We Had 373 Miles to Sail… Before Our Riggers Left.

We had 373 miles to sail — and our riggers were leaving the country.
If we missed the deadline, our 40-year-old rigging would have to carry us even farther.

The message came while we were walking through the thousand-year-old abbey at Mont Saint-Michel. Our new standing rigging had finally shipped to the Netherlands — but the riggers had another commitment and were leaving soon.

That started a race north from Saint-Malo to Breskens.

Over 373 miles we faced:

• A 35-knot squall that loaded every wire
• Dense fog entering Dover
• UK and French Border Patrol managing desperate immigrants on small rafts
• Heavy shipping traffic in the English Channel
• A weather forecast that didn’t cooperate
• And the decision to push — or pull the plug

This is offshore sailing when maintenance deadlines collide with real-world weather.

We made it to Breskens — but not without testing every part of the boat… and ourselves.

⛵ Next episode: The mast comes down.

If you enjoy real offshore decision-making, weather strategy, and honest cruising life, subscribe and sail with us.

**Chapters:
0:00 373 Miles. A Hard Deadline
0:35 The Message That Started the Race
3:46 Leaving Saint Malo
4:47 Freighters, Locks & Early Tension
6:04 86 Miles to the Solent
8:36 Sailing the Solent
11:03 35 Knots on 40-Year-Old Rigging
12:35 Fog at Dover
15:21 Shipping Lanes and Close Calls - the migrant boats
17:48 Weather Turns Against Us - The Rant
19:35 Do We Push or Abort?
20:39 Final 17 Miles
22:17 373 Miles Later…
22:55 The Mast Comes Down



**Links:
The Rigging Issue Starts:
Ep 30. Searching for Rigging replacements in a foreign land. Music, the Oodi, Baltic racing
https://youtu.be/2OCRWeVHQuM?si=QOwB0NGc1oeaf7LG

Testing the Rigging:
Episode 19 - Shetland to Norway, Crossing the North Sea in October
https://youtu.be/i32Rf6Q_DJM?si=8DusNjMBjDIeOOfu

First Trip across the English Channel/North Sea:
Episode 39 Netherlands France UK Belgium Finale
https://youtu.be/LM9WmDBZKOM?si=FFVXPcfiMB6mnWkr

Season 4 playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHDMp7bh5XpXpqjGAEVVqVLUZmgNSSFYG

Bresken's Rigging:
https://breskensriggingservice.com/en/

#SailingLife #OffshoreSailing #LiveaboardLife #EnglishChannel #BoatMaintenance #SailboatLife #CruisingCouple #BluewaterSailing