Cassini blog#157 A few days in Marseille before the leg to Gibraltar
Cassini's blog
Simon and Sally, Nigel and Catherine
Sat 26 Apr 2025 06:24
| A few days in Marseille before the leg to Gibraltar Having launched the boat successfully from the dry dock at Port Navy services, we spent a night aboard before leaving for the 24 miles to Old Town Marseille marina. We managed to sail very nearly all the way on the headsail at a reasonable 5-6 kn. It wasn’t particularly sunny but Catherine and I managed with sweatshirts and saloupettes. Passing close to Chateau D’Iff (where Dante was imprisoned) the approach to the Vieux-Port was heavily fortified and Marseille itself looked impressive in a “ shabby chic” wrapper. After fuelling we tied up on our booked berth and were looking forward to a drink and a relax…….we should have known better! Simon and Nigel decided that conditions were perfect for reattaching the main sail, hardly a zephyr of a breeze meant we could reattach and hoist the sail without any danger to ourselves or the boat……. 2 hours later we had just about finished when Pauline and Romain arrived: two of the “ facebook crew” for the return Atlantic leg. They had come to Marseille for the Easter weekend from their home in Lyon and it was fabulous to see them again. After a few drinks on board, Nigel Simon, Romain and Pauline ventured into the town for supper. Both Catherine and I declined in favour of a hot shower and an early night. Saturday morning was taken up with finding a supermarket and supplies, back to Cassini for a bite of lunch then off into town for a new phone cover for Nigel, jumpers for Catherine and a toaster to replace the yacht one that inexplicably stopped working between toast rounds at breakfast! An explore that might have included a beer or the odd glass of rose finished off the afternoon. On Sunday, Easter Sunday, Catherine and I found the Anglican Church and thoroughly enjoyed the morning service, including an adult baptism and a first Holy Communion. Traditional Easter hymns and a combination of English and French language. Quite a comparison to Easter 2024 when we went to the service in Dominica. Coffee in a cafe after church then a hike to the Norte Dame de la Garde which we had been assured was worth the uphill walk…….. unfortunately for us it wasn’t…… closed between 12 and 2pm (see picture below). So we took a few photos and ambled back down to one of the pretty squares in town for a wine and tapas lunch. Back to Cassini where the boys had worked hard finishing off a number of jobs like replacing the two leaking saloon hatches, running a new speed transducer and fitting the repaired controller for our wind generator. We rounded the day off with roast lamb, roast potatoes Ninja style with fresh veg and a delicious Easter brioche to finish, with chocolate obviously! Monday; Mark and Liz arrived and by 12 noon we were all smartened up for lunch with Pauline and Romain. They had booked a delightful restaurant where we shared platters of French deliciousness and had a vey jolly time with one and all reminiscing about Atlantic crossings! Unfortunately there is a problem with the dinghy engine, plan is to take another look at it in Gibraltar where there might be more help and more time available. Tuesday, another round of French pastries at breakfast and further final preps for sailing. We all 6 went for a late lunch in my chosen restaurant in the square, Moules Mariniere for me. Yum. Wednesday, a full safety briefing for the crew and last minute water top up, final kit checks and then at 11am I waved Cassini off from the jetty for their 700 miles to Gibraltar. I then walked to the station, caught the bus to the airport, flew into Heathrow, used the Elizabeth line to Reading and was home in the village by 5.30pm. Easy peasy… rather more so than the 1st 24 hours aboard Cassini… Sally    Atlantic Crew re-union (less Coleman) View from Notre Dame Cassini leaving Marseille for Gibraltar |
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