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The Bay of Biscay

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Some of the fiercest weather conditions of the Atlantic Ocean can be witnessed in the Biscay Bay. The area is home to large storms during the winter months and there have been countless ships wrecks reported from the area as a result of the gruesome weather.

KaranC [https://www.marineinsight.com/life-at-sea/why-the-bay-of-biscay-is-dangerous-for-ships/]

 

The Bay of Biscay has a fearsome reputation. So, being someone who prefers fair-weather sailing whenever possible, I had taken a morbid interest in the area for some time before boarding Astor. I had followed weather reports, wave height charts, wind predictions, specialized information about the Bay of Biscay specifically. I had steeled myself to be ready to cope with whatever the ocean was going to throw at us.

We slipped away form the London Cruise Terminal at Tilbury while passengers were all engaged in their lifeboat drills. Quietly slipping down the Thames, we entered the Channel about tea time. It’s a very busy waterway and I was glad to be confident in our crew’s capabilities, the ship’s navigation facilities and her obvious seaworthiness.

It was a very pleasant evening and we slept well. By morning we were approaching the dreaded Bay. Tilbury to the Bay is not a very long time to get one’s sea legs. During other voyages we had found that we became so used to the ship’s soothing motion that we only noticed the lack of it when we disembarked to go ashore and wobbled like drunken sailors. We were not at that stage as we approached the feared area.

Leaving Brest to port, we proceeded at a steady 18 knots towards Madeira as we arrived at the northern entrance to the Bay. So far, so good. Nothing much had changed. No wall of mountainous seas; no screaming hurricanes. Have we taken a wrong turning??

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The sky was quite grey and covered in cloud, there was a breeze blowing and the waves were not more than one metre high. It seems we had managed to enter this sea on one of those, relatively rare, occasions when it was relatively calm. Being an optimist, I, of course, couldn’t believe it would last the entire crossing. Surely the worst was just ahead and would be really scary! We sailed on. And on, and on. The caption told us it was one of the calmest crossings he had made and that we were very lucky.

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I’m very happy to be lucky!! Madeira here we come!!

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We’re Sailing from Tilbury Docks

Day 32

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It was a rimy morning, and very damp. I had seen the damp lying on the outside of my little window … while it dripped, it seemed to my oppressed conscience like a phantom devoting me to the Hulks.

(C Dickens, Great Expectations)

 

We are heading from Edinburgh down to Tilbury to board the ship home. It sounds simple enough. Maybe it would have been had we taken a taxi to the airport, flown to London airport and taken a taxi to Tilbury. But where’s the fun in that?

Everything starts with coffee. Good coffee. So we visit the Italian coffee shop across the road from our apartment to say Goodbye and receive a friendly “Buon viaggio” from Toni, and then head to Waverley Station.

Trains

When we were arranging our travel to and from Edinburgh we somehow came under the mistaken impression that there was a High Speed Train service and that we were on it. I gather there will be, eventually, maybe by 2020, but we were definitely not on it for this trip. The run up to Edinburgh was quite enjoyable with only 1 stop and arriving on time. Going back to London it turned out that we had to ‘Change at Crewe’ – with some delay. And it turned out that, being Sunday afternoon, the train was packed to the gunnels with returning Londoners heading back for a week’s work.

Euston

But we survived. Intrepid you see! At Euston station we had to pick up the large cases we had left, and then get to Fenchurch for the train to Tilbury. Actually to Chafford Hundred where we were staying the night. It really is a place!

I had discovered that you can book a mini cab for the ride to Fenchurch and that it would be cheaper and avoid queues for a London cab. Unfortunately it turned out to be a dodgy deal. Mini cabs are not allowed to pick up in London stations so you have to get in the mini cab at the ‘taxi drop off point’. We headed there. But you have to be phoned by the cab for them to arrange the ‘swoop-in-and-grab’. Since we were using data Sims in the UK we could not be phoned and the mini cab didn’t use apps like WhatsApp or Skype so we waited a while and then headed to the London Cab rank and got a black cab. Not the cheapest solution considering we had paid the mini cab on-line and didn’t get a refund.

At Fenchurch Station we lugged our large cases to the waiting train and scrambled on. The trip is almost an hour. As we progressed, more and more people got on at each station. The carriages became quite crowded. The prospect of getting all our large cases off at the station looked as though it would be impossible. I shouldn’t have worried. As we scrambled up to attempt the exit, many hands sprang into action helping, passing cases on to the platform; holding back the doors to get us safely and quickly off the train. Such lovely kindness from absolute strangers.

There were 2 taxis at the station. You could tell business wasn’t brisk on a Sunday afternoon at Chafford Hundred. The one at the head had probably been there quite a while. He was a bit incredulous when we gave him our destination since it was a mere couple of hundred yards. However, with our cases and the early evening drizzle we obviously needed help. And he was very good natured in helping us get to our guest house. In fact we booked him then and there to collect us in the morning and take us to the Cruise Centre.

Tilbury

Goodbye England. We’ve had a lovely time and experienced so much that was interesting and fun. Now were about to head off on a Grand Voyage.