Day 8: 21/06/17 Fecamp to Ouistreham (AKA Flygate!)

We were all shattered, needed a rest but wanted to get to Ouistreham. After a lovely chat with a British Unschooling family I backed us out of our berth and AJ took us out of Fecamp. It was to be a long trip. There was a horrible rolling swell and not enough wind to sail.... again!

In addition this various flies decided to hitch a ride as well as the odd butterfly. Esme was terrified. Thank goodness we were miles away from anywhere and anyone otherwise I'm sure we would have been reported to the French equivalent of Social Services.  We thought we had a breakthrough when she resurfaced on deck declaring that she now liked flies....only to be again deafened by the screams as one landed next to her.




Going past Le Havre was pretty busy, although most boats were thankfully at anchor. I felt particularly exhausted and even down below was hotter than usual when I tried to get some sleep on passage.  Thank goodness for the ebay 12V fans I bought off ebay.








Anyhow eventually we were approaching Ouistreham and Sword beach. We've been reading stories about D-Day for ages and we sat on deck trying to imagine how the Allied soldiers felt during the same approach. There's was much rougher, in the dark, and with a much less certain ending. All we had to endure was waiting for the lock, although watching the ferry practice using its lifeboats was a welcome distraction.

Now tied up in Ouistreham where we will stay for a few days.

Day 7: 20/06/17 Dieppe to Fecamp

178 Nautical Miles so far. This feels much faster than we really want to travel but as Patrick reminded me last night, we are travelling fast because this is an expensive part of the trip. Between 25 and 30 Euros per night is not sustainable on our 450 Euro per month moorings budget, once we get into the French inland waterways mooring costs will reduce significantly (except for Paris).

Today we were planning to leave sometime between 10 and 11am but needed some shopping first as we were running low on fresh fruit and veg, as well as bread. AJ had already done his daily reading when we dragged Esmé out of her bunk at about 8am with the promise of boulangerie goodies. We visited the port office to find it didn't open until 9 so onwards to find provisions. A market was being set up in the town but was not yet ready so we found a boulangerie on a back street, bought bread and pain au chocolate and headed to the beach for breakfast. After a quick play on the playground opposite we returned to the market where we paid significantly more than we would have in Tesco's for fruit and veg. The kids and I practiced our French and we returned to the port office laden down with supplies only to find we needed boat papers for the first time on the trip. Back to the boat and Patrick returned with the relevant paperwork leaving the kids and I to stow our purchases.

Esmé nervously took the helm for a short while on the way out of Dieppe after I'd radioed Port Control to ensure the Seven Sisters Ferry wasn't due to leave any time soon. Out of the harbour and turn left for a long motor towards Fecamp. Not a breath of wind meant it was much hotter than yesterday and the haze meant there was little to see either. Esmé went back to bed while AJ did his French lesson. Today he chose to learn how to ask where he could buy sweets. Once he had found this out I suggested that there may be something else he needed to know.... like how to understand any directions given to him! We spent a little longer investigating directions in French before having a break for lunch.

After lunch we continued reading the D-Day book. Todays story was about the floating tanks which attacked Gold Beach. Esmé is significantly less interested in WW2 than AJ and the text is probably a little old for her although she is desperate to have a go at reading it. Her turn will come when we motor up the Seine towards Paris. I have a lovely picture book about Monet and I plan to look at this with them just before we get to Giverny, perhaps we'll take photos and then try to paint them later as I don't think you are allowed to paint when you are in there.

The wind was now increasing slightly so we decided to sail under headsail for the last hour or two as we were getting bored of the engine. Kids had their iPad time below decks to stay out of the sun and Patrick and I took it in turns to sail or snooze.

It was interesting to approach Fecamp from the East. The last time Patrick and I had been here was very soon after we met, on a JOG race from Cowes. Very quickly the harbour was approaching and the wind picking up. Patrick hurriedly deployed fenders and readied lines as I tried to call the marina on the VHF, no reply, but we identified the visitors pontoon from the Almanac. Once inside the harbour the wind increased even more and we did a few circuits of the marina before finally deciding on a berth. We had a wonderful reception as a handful of fellow Englishmen came to take our lines, the kids making us proud as AJ loudly announced that the port bow line wasn't on yet!

Just about to leave for very much needed showers we heard a knock on the boat and popped our heads up to find the crew of Tomahawk from Fambridge! Seem to have lost them again but might find them for a drink later. Anyway early tea and tried for an early night but the kids are still awake and missing friends:-( We've promised to help them email home tomorrow and try to skype over the next few days. Anybody fancy a chat once we get to Ouistreham?

Day 6: 19/06/17 Boulogne to Dieppe

A long day today. 55 miles in glorious sunshine with enough breeze to make it not unpleasant to sit on deck, but not enough breeze to sail. Ray the autopilot did most of the work while we kept watch and in the afternoon, took turns to catch up on sleep.

This was the first time we had really done boatschool on the move. Both kids read to us and then did some French. I became a bit disenchanted with the lessons I downloaded as they were largely based around phrases used in school. What AJ and Esme need is something they can use when they meet kids in the playground so this week, knowing we have a lot of travelling days, I asked them to think of 5 sentences they wished they could use when they were playing with other kids. Todays was to say that we live on a boat and are travelling. They drew a picture and then wrote out the French and English translations.

I also read another couple of chapters from our D-Day book which tells the true stories of individual soldiers on that day. I'm hoping that this will help the D-Day beaches come alive when we get there in a few days time, in any case I am sure that reading to the kids regularly can only be a good thing. I usually read them something of their choice at bedtime, and something that I would like to read after lunch.

In the afternoon AJ was desperate for his daily electronics fix and disappeared below decks to watch a film on my laptop, where-as once I had been off watch for a short nap, Esme wanted me to help her make a lifejacket for her toy rabbit. Out came the sewing kit (thanks Nana), and Rabbit duly got a pink lifejacket.

We arrived at Dieppe at about 6pm and after having a quick tidy up, went for a stroll. I couldn't face cooking so we stopped at a beach side bar for a treat. Ever careful about funds Pat and I shared an antipasti plate and the kids had a chocolate crepe each. The beers were amazing!

It was still very warm and with little chance of the kids sleeping any time soon we took them to the park where AJ at least tried out some of his French, and much to his credit kept trying even when the boy looked somewhat puzzled and ran away. I went over to help him and we managed some sort of conversation between the two boys and us parents.

All in all a good day with a lovely view of a tall ship in the marina. Weather forecast is for light winds in the correct direction for a couple of days then a few days of heavier winds from the west. Because of this we have decided to keep moving for the next 2 days and get to Ouistreham to ride out the windier weather. Really looking forward to staying in one place for a few days!

Day 5: Fathers Day in Boulogne

Patrick had read about a really good aquarium in Boulogne and suggested it might be nice to visit. At €52.40 for the 4 of us it wasn't crazy expensive but significantly eat into our tight budget. But, it's Father's day so we decided to go for it as at least it would mean we were out of the mid day sun, and we could go to the beach later in the day.

Laurin was a bit of a mess, and we are still finding homes for random items that are left from the big move aboard so we made a "Happy half hour" playlist and tried to make an impact on jobs before it got too hot. Jobs done we headed to the Boulangerie to pick up bread for our lunch, then made the short walk to the Aquarium, stopping briefly at a park for the kids to let off steam. The kids had a great time playing with a French family and AJ kept running back to ask me how to say certain things in French so he was at least trying to communicate in French, although he said the boy didn't really answer!

Next on to Nausicaá which is the French national Marine centre by the sounds of it. So much better than the sea life centres I have visited in the UK. There were 21 different areas, many of which represented different areas of the world, with a large focus on conservation and looking after our oceans. In addition to the usual tanks full of brightly coloured fish there was a fisheries vessel simulator, a 4D film, sea-lion show and mangrove area as well as a penguin beach. All very modern and clean. Kids had a good time and hopefully learned some stuff. Esmé was particularly affected by a film of a pacific island being continuously flooded due to global warming. We talked about what it would be like to have your home washed away and we looked at the sand bags they used to try to prevent this. I didn't really set any school work for this visit but hope it will be something we refer back to throughout the trip.

Opening our picnic didn't seem to be the done thing in the aquarium so we had an over priced snack of cold drinks, microwave chips with ingenious packaging, and mini donuts. Then once out of the centre we had our picnic next to the beach and made the long walk to the sea at low water so the kids could swim. Back at a sensible time for showers and to pick up bread for tomorrow before drinks with the crew of Pluto, who brought stories of their time in the Mediterranean as well as wine! All in all a tiring but lovely day. Still extremely hot at 21:45 so need to start taking siestas as the kids are only just starting to settle down. Long day tomorrow as we're heading to Dieppe.

 

Day 4: 17/06/17 Dover to Boulogne

Pretty sure the kids were quite nervous about today as every other crossing of the North Sea we have done they have felt seasick. It was a little lumpy early on but AJ soon got used to it and Esme, having got up to say goodbye to England, went back to sleep!

It was a beautiful day and we were soon motor sailing, and then the wind picked up enough to turn the engine off and still make good progress. After an initial disagreement about a large tanker heading towards us Patrick and I fell back into a nice rhythm of sailing together and playing to each others strengths. Somehow I (who used to hate using the VHF) was the one who called up huge ships to find out their intentions or let them know what we were up to. AIS makes life so much easier in the shipping lanes. We can spot ships on the iPad, check if they are on collision course and then call them on the radio if we need to clarify anything. Once sailing we were really happy that AJ wanted to helm. It was short lived but every little try is more experience.

We finally arrived in Boulogne at about 2pm and shortly after, in came a couple who had given a talk that we attended about sailing in the Med. We will catch up with them tomorrow to quiz them about the canals. Kids were ready for iPad time as we had just had lunch and we were happy with this as it was baking hot and we preferred them to rest out of the sun. Pat and I shared a celebratory Duvel and had a doze. Once things had cooled down a little we went for a walk. Esmé was desperate to go to the beach and wear her new bikini. We found the nearest Boulangerie and bought a baguette. The lady then promptly packaged up 2 pain au chocolate as a gift for the kids to eat tomorrow much to their delight.

Next we took a walk towards the beach, stopping at the tourist information office to check out the prices of the huge aquarium on the seafront. Think we'll visit this tomorrow. Then the beach. Kids played on the playground for a while before asking to swim. It was a long walk to the sea but the sand shelved gently and it was perfect for the kids to swim and play.

By this time it was getting quite late so we headed back to the boat for showers and tea. A lovely day but we're all exhausted now. Took a little time to plan the passage to Dieppe for Monday as tomorrow could be a busy day. Now we're in France the reality really is hitting that this is our life for the next two years. Although there are times we want to scream at the kids it's an absolute privilege to be able to spend this much time with them and I'm sure it is something we will all remember for a long time. 

Day 3 16/6/17 Boat Day In Dover, by AJ & Esmé

AJ

Hello, today we did a passage plan from Dover to Boulogne ( it was really hard).

• We  had to measure 5 miles per hour using dividers.
• We put waypoints in the chart plotter
• Looking at  the tides helped us decide when to set off.

Esmé

We went to a museum  with a shop in it. I got a badge to sew on my orange blanket from the shop. We went to the playground and there were some bars to swing on. One I couldn't reach so I had to jump and I touched it. I went to the beach and there was stones instead of sand, and there were rocks on the beach that we could climb on and there were holes in between them that me and AJ could fit in. We called these hidey holes and we ate our sweets in them. We got splashed by the waves.

Day 2: Dover Castle

 

 Another early start to get us to Dover so we could make our allotted time slot for a free visit to Dover Castle. Home Educators can get in free as long as we book 1 week in advance. Arrived Dover about 9am, had breakfast, then started the walk to the Castle..... very steep towards the end but we made it! Unfortunately our free visit didn't include the WW2 underground tunnels but we had a great time anyway. Used "Donkey" binoculars, tried out morse code, wore some modern day army gear and pretended to be king and queen. Jobs day tomorrow. Need to sort the boat out some more, catch up on boat school, and then hopefully find time to visit the Museum that has a bronze age boat in it. Plan to head to Boulogne on Saturday.