the races the last two days.  Tormentina says she wants one of the "big" boats when we are done with Anasazi Girl.