Welcome to our neighborhood (August 02)
It’s hard to know where to begin. We are doing wonderfully, are delighted to be here, loving every day and eager to be in touch with you. We hope to hear back from you, and will try 1) to respond individually and 2) not to wait too long ‘til the next newsletter. Here is an introduction to our neighborhood.
Our boat, Bloom, is docked in the old port of St. Jean Cap Ferrat, on the Riviera between Monaco and Nice. Unlike U.S. ports, there are no docks perpendicular to the main piers that allow boats to pull up side-to-the-dock. Instead, we are backed into our pier and we have a gangway, called a passerelle, which goes from the stern of our boat to the pier. We pull the passerelle up at night and when we leave the boat, and we lock it to the pier when we sail. We are the last boat on our pier and there is some open water on our port side.
We are surrounded by boats. As we sit in the cockpit facing town we see on our left a small fleet of the double-ended fishing boats common in every port here, as well as some other smaller boats. Just in back of them is a lovely old hotel, the Voile d”Or (Golden Sail). Ahead is our own pier with both sailboats and motorboats moored. To our right are more boats – we see a forest of masts—and behind everything, sweeping around us on three sides, are the shops and homes of St. Jean. Lower down we see apartments and smaller homes, with larger villas up the hillsides. Some are spectacular, including those that were once owned by David Niven and Charlie Chaplin, and another built with newer money by Bill Gates’ second in command. (Speaking of celebrities, Abby thinks she spotted the actress Helen Mirren in front of a fancy shop. Tom is on the lookout for Jack Nicholson, who is said to visit his brother here every August.) The colors are the many shades of yellow and pink typical of the Mediterranean, with blue and green accents, tile roofs and dark green foliage everywhere.
If we look the other way, toward the sea, we see sailboats at their docks, larger motor yachts further out and, on our right, a sea wall that protects the natural harbor. Beyond that is the bay, where boats in transit are anchored, including some huge private yachts. One, the Christina O., belonged to the Onassis family until two Irishmen bought it; two others have their own helicopters onboard. Beyond the bay is the open sea.
Across the bay from our harbor we see the town of Beaulieu, where we do much of our grocery shopping. Behind Beaulieu running west to east is the semi-arid, rocky hillside that runs along the sea to Monaco and after that, to Italy. There are three corniches, or coastal roads, that traverse the hillside -- a lower, middle and an upper. At night, their lights are scalloped along them like necklaces, and our area is called the Pays des Trois Corniches – Land of Three Coastal Roads.
There are about two dozen boats on our dock. Two older Frenchmen, Michel and Claude, live permanently on their boats. Our immediate neighbor, Ivan, has a beautiful old wooden boat he has been restoring for six years. He just got new sails for it and it is stunning. Ivan lives in an apartment in town and spends most evenings on his boat. There are two retired French couples, Dani and August and Janine and Pierre, who have homes elsewhere and are here for most of the summer. There are several English families. One couple, Eunice and Jeff, have been especially helpful to us, and have taken us shopping in their car and generally looked after us. They live in the north of England and probably spend about a third of their time here, throughout the year. There is a very lively German dentist opposite. His name is Lupo, he has a wealth of sailing experience and is extremely knowledgeable about the Med. He has to tear himself away from here to go back to work. The captain of the port and his wife, Claude and Suzanne, are here, there is a man who runs a sailing school and a young mom with two girls. There are a few spots for visitors as well, and we usually have one or two Italian families on holiday. We love the mix of languages – everyone has at least some French and most people have a little English as well.
We enjoy the shopping and cooking here. Fruits and vegetables are beautiful and plentiful. A young Lebanese couple has a farm stand on the plaza in town and we visit them almost every day. We don’t have an oven, so we’ve installed a marine barbecue, gas-powered, that works wonderfully. We especially like the way it gets the heat outside the boat. The cabin heats up quickly when we’re using the stove inside – no doubt we’ll appreciate that in winter. We have a great butcher and two wonderful bakeries right up the street. For our staples we go to Beaulieu.
Not many cruisers winter in France, we think because France is more expensive than other countries in the Med. A cruising couple whom Tom met on Lake Michigan several years ago has been anchored here this week. They wintered in Barcelona last year and are heading to Tunisia for the coming winter. They have given us great cruising tips as well as sources for cruisers’ needs and we have enjoyed visiting with them. We would like to stay in France until next spring, then cruise for the 2003 season and winter elsewhere, possibly as far as Turkey, for 2003-2004.
So our life here so far has been less about sailing and more about getting used to living onboard and in Europe. The boat is small and well designed. The inside is finished in mahogany and very inviting. Ceilings and counters are off-white and there are enough windows so there is plenty of light. The amount of storage is amazing for the size of the boat, but it does require more careful organization than is natural for either of us (we can hear you laughing). We’re getting there.
We’ve spent most of our time outfitting the boat both for sailing and living. We’ve done some sailing locally, and have a favorite anchorage at the nearby town of Villefranche. Anchoring is more private and peaceful than being in port, and we can swim right off the boat. It’s less convenient in other ways, though, and for right now it’s good to have the option of port or anchorage.
We did have an interesting experience when we chose the anchoring option a few nights ago. We had gone to Antibes to sail and have dinner with friends there. It was getting late, so we decided to spend the night at an anchorage near there. When we arrived, just as the sun was setting, we were surprised that the only other boats in the bay were a few very large motor yachts. Soon we found out why. When we tried to set our anchor on the bottom, we just couldn’t get it to bite. Instead, the anchor caught and immediately pulled loose. When we raised it to try again, the anchor was loaded with eelgrass, the scourge of Mediterranean anchorages. We pulled the eelgrass off with the boat hook (you have to catch the stuff from underneath and pull out, but it wants to hang on), and tried again – six times in different places in the bay, and to no avail. Finally we gave up and made an unexpected -- but lovely and romantic -- two-hour trip by moonlight back to Villefranche, and anchored there.
It’s almost always sunny. The sky is blue, the water is blue, the air is perfectly clear. Daily temperatures are typically in the high 70’s and low 80’s. Humidity is usually though not always low. Nights are cooler, especially as August progresses. We are outside most of the time – our cockpit serves as living and dining room, there are two beaches nearby, one large and busy, the other smaller and more secluded, and we walk everywhere. What a treat. There are interesting things going on in town. We have been to some wonderful concerts and we saw a spectacular fireworks display on Venetian Night, apparently St. Jean’s biggest annual event.
We have had guests from home. Tom’s brother Eddie and his son Nate helped us get started sailing and were cheerful and good company. Abby’s former neighbors, Piper and Tim, were here at the end of their honeymoon; we toasted each other and ourselves with a bottle of champagne. Abby’s mother Dorothy, her brother Jon, sister-in-law Barbara and niece Susannah are coming soon. How about you?
We’re looking forward to hearing from you.
A bientot,
Copyright © Thomas and Abby Bloom, 2002
Chers Amis,
Abby and Tom