BY GINNY WARE POSTCARD from Leonie
AFTeR LIVINg ABoARD oN THe RIVeR DART FoR eIgHT YeARs gINNY WARe AND HeR HusBAND CARL seT sAIL FoR FRANCe AND BeYoND. HeRe’s AN uPDATe oN HoW THeY ARe geTTINg oN
SOON after setting sail from Menton on a 105-nautical-mile voyage to Corsica a swell rose in the otherwise flat sea that lasted an hour. Later, we heard the French Riviera
town had in quick succession jud- dered under the force of two earth- quakes, measuring five on the richter Scale, hours after our departure. It was the second time we had dodged a drama at the popular resort. A month earlier Leonie was lucky to escape unscathed from a pontoon fire which destroyed eight boats in 15 minutes. We were with friends on the other side of town when our live-aboard neighbours phoned to alert us to the raging inferno on the pontoon directly opposite our mooring, some 25 metres away.
Thanks to the windless night the
fire, bolstered by several exploding gas bottles, did not spread to our pontoon. Luckily no-one was hurt in the
disaster. We were faced with our own
personal disaster 13 hours into our 25-hour passage to Corsica,which
threatened to spell the end, at least for now, of our long-planned Mediterranean cruise. Resuming our trip after over-
wintering in Menton was a bitter- sweet experience. We were sad to say goodbye to
good friends made there including John and Irene who shared with us a love of French wine and walking
in the beautiful snow-capped Alps Maritime and fellow classic yacht owner, chef and talented artist Yves Bosio whose lovely parting gift of a painted plan drawing of Leonie we shall treasure. But we were also eager to
continue our adventure. as the wind ebbed and flowed
around us we gradually eased our- selves into the routine of sailing and motoring from place to place. With the setting sun Carl and I took turns at the helm while the other rested below. The moonlight picked out a sleek grey dolphin gracefully slipping in and out of the water alongside Leonie’s cockpit 10-mintes into my inaugural solo night-shift, calming my fluttering stomach and filling me with confi- dence and a quiet awe. The peace was shattered at midnight with the bleeping of the oil alarm. As we were more than halfway into our journey we decided to press ahead rather than turn back. The oil level had dropped and there was oil in the bilge, which suggested a leak. The worst case scenario was a
cracked cylinder head which would have meant a costly rebuild or a new £5,000 engine. Both options would have forced us to return to the UK to raise enough money to fix the problem. Luckily the wind had picked up
Lyon, Pyrenees and Mont Blanc
Two dolphins alongside Leonie as she sails towards Corsica.
The passage from Elba to Giglio.
Yves presenting Carl with his painting of Leonie
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