Sunday was a funny day.
Nothing really happened. We
hoped to go to Antibes, but we phoned the Port Vauban but they were adamant
that they were full. We tried the
old port in Nice, but couldn’t get anyone to answer the phone. The weather forecast was not good and
from fairly early on it was blowing a 6 in the harbour, which is supposed to be
protected from all winds. So in
the end we just decided to stay put.
We had a useful day, nonetheless.
Richard serviced and fixed the toilet which was leaking water back into
the bowl. I finally attacked the
front cabin and washed away all the mould (the only place in the boat that went
mouldy over the winter). I took
down the curtains in that cabin and will take them to Oslo to wash.
The sun had only been out in a hazy way in the morning, but came out
nice and bright in the afternoon, so we went to the beach! It was still very windy, but we found a
sheltered spot and read our books and watched all the kite surfers doing their
stuff. We never tried going in the
water!
Back to the boat and dinner on board and then early to bed.
Today, Monday, we really had to move on. So we phoned Antibes again and this time they said that they
couldn’t take reservations, but it was probable they would have space if we
turned up at mid-day. So off we
set.
At first there was almost no wind.
It was perhaps blowing 3 knots, but we had plenty of time so we put up
the sails and inched ahead, initially doing less than 1 knot. But the wind picked up a bit and got up
to a force 3, so we started to go along very nicely, getting up to 5 knots. It is really surprising how much better
she goes with a clean hull! We
sailed past the Eden Roc and took some photos. We then went out to sea a few miles to empty our tank. It was a little after 12:30 when we
started to make our way into Antibes Harbour. We had one problem, though. When Richard tried to take in the genoa, it wouldn’t furl on
the drum. After trying again and again,
there was nothing for it but to take it down. The line in the drum had become hopelessly knotted. It was just as well that the wind was
light and the sea fairly calm.
After we finally got the sails down, I put out all the fenders and lines and then as we
approached the yacht harbour I called up for berthing instructions. Given that we were told this morning
they would probably have a berth for us I was really shocked to hear them say
they had no room and could not help us at all. So we had to make a plan B.
Richard then phoned the old port in Nice. It was now about 1:00pm. They said they would reserve us a berth for one night, so
off we headed east. I got lazy and
didn’t take the fenders in for the 8 mile trip. I did put them on the deck, though. So just over an hour and a half later
we approach Nice harbour. Again as
instructed when we got to where the yachts are moored I called up the harbour
office and was shocked to the bone to be told that there was no way they could
accommodate us for the night. This
was ridiculous when only less than two hours ago they told us that they had
reserved a berth for us. So I
started to protest, but seemed to be getting nowhere. We started to head out of the harbour when they called us on
the radio and asked for the boat name (which I had already given) and then
confirmed that we had reserved a place and they would find us a berth. The berth they found is very odd. We are not on a pontoon. We are moored alongside on the old
harbour wall. But it is fine and
we can connect to electricity and we are right next to the showers and
toilets. Also the berthing fee is
very low. Only 29 Euros, much to
our surprise.
But this has taught me that we were right not to want to be in this part
of the Med in the high season. If
we are having all this problem getting in to the nicer places this early in the
season, heaven only knows what it would be like in June or July!
The first thing we needed to do in port was go shopping. We are virtually out of food including
milk and we will be eating aboard until we go to Norway. So off we go into town. The lady in the port office did try to
show us where the closest supermarket is, but she was very vague about exactly
what road it is on. We wandered
around for some time until finally someone we asked knew where it was. We were able to buy nearly everything
we needed and just finished up in a butcher’s to get the last meat for one of
our meals.
So back to the boat and Richard has a go at the furling mechanism for the
genoa. He really doesn’t want to
take the furler apart, not least because it is over the water and he is afraid
of dropping bits into the sea. But
he manages to clear up all the snags and gets it working again. So we put the sail back up and it furls
fine. Now all is well - except for
how we are going to get out of this berth tomorrow. They have put another boat on the wall at a right angle to
us. It is a lovely old wooden
gaffer which has signs showing it is tourist boat doing trips out in the
bay. The problem is that it has a
huge bowsprit which is partially blocking our way out of the berth. Richard seems sanguine that he can bow
thrust away from it and go out, but I am nervous. Maybe we can get the people in the harbour to help. We shall see.
The weather is still nice and we decide to have a walk to the Promenade
des Anglais. So we walk first
through the old City. I buy some
more Herbs de Provence. I bought
lots last year, but forgot to leave any on the boat and my little bottle is
running low. Then we make it to
the sea front. There are huge
breaking waves on some parts of the beach which are quite dramatic. Nonetheless there are some people in
the sea! We make it not quite as
far as the Negresco. It is a fasting day, so we can’t even stop
for a drink. We turn back and get
to the boat in time to make a frugal supper. Let’s hope our arrangements with Port St Laurant du Var work
out better than those today!
No comments:
Post a Comment