Weather Windows

You may be wondering what we’re actually doing at the moment… Having moved aboard three and a half weeks ago and completed the commissioning of our boat, all that’s left to do now is leave La Rochelle. And so, we are just waiting for the right weather in order to cross the Bay of Biscay.

The plan is to go directly from here to Porto in Portugal, about 600nm away. It will be approximately three days and nights of constant sailing, and having never sailed for more than a day before this will be quite the baptism of fire! For this reason, we will also be taking a professional skipper and mariner with us for the journey.

Our insurance stipulates that we must be out of the Bay of Biscay by 1 October, since some of the fiercest weather conditions of the Atlantic Ocean can be found in the Bay during winter. But as that deadline has already passed, we have managed to secure a two-week extension until 14 October. 

With plenty of tropical storms currently whipping up trouble across the Atlantic, the impact for us is gale-force winds, lots of rain and unsafe conditions to leave. In fact, at one point we hadn’t left our berth at the marina in two weeks, bar one brave journey 50 metres along the fuel dock to empty our blackwater tanks!

As if to cement the decision to stay put, the Mini-Transat solo race across the Atlantic was due to depart from La Rochelle on 22 September, and they are still waiting for the starting gun to be fired…

And so, we wait. Biding our time by completing the long lists of jobs that come with acquiring a boat. But we couldn’t think of a nicer place to be stuck. Thanks La Rochelle!