BREST: After more than 2,000 nautical miles at sea, we finally see Brest in our bough. We cleaned, tidied up and berthed Underveis at a marina in town, and set off to Paris by train.
On Boxing day we will return to Paris to spend a weeks time, celebrating New year and see the city together with Cedric, William and Anais. Rune has been to Paris several times, but never had any time to go sightseeing, whereas Finn Olav has visited the family before. In the beginning of January, we intend to return to Brest, where Underveis is currently berthed. We have a couple of minor repairs to attend to before we set sails for La Coruna in Spain.
As Christmas draws near, we have summed up our trip so far. We have now been on our way for four months. In that time we have covered more than 2,000 nautical miles (3,500 km) since our outward passage from Rost. We have toiled through storms, gales, stubborn tidal currents, rain and thunder, and spent wo months on our journey through the British isles alone. It has at times been almost unbearable. But most of all, it has been a fantastic trip, and we both agree that our circumnavigation has been everything we hoped and dreamed for so far, and more.
BREST: Underveis has reached Brest in France and we are now taking a couple of weeks on shore to celebrate Christmas and visit good friends in Paris and London.
Christmas celebration is Underveis
DOLPHINS: We saw the first dolphins already in St. Georges channel, and here is a "French" specimen of dolphin, racing Underveis to Brest. The seemingly playful and elegant animals made us happy, and reminded us that we have now officially reached southern shores.
After two days of sailing from Milford Haven, Underveis reached Brest. We have seen numerous dolphins and had a great ride in every respect. As of now we are in Paris, with the family Randi and Jean-Charles Burgoint, and having a great time. We are going to London tomorrow by TGV-train, and will be celebrating Christmas Eve in the Norwegian Sailors Church in London. They will be making a traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner, and we will be writing articles and stories about them. We will be staying at Unni, Finn Olavs cousins place, and we are looking very forward to that.
SUNRISE: The maritime traffic around Lands End and in the English channel is formidable, and we had to be very cautious. Many ships were huge, and we felt very, very small at times. The weather was perfect from Milford to Brest.
Brest is situated on 48 degrees and 15 minutes northly latitude, and Rost at some 67 degrees. This means that the climate is a lot milder here than there, something we really appreciate. As we reach La Coruna in mid-January, we will hopefully have a couple of hot and sunny months ahead before we set our course for the Falklands in the spring. We intend to enjoy those months to the fullest extent!
But for now, we are enjoying ourselves in the big city, it is an absurd experience to live in a large, Parisian flat after having spent 4 months in a narrow sailing yacht. Dry beds, immovable floors and you can move freely about, without having to consider the weather forecast first. Incredible!
We want to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa!
Christmas greetings from Underveis,
Rune and Finn Olav
