The Storm
After a few sedate days at anchor, and frustrating days trying to get a decent bit of sailing, I ( me -Alistair ) had come to the conclusion that the horror stories which had been repeatedly told to us about very strong winds were in fact nothing more than scare stories, hot air in fact.
I had even joked with Linda that I would start “whistling” for wind.
The superstitious amongst us would be horrified at the suggestion.
So now I must hang my head between my tail, and admit to being nothing but the fool I am!!
We sailed into the port of Cannes on Monday afternoon, got tied up and settled in for the night.
Well, the gods must have decided to teach me a lesson- it started raining and the wind picked up. By three in the morning I was on deck, lowering the furling genneker, taking away the gang plank, tying down anything that could blow away, putting out all our fenders and ropes. The screaming wind and grinding of boats, put any thought of going back to sleep, quite out of the question.
By Tuesday afternoon, the swell had built up in the harbour, causing boats to crash around like toys in a bath.
We went for a walk to the edge of the harbour, only to find that the police had cordoned off the entire promenade area because of the tremendous waves breaking over the breakwater. Hundreds of people were out watching, and I suppose the boat owners were praying.
There was so much water coming over the breakwater, that parked cars were being moved by the force of the flood water.
Much of the preparations for the Cannes Film Festival, which starts next week has been destroyed.
We saw on the TV, that the storms have caused wide spread damage all along the coast. Poor old Spain has even had yet another dose of unexpected snow.
We walked up to a high view point to overlook the harbour, and could see just how much mayhem was being caused by the breaking seas. Car parks flooded, boat yards submerged in waves, and the police trying to hold back the inquisitive crowds.
We could see along the coast that one or two boats were at anchor- it must have been similar to being in a fairground roller coaster- very scary!!
We spoke to a lady, who quite unexpectedly turned out to be Scottish, who informed us that, although she had spent the last 20 odd years in Cannes, she had never seen a storm like this, so late in the season.
By mid-day Wednesday, all is now calm, the sun is shining, but more wind and rain is forecast, so I guess we will have a very good look at the conditions for the next few days before we venture out again.
The end!
After a few sedate days at anchor, and frustrating days trying to get a decent bit of sailing, I ( me -Alistair ) had come to the conclusion that the horror stories which had been repeatedly told to us about very strong winds were in fact nothing more than scare stories, hot air in fact.
I had even joked with Linda that I would start “whistling” for wind.
The superstitious amongst us would be horrified at the suggestion.
So now I must hang my head between my tail, and admit to being nothing but the fool I am!!
We sailed into the port of Cannes on Monday afternoon, got tied up and settled in for the night.
Well, the gods must have decided to teach me a lesson- it started raining and the wind picked up. By three in the morning I was on deck, lowering the furling genneker, taking away the gang plank, tying down anything that could blow away, putting out all our fenders and ropes. The screaming wind and grinding of boats, put any thought of going back to sleep, quite out of the question.
By Tuesday afternoon, the swell had built up in the harbour, causing boats to crash around like toys in a bath.
We went for a walk to the edge of the harbour, only to find that the police had cordoned off the entire promenade area because of the tremendous waves breaking over the breakwater. Hundreds of people were out watching, and I suppose the boat owners were praying.
There was so much water coming over the breakwater, that parked cars were being moved by the force of the flood water.
Much of the preparations for the Cannes Film Festival, which starts next week has been destroyed.
We saw on the TV, that the storms have caused wide spread damage all along the coast. Poor old Spain has even had yet another dose of unexpected snow.
We walked up to a high view point to overlook the harbour, and could see just how much mayhem was being caused by the breaking seas. Car parks flooded, boat yards submerged in waves, and the police trying to hold back the inquisitive crowds.
We could see along the coast that one or two boats were at anchor- it must have been similar to being in a fairground roller coaster- very scary!!
We spoke to a lady, who quite unexpectedly turned out to be Scottish, who informed us that, although she had spent the last 20 odd years in Cannes, she had never seen a storm like this, so late in the season.
By mid-day Wednesday, all is now calm, the sun is shining, but more wind and rain is forecast, so I guess we will have a very good look at the conditions for the next few days before we venture out again.
The end!
Wow! I had heard from a Swedish boat, now in France, that Cannes was hard hit with damage to boats. Glad you all are OK. We were anchored at Espalmador, just south of Ibiza, and for us it was just barely a gale. Still, we drug anchor and had to move. There were only two boats in the bay, but the other decided he had to drop his hook right behind us, so we couldn't let out more chain. :( The schedule has us in Cagliari, Sardinia, May 17-19, but you know how schedules are. We're currently at Mallorca. Hope we see you somewhere.
ReplyDelete