Boat work and Boat Yards and cold French weather
We arrived back in France at the boat yard in Port Saint Louis in mid-October 2025 with the intention of spending around two weeks doing the usual jobs to get Phantomas back into the water and ready to sail to Gibraltar. This was the longest we had ever left the boat, and the preparations Tony had done had paid off with no leaks found anywhere in the boat.
Did we tell you it’s cold in France?
There was a number of jobs that had been weighing on Tony’s mind. The generator had caused us problems the year before and trying to find a supplier for spare parts was difficult but not impossible. The required parts were fitted and did the trick, and the generator is back to good working order. The batteries were another issue worrying Tony. The boat has 8 batteries in a bank and to replace one or two is not too much of an issue but if we had to replace the lot we would have much lighter wallets. Luckily, we only needed to replace 2.
There was also some damage to one of the keels that Tony had noticed the year before so he had cut out some of the keel in the hope that it would dry out during the time on the hard. It had worked to a point but there was a lot more water damage than first found and with fibre glassing not being Tony’s strong suit he reluctantly made the best repair he could manage but it wasn’t exactly to his usual high standards. We are going to get that fixed at the end of this season.
Did we tell you it’s really cold in France?
The previous year we had engaged the services of the local sail loft to measure up for a new main sail, and the measurements were taken and the job was then sent to the factory in China to be made. On returning to the boat, getting the sail fitted was high on the priority list of jobs. The day came when the sailmaker Patrick delivered the sail to the boat. It is very dangerous to raise sails on a boat not in the water because as you could imagine if the wind got hold of the sail it could tip the boat off its stands. This day was very calm, perfect for the job in hand. It took around two hours to fit and raise the sail and upon lowering the uphaul on the boom, the boom was sitting on top of the cockpit canopy which is not good. Basically, the sail had been cut too long. So, the sail we had ordered back in 2024 was now in 2025, when we needed to meet the crew for the Atlantic crossing by a certain date, not suitable for the boat!
FAAAARK!!!!! Was one of the words heard mentioned around this time. Tony was stunned; Patrick was stunned and I was thinking WTF are we going to do. Patrick left to call the factory, and we waited for him to return.
There were only two options available to fix this situation.
- Patrick could modify the sail and shorten the length, not ideal.
- The factory would make a new sail and then fly it into France.
The second option was the only real option and with the promise that it would take two weeks and no longer we agreed to that. At this point it was only the end of October, and we believed we would have the whole of November to sail leisurely along the Spanish Coast. Waiting two weeks for the sail wasn’t going to impact us that much so we decided to get out of the boat yard for a week and ended up flying to London. See London Visit.
Did we tell you it’s so cold in France we had to buy more warm things?
As it turned out, two weeks ran into nearly 31/2 weeks, and you can only imagine the frustration and anger that was developing. We had crew flying into Gibraltar on the 7th of December. The other factor that was a problem was the weather and the wind. It was getting very cold and the wind systems just kept coming so even if we got the sail, fitting it would still be a problem.
We finally got news that the sail would be delivered to Partrick on 25th of November so we launched the boat that morning and moved down to the town dock right near the sail loft. As it was again, the wind was terrible and getting worse the next two days so we loaded the sail onto the boat and if needed we would leave without fitting the sail and do it later. Later that afternoon the wind dropped and we jumped on the chance to fit the sail finishing when it was dark and wearing head torches to see. Thank God!
Did we tell you it’s still cold in France even with new warm things?
We waited out the next day on the dock as 35-50 knot winds blew and the following day, we had to get off the dock so went out to an anchorage while the wind continued to blow. The plan was to leave the next day, Friday 28th November giving us 10 days to sail to Gibraltar. There goes the leisurely sail along the coast, possibly dropping into Barcelona one more time, visiting Valencia maybe. Not to be.
Did we tell you it’s colder when you are sailing in France?
We left 8.30am Friday the 28th and didn’t stop sailing/motor sailing until Tuesday 2nd December when we pulled up for a rest. We got going again the next day and sailed until Thursday lunchtime when we filled up with fuel and anchored again for the night and upon checking the weather stayed the next day as well and started early on the 6th of December to do the final run through to La Linea/Gibraltar. We arrived that afternoon and tied up in the marina on the Spanish side and had another sleep.
Did we tell you it’s not as cold in Spain as it is in France?
We had just sailed 750nm in 9 days and got to the destination before our crew from Esperance Campbell and Tim. We did, however, not get to the airport on time to meet them off their plane, we must have missed each other as we were heading to meet them, they were heading to the boat. So, we can organise ourselves to travel 750nm in time but not to get to the airport!!
So with the remaining crew of Mark and Agnieszka due to arrive on the Sunday the crew was nearly complete. All that had to happen was for me to get on a plane and fly home. Yes, I had done my part of the plan by helping get the boat to Gibraltar and now I was bowing out and leaving the crossing to those who had the enthusiasm for the job. I have a close relationship with land and so was not comfortable parting company from it for the required time an Atlantic Crossing would take.
