Jean-Charles and Mimmie have just set their sights on a wooden cutter, a Cornu design from 1960. A 9.30 m ballasted dinghy designed by Eugène Cornu and built at the Labbé shipyard (it is the n°1 of the series). This couple was looking to buy a traditional sailboat, habitable and elegant. For these residents of the Toulouse region, it was necessary that their sailboat based in Canet-en-Roussillon (Mediterranean) could also accommodate them during weekends.
The choice of a wooden sailboat has always been essential. Jean-Charles having childhood memories in Camaret where he used to play in the hulls of workboats in the yard. Before choosing Rose'n, he saw several sailboats to renovate. But all of them required several years of work. On the other hand, Rose'n came out of a renovation yard that allowed him to take to the sea immediately.
All that remains is to convey the sailboat from Saint-Malo to its new home port: Canet-en-Roussillon. A cruise during which the couple will encounter a few problems that will give them the opportunity to discover their boat and to get to know it better.
Jean-Charles tells us about this cruise in detail
Rot at the foot of the mast..
August 11, 2017, we traveled all night, stocked up on food and other necessities for the 21 days of travel ahead. The tote bags are numerous and heavy and require several trips from the car to the boat and back.
This trip will be the first one where we will be only the two of us, left to ourselves. Our sailing program will change: no more sailing around Brittany. The dates of our trip now correspond to important tides and fresh wind warnings do not invite us to risk facing the Breton coasts and their strong currents.
We decide to take the "land" route through the Ile et Rance canal. The former owner helps us to dismast and we discover a weakness at the foot of the mast. At the height of the binoculars, a rot has weakened the bottom of the mast. This is a chance to reveal it before the trip. Embarrassed, the former owner even offers to pay us back the boat. But, we find a compromise and he makes us a "load" with resin which consolidates the damaged part and which should ensure the trip.
Engine failure after a few miles
We leave on August 13, 2017 around 3 pm in the direction of Dinan where we go up the sinuous Rance, discovering a magnificent landscape after each meander. Suddenly, a white smoke escapes from the back of the boat, we turn around to reach a bank with a mooring bitt and then, a big noise. I cut the engine, the inertia brings us back to the edge of the quay where we are taken in charge by a sailor who helps us to moor. The diagnosis is quick, the cooling valve remained closed, an oversight on my part..
The next day the water pump was removed to see the damage. This last one has 2 turbines, one for the engine cooling is H.S, the other one for the bilge pump is still correct. Unfortunately we do not find any open shipyard. We are on August 14, the day before August 15, and the shops are closed... But Olivier, a mechanic who came to our rescue, reassures us by telling us that he will manage to find what we need: paper and rubber gaskets, 2 turbines and various other hardware. Indeed, Olivier is the ex-son-in-law of the Rance shipyard and he brings us there. Luckily, one of the employees was a handyman and was able to open the spare parts store where we found the main part, the rest was going to be done with the "système D".
The next day, departure after the breakfast with planned passage of the first lock. Mimmie was stressing and had never done this kind of maneuver, me neither. But it's passed. Only the 261 remaining locks to Port-la-Nouvelle remain. The countdown is on. We have booked the mast lifting at the port of Arzal, on August 18th at 10:30 am. We will be there just in time.
Beware of the currents in the Gironde
The sea navigation until the entrance of the Gironde is done without problem. To pass the Gironde estuary, we had to face the tidal bore with a tide of 105... whose effects we did not know. A huge tanker opens the passage and the wave bar going up the estuary is passed in spite of the current which pushes us. We went back to the coast of Royan and crossed to the port in front of us to stop and lay down the mast to sail along the Canal du Midi.
At the harbour master's office, nobody is waiting for us. Normal, the appointment is in Pauillac... just a little further north, at least 5 hours sailing! It is 4pm. So we start again our way to Pauillac but with 1 hour delay, the current starts to reverse. We arrive with a lot of difficulty around 10:30 pm, exhausted, the engine is running, we ease the mainsail and then the genoa... and after a few tens of seconds, the boat turns around by itself. In fact, without sail, the engine (20 hp) does not have enough power to go upstream. Finally, after 45 minutes, with the genoa and the engine at 2.800 rpm, we went back up the 500 m to find a buoy to tie up and spend the night in safety.
The day rises, we are awakened by a noise of engine. We realize that we are 50 m from the harbor pass where we have an appointment at 7.30 am to dismast.
Hazardous crossing of the Pont de Pierre in Bordeaux
Once the mast is on the bridge, the trip up the Gironde is fast and easy, despite an impressive chop, muddy waters even covering the bridge from time to time. I don't show my concern, but I find myself in a river rated force 3 or 4 in kayak, a sport I practiced during my adolescence.
We arrive at 200 m from the famous "Pont de pierre" in Bordeaux. Mimmie tells me to stop and to make ½ turn, the lights are all red... A huge construction barge is in the middle, I put the helm on port. There, we find ourselves facing the current. The boat is attracted in the whirlpool of the sling securing the barge, I push the engine to the limit, the Rose'n hardly moves forward, but gets closer to the barge... The boat of "la Fluviale" comes to us and asks us why we made ½ turn ? Mimmie shows her the red lights and they tell us that it is a mistake and that we can pass. The engine screams at 3000 rpm. We are less than 8 m from the sling. I manage to make ½ turn to port, taking advantage of the wake of the speedboat which accompanies us until behind the piles of the bridge... Phew we passed, a hand sign greeting the agents of "la Fluviale". Our faces are marked by the stress of the moment.
Hanging from the moorings!
We have an appointment with our friends, at the port of Bègles that we join a few minutes later but... impossible to stop, the current is so strong that the engine of the Rose'n cannot overcome it and we miss our mooring twice. It will be the same at the 4 other possible stops up the Garonne. 9:30 pm, the night falls, Mimmie is in front with a torch to guide me, the current always pushes us and it is only at 11:30 pm that we arrive at the doors of the canal of Castets-en-Dorthe.
We did not find the dock which is however present on the river map that we have (we will discover the next day that it is under water). We make 3 turns and we decide to tie up to the "Duc d'Albe". It is 11:45 pm, we are exhausted, but with the feeling of being safe. We send messages to the children: "All clear, everything is fine!"
It is midnight. A cracking noise makes me leave the cabin. I check the moorings and I realize that there is no more water under the boat. It is suspended! It starts to list little by little. The Garonne is emptying like a bathtub... Quickly, we gather some things and we take refuge on the dry land. The boat continues to sink up to 45°. The night in the moonlight is long and cool, but the fatigue plunges me into sleep until the early morning. Scared, Mimmie could not sleep.
It's daytime, I approach the bank and I see from far, the Rose'n put on a rock, held by the mooring lines that I had doubled fortunately!
We wait for 8:00 am to call the lock keeper who arrives... around 9:45 am. In the meantime, the Garonne river rises again. The boat is floating again. The explanation that a local resident had given us was coming true. I went back on board, but apart from the overturned drawers and other storages and a little water in the cabin due to the drinking water reserve (80 l), no other damage. The engine starts and I get in front of the huge doors of the first lock. The Rose'n enters. The water rises and we are back on the canals, in complete safety! 24 hours of rest will be necessary before resuming the journey.
The rest of the trip is much more peaceful. Combining the end of the vacations and the weekends, Rose'n arrived in Canet-en-Roussillon under a great sun on September 24th at 1:00 pm.
