Sat 25 Aug

Our day began at 03:00 when we awoke to find ourselves tumbling around in a washing machine. This time we couldn’t just up and leave as we were holed-up waiting for the Mistral winds to arrive later today, so somehow we had to stop the relentless rocking. We scrambled around for the head torches, put on some clothes and went up on deck.

There are a few methods sailors can use to dampen the effect of the waves. You can drop a second anchor to hold you into the swell (it was pitch black, so we weren’t attempting that), set a riding sail (which we don’t have) or rig a Flopper Stopper, which we did. The basic idea is you hang something over the side, lower it beneath the waterline and its weight counterbalances the rocking. Our chosen weapon was a bucket hung out on a pole. The bloody thing however refused to sink so we had to drown it by putting 5m of chain in it. Mildly impressed with our contraption, and at how it was working we went back to bed and got some sleep.

For tonight we’d booked ourselves a night in St Florent marina to sit out the impending wind, and before it picked up we headed in and were safely moored up by 12:30. A few hours later the wind showed no sign of arriving so we were starting to wonder if we’d made the right decision. Still, it was to give us the chance to give the boat and the dinghy a much needed clean.

We were mid way through dismantling the dinghy when out of literally nowhere the first (of what was to be many) gusts came screaming through the marina. 30kt winds whistled through the rigging and had the boats dancing on their lines. Where did that come from!? It lasted about 15 minutes then completely dropped off – to zero. It’d made for some pretty impressive clouds too.

These hefty gusts continued all afternoon and by 17:00 four other boats who’d been anchored had made the run for the marina. Early evening we took a walk along the sea wall and watched the few brave (or were they uninformed?) souls who’d remained in the bay; safe but not looking comfortable. By 22:00 the marina the sea levels had risen to such an extent that the bottoms of the boats were level with the dock, and in many places the water was lapping over the stone quay.

We had dinner on the boat, holding everything down on the table each time a gust came whipping through, and went to bed. At 03:30 (it’s becoming a popular time for us?) a massive gust woke us up and like a jack-in-a-box we sprung bleary eyed up on deck to check all was well. It had the same effect on our neighbours too, most of whom were in the same state of undress, stretching and yawning. We exchanged waves, waited for it to pass then and back to bed.