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Logbook of the crew 2018

April

May

June

July

August

March

26   27   28  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_  1     2  _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_  3    _cc781948-bad35-94cde-3194-bad

5     6  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b- 136bad5cf58d_  7     8_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b- 136bad5cf58d_     9  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b- 136bad5cf58d_ 10   11

12   13   14  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_15   16   17  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_18

19   20   21  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_22   23   24  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_25

26   27   28 _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b- 136bad5cf58d_ 29   30   31  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_1

2      3    _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_4      5    _cc781905- 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_6     7     8

9    10   11  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_12   13   14  _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_15

16   17   18  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_19   20   21  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_22

23   24   25  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_26   27   28  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_29

30     1    _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_2     3    _cc781905-5cde- 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_4     5    _cc781905- 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_6

7     8    _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_9    10    11_cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_  12   13

14   15   16  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_17   18   19  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_20

21   22   23  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_24   25   26  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_27

28   29   30  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_31     1   _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_2     3

4      5    _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_6     7    _cc781905-5cde -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_8     9    10

11   12   13 _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b- 136bad5cf58d_ 14   15   16_cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_  17

18    19   20  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_21   22   23  _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_24

25   26   27  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_28   29    30  _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_  1

2      3    _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_4      5    _cc781905- 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_6     7     8

9    10   11  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_12   13   14  _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_15

23   24   25  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_26   27   28  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_29

16   17   18  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_19   20   21  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_22

30    31    _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_1     2    _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_3    4    5

13   14   15  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_16   17   18  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_19

6     7    _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_8    9    10  _cc781905-5cde -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_11   12

20   21   22  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_23   24   25  _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_26

27   28   29  _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_30    31    1  _cc781905-5cde- 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_  2

 ~ Last week: preparation for wintering and handover  ~

Crew change in Porto Santo Stefano : Alex and Isabelle give way to Jean-Luc, Marthe and Marie. With the heat wave, it is difficult to keep food in the boat. Also, we stock up on ice cubes to keep the cooler cool for the trip. We also fill all our cans with drinking water, and the shelves are full of seasonal fruits and vegetables : peaches, melons, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, apricots… Refueling finished, plenty of gas- Here we go, we set sail ! Ciao Italy, we are going back to sea where new gyres are waiting for us ! On the road, we drop anchor for a swim on the small island of Giannutri. The area is full of big luxury yachts, and you feel a bit out of place when maneuvering the Labo ! We leave after having inspected the keel of the boat, a good fairing will be necessary after the winter ! We take 2 samples between Giannutri and Porto Vecchio. With the heat wave, the 100 meters of end begin to be felt…

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08/06

08/07

We arrive in Porto Vecchio, in Corsica. The area is superb, but bad luck, there is no more room in the port… or so we are told ! We try to drop anchor in the anchorage area, but it's really far from the coast, and we have to fill up with water and diesel… Sarah and Marie inflate the dinghy and make the crossing rowing with empty cans. In the meantime, a friendly porto-Vecchiais offers us a place to moor Le Labo in his port. The maneuver is very acrobatic, but Le Labo is finally moored to the pontoon. After many trips back and forth with arms laden with food and cans of water, the crew is exhausted and everyone returns to their berth hoping for a little cool night air.

08/08

Usual awakening on a day of departure : we can't wait to leave the port… except our old Perkins engine which refuses to start. With all this heat without a bit of wind, it has been in high demand lately... We take out the toolbox and open the bonnet, and we already know that we won't be leaving before noon... After fiddling with the hoses and the cooling circuits, we finally find the origin of the problem : the coolant has turned into mayonnaise. We purge the liquid, we find (by a miracle) a piece of hose to replace one that was starting to weaken a little, and here is our reinvigorated engine ! We leave around noon, and we decide to set sail to catch the slightest draft that would relieve the engine…and our ears.

08/09

Passage in front of Bonifacio at night, we enjoy a magnificent fireworks display. The night is magnificent, and the crew is struggling to go to bed despite the night shifts which continue. In the morning, a few clouds, but nothing frightening according to the weather forecasts. We pick up the latest weather report announcing heavy storms on the French coast, right towards Marseille, where we are heading. Well it's not ideal, but we should avoid them by changing the cap : we go in a straight line on the continent, straight on Borme-les-Mimosas. Several net samples are taken again. In the afternoon, the wind picks up and Le Labo is well carried by a fresh breeze… well, it's coming from that cloud over there it seems… and it's getting closer quickly no ? ... In a few minutes, the light breeze turns into a real storm. Marie and Sarah throw themselves on the deck to lower the mainsail, Christophe at the helm, Jean-Luc distributes the survival vests and everyone clings : The Lab is caught in a big thunderstorm. The hours pass and the storms follow one another, then all of a sudden everything becomes calm again, the sky is revealed, there is no longer a sound. We find our summer constellations, and sleep.

08/10

More than a day before arriving on land. There is some damage to the boat due to the storm… But everything is repairable. The weather is beautiful, downwind, a bright sun and there is still some Corsican charcuterie ! We come across several groups of fin whales advancing very close to the boat, a turtle, dolphins… in short, here we are back in the pelago sanctuary.

08/11

We arrive in Borme-les-Mimosas the next day. A good night's sleep for everyone before heading back to Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, the last stopover of the Sea Plastics 2018 expedition.

08/12

The last sail is going wonderfully, with an onshore wind coming abeam and pushing the Lab towards its wintering port. We arrive in Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône at night, and the whole crew admires the fires of the oil refineries, and the giant container ships sleeping in the bay of Martigues, which give a totally surreal atmosphere to our arrival.

The Lab finds its place. Sarah and Marie dread the return to land. We'll have to go back to class and sit all day in the auditorium. There is no wind in the classrooms.

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