Rainy
Port Menach
Menach sea wall
Skyline
Sunrise
View up the River Aven
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Ile de Groix to River Aven - 16th August
Having stayed at Ile De Groix for a few days we were wanting a change of scenery and we had decided to start making for home so Chris and I set sail in the morning for the River Aven. The sail across was uneventful (no it wasn't it rained!!) and we arrived at Port Menach at about mid afternoon. The fact that it is called Port Menach doesn't really indicate that it's a port as it is quite shallow and there is no marina so we anchored in the river and waited for Nanuk to arrive. P and C had decided to leave Ile De Groix later and so they arrived about 2 hours after us but half way there they were caught in a torrential downpour which cut visibility dramatically and forced them to don oilies for the latter half of the trip.
Monday, 26 August 2013
FOG - every sailor's nightmare
Today Pete and Carla departed L'Aberwrac'h to sail to England (probably Falmouth or Plymouth depending on the wind). After about 5 hours we got a text saying that they had abandoned the trip due to poor visibility and they were sailing to ROSCOFF instead.
Fog at sea in a small boat is un-nerving. You feel as though you are totally alone until you hear that fog horn. When you hear one you cannot easily determine how far off it is of what direction. You can't see so you can't identify it (unless you have radar or AIS) and you have no idea if they are aware of your existence on their radar.
The rules of thumb are if you get into fog:
When we made our northbound transit of the Chenal Du Four we were engulfed in a fog bank which was completely unexpected. We implemented the rules of thumb and stuck to our course on the GPS but I had set a waypoint quite close to what I thought was a channel marker. The tide was running at about 5 knots and when we got close it loomed out of the fog and was actually a huge concrete pillar about 20 ft high and the tide was dragging us towards it. Luckily we had our engine running and were able to drive away from it - quite un-nerving!!!! While we were in the fog there were about 12 other boats in the vicinity and their fog horns were quite confusing as they all sounded the same and were coming from all around us.
We left for L'Aberwrach from Camaret on Friday 23rd August and we are still here waiting for a weather window.
Fog at sea in a small boat is un-nerving. You feel as though you are totally alone until you hear that fog horn. When you hear one you cannot easily determine how far off it is of what direction. You can't see so you can't identify it (unless you have radar or AIS) and you have no idea if they are aware of your existence on their radar.
The rules of thumb are if you get into fog:
- Nav lights on.
- Engine ticking over and ready.
- Everyone on deck to keep look out.
- Reduce speed but maintain steerage.
- Use fog horn.
- If you have radar have it on. (We have one)
- Wear wet weather gear and lifejackets
- If you are worried contact the coastguard and report your position speed and course
- Navigator to keep a record of position every few minutes
- For a small boat, if possible move to shallow water where ships can't go
When we made our northbound transit of the Chenal Du Four we were engulfed in a fog bank which was completely unexpected. We implemented the rules of thumb and stuck to our course on the GPS but I had set a waypoint quite close to what I thought was a channel marker. The tide was running at about 5 knots and when we got close it loomed out of the fog and was actually a huge concrete pillar about 20 ft high and the tide was dragging us towards it. Luckily we had our engine running and were able to drive away from it - quite un-nerving!!!! While we were in the fog there were about 12 other boats in the vicinity and their fog horns were quite confusing as they all sounded the same and were coming from all around us.
We left for L'Aberwrach from Camaret on Friday 23rd August and we are still here waiting for a weather window.
Chanal du Four without fog
1/2 hour later our visibility was 25 feet (seriously worrying)
You might say why go out in fog - well, it was not forecasted.
THE WEATHER - is our main topic of conversation!!!!
You know the old rhyme
Whether the weather is cold or whether the weather is hot
We'll weather the weather, whatever the weather
Whether we like it or not!!
Sailing is a bit like that. Sometimes you can sail to your planned destination but more often you'll have WIND ON THE NOSE. When you are day sailing between ports you may be doing between 20 and 50 miles but when it comes to the time to return home to BLIGHTY from BRITTANY you are undertaking a trip of about 70 to 100 miles depending on your desired port. This could be 12 to 20 hours sailing. The factors that you need to consider are wind direction, wind strength, daylight hours, visibility, tidal flow, wave height and swell, the capabilities of the boat you are sailing and the experience of the crew.
In the English Channel at this time of year we normally expect to see south westerly winds which will carry you home on a beam or broad reach which is the most comfortable kind of sailing.
Whether the weather is cold or whether the weather is hot
We'll weather the weather, whatever the weather
Whether we like it or not!!
Sailing is a bit like that. Sometimes you can sail to your planned destination but more often you'll have WIND ON THE NOSE. When you are day sailing between ports you may be doing between 20 and 50 miles but when it comes to the time to return home to BLIGHTY from BRITTANY you are undertaking a trip of about 70 to 100 miles depending on your desired port. This could be 12 to 20 hours sailing. The factors that you need to consider are wind direction, wind strength, daylight hours, visibility, tidal flow, wave height and swell, the capabilities of the boat you are sailing and the experience of the crew.
In the English Channel at this time of year we normally expect to see south westerly winds which will carry you home on a beam or broad reach which is the most comfortable kind of sailing.
NOT FOR ROBIN
For the non sailors among our readers a sail boat will not sail direct into the wind. If you stand facing the wind and turn either left or right by about 40 degrees that is as close to the wind as you can sail (called beating into the wind) you can see it on the diagram. so there is a zone of about 80 degrees within which you cannot sail and if your destination is within this NO GO ZONE you have to sail a zig zag course to get there (this is called TACKING). The most comfortable point of sailing is a reach. This is where the boat is pointing roughly 90 to 120 degrees from the wind so to travel from Cherbourg to Portsmouth with a SW wind you would be reaching but when the wind is in the north you either have to tack or turn on the motor. Sailing on a beat also means that you are often sailing towards the waves so your bows are butting into the water causing spray which can become quite tiring.
I'd like to also try to explain that a boat sails on what is known as the apparent wind. Consider that you are in a train in a station and there is no wind at all. When you open the window and lean out there will be no wind. However if the train was moving at 30mph when you lean out you'll experience a 30mph wind. The train is dragging you through still air and so you feel the resultant wind. A boat uses this combination wind to sail. If you have wind blowing from the west at 10mph and you are sailing east with the wind behind you at say 5mph then the wind you experience across the deck of the boat is 5mph i.e. 10-5=Apparent wind of 5mph.
In exactly the same conditions if the boat was sailing west into the wind the apparent wind would be 10+5=15mph so a beat will always be more tiring because the wind you experience is much higher and if you add to that a cold day the wind chill can be significant, so if planning a long trip you often have to wait for the wind direction to be favourable rather than just going regardless.
Ask any cruising sailor and they will agree that one of the most frustrating things is when you have wind on the nose and as we speak Chris and I are sitting in a harbour called L'aberwrac'h waiting for a North wind to alter to a West wind so that we can make a comfortable trip home to England across the channel. It looks, at the moment, to be Thursday before we'll get a favourable wind for our crossing.
Audierne to Ile De Groix (Near Lorient) - Saturday 10th August - this is the furthest south we went
The trip from Audierne to Ile De Groix involves sailing along a fairly straight coastline, rounding the Point de Penmarc'h keeping well south of the point by about four miles to clear the outlying rocks and reefs ............
............... leaving Benodet to port and sailing east towards Lorient where Ile de Groix is found about five miles off the coast. As it turned out there was hardly any wind so we motored most of the way and the engine noise aboard Nanuk was driving Pete and Carla potty so we decided to divert to Benodet entering the Odet river in which there are two marinas. One on the east bank at Benodet and the other on the west bank called Sainte-Marine. We chose the Benodet marina and took a berth there.
FACILITIES
We have been becoming more and more frustrated by the French attitude to the facilities they provide. The showers are frequently cold, cramped and often not maintained or cleaned properly and the loos are something to behold often with no seats, paper or hand wash facilities.
One of the marinas gave us a leaflet which stated that it they wanted all yachtsmen to adopt a green approach, to not deposit anything in the sea or rivers and to encourage others to have the same attitude. We totally agree with this sentiment however in all the marinas they have pump out facilities for toilet holding tanks but we couldn't find one anywhere that worked. We frequently saw sewage floating by and when you look at the sheer number of boats in this part of France you would not choose to go in swimming.
Our long standing problem of where to empty our holding tank appeared to be solved as Benodet but again the pumpout was out of commission. I asked the harbourmaster why it hadn't been serviced and he said that nobody ever uses it so why bother. I told him that we had tried to use one in Camaret with the same result and that we thought it was pretty poor service in that the harbours in Brittany were all promoting the ideal of throwing nothing into the water but when we, the sailors, try to uphold these ideals, the machinery C'est casse. I maintain that if you want to promote these clean/green ideals and encourage people to comply, you really need them to have confidence that the machinery will work when needed otherwise you will just get people using sea toilets in marinas - NASTY.
RANT OVER
Benodet itself is the main town on the river entrance and Chris and Carla went to do some shopping for supplies while I stayed with the boat to do some much needed maintenance (in other words I had a snooze but don't tell Chris).
We stayed in the marina for the night and the following day decided to explore the Odet river by boat. We motored up river with the tide for about 4 miles or so until the depth prevented us going any further. In a motor boat with no keel you can get nearly as far as Quimper but we need at least 2m of water so are restricted a bit.
The tide in the river runs very fast and we made the trip up stream in record time but had to motor against a 3 knot tide on the way back which made the going very slow. We picked up a vacant buoy for the night (a freebee) and sailed the following morning for Ile de Groix.
Rocks of the Point De Penmarc'h
Eckmuhl Light at Pointe De Penmarc'h
............... leaving Benodet to port and sailing east towards Lorient where Ile de Groix is found about five miles off the coast. As it turned out there was hardly any wind so we motored most of the way and the engine noise aboard Nanuk was driving Pete and Carla potty so we decided to divert to Benodet entering the Odet river in which there are two marinas. One on the east bank at Benodet and the other on the west bank called Sainte-Marine. We chose the Benodet marina and took a berth there.
Bridge over the Odet River
Boats in the Odet
We have been becoming more and more frustrated by the French attitude to the facilities they provide. The showers are frequently cold, cramped and often not maintained or cleaned properly and the loos are something to behold often with no seats, paper or hand wash facilities.
One of the marinas gave us a leaflet which stated that it they wanted all yachtsmen to adopt a green approach, to not deposit anything in the sea or rivers and to encourage others to have the same attitude. We totally agree with this sentiment however in all the marinas they have pump out facilities for toilet holding tanks but we couldn't find one anywhere that worked. We frequently saw sewage floating by and when you look at the sheer number of boats in this part of France you would not choose to go in swimming.
Our long standing problem of where to empty our holding tank appeared to be solved as Benodet but again the pumpout was out of commission. I asked the harbourmaster why it hadn't been serviced and he said that nobody ever uses it so why bother. I told him that we had tried to use one in Camaret with the same result and that we thought it was pretty poor service in that the harbours in Brittany were all promoting the ideal of throwing nothing into the water but when we, the sailors, try to uphold these ideals, the machinery C'est casse. I maintain that if you want to promote these clean/green ideals and encourage people to comply, you really need them to have confidence that the machinery will work when needed otherwise you will just get people using sea toilets in marinas - NASTY.
RANT OVER
Benodet itself is the main town on the river entrance and Chris and Carla went to do some shopping for supplies while I stayed with the boat to do some much needed maintenance (in other words I had a snooze but don't tell Chris).
We stayed in the marina for the night and the following day decided to explore the Odet river by boat. We motored up river with the tide for about 4 miles or so until the depth prevented us going any further. In a motor boat with no keel you can get nearly as far as Quimper but we need at least 2m of water so are restricted a bit.
A Chateau along the river
Another Chateau
The tide in the river runs very fast and we made the trip up stream in record time but had to motor against a 3 knot tide on the way back which made the going very slow. We picked up a vacant buoy for the night (a freebee) and sailed the following morning for Ile de Groix.
April Dream under Cruising Chute
on passage to Ile De Groix
Sorry can't seem to get this pic upright!!
While on Ile De Groix we went walking and bike riding so here are some views: Carla left us all for dead she was like a bicycle mounted torpedo!!!!
View across to Lorient from Ile De Groix
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
Anse Pen Hir to Audierne - Wednesday 7th August
The plan was for us to leave Anse Pen Hir at a time to link up with Nanuk on her passage from Camaret.
The forecast was for a settled morning F2 to 3 with wind increasing in the afternoon. The journey involved sailing through "The Raz De Seine" rounding La Vieille - a large lighthouse on the headland. I have included here a picture of the chart for the area which clearly shows the headland and the off-lying rocky islands. When the tide rises here the Atlantic water fills up the bay to the north and south of the headland and islands and forces water to rush through the gap either northbound or southbound causing over-falls. This is where the tidal flow gets turbulent being caught and funnelled through the gap and for yachtsmen you need to time your transit to coincide with slack water.
We weighed anchor and motored on our course emerging from the bay just as Nanuk was clearing the headland and we sailed along quite nicely until we reached the overfalls. The wind had risen a bit but we made a smooth transit emerging south of La Plate West Cardinal mark just in time for the sea breeze to kick in increasing the wind to a good F4 from the south. We turned east along the south coast of the peninsula towards Audierne and had a cracking beam reach all the way there. Audierne is a short way inland up a river so we took a mooring buoy at St.Evette - a small yacht haven just in the entrance of the river protected by a big concrete sea wall. We were met by the berthing master - a young man called Antoine who was a language student and he took the opportunity to practice his English on us and was very welcoming and exceedingly helpful. The mooring at 6 euritos including a free water taxi was probably the best value for money so far.
We read in the pilot book that it was feasible to make the journey up to Audierne in the rubber-dubber so we got it out and inflated it and put the outboard motor on it which promptly refused to start so we asked Antoine where we could get it serviced and he said there was a marine mechanic by the bridge in the town so P & C offered to tow us there using their rubber dinghy to see if we could get it fixed.
The mechanic spoke zero English so between Carla and Chris we managed to explain and asked if he could look at it - No problem, Carburettor he announced and said come back later at 1800. So we went away and did shopping, had lunch in a Creperie, looked at the boats, Chris and I went to look at the old church on the hill and sat and watched a film about a local artist painting a picture of a cabbage - WEIRD I know but what can you do? It was cool in there after the blazing sunshine outside. Pete and Carla were doing their own thing but they also ended up in the cabbage painting audience for a time!
After a bit we went back to the mechanic who greeted us at the door with parts of our engine all over his bench. He said he was working on it so we waited a bit but it was obvious that he wasn't going to be ready any time soon so we said we would return in the morning. Pete towed us back down the river - we must have looked a complete hoot. The river was flat but when we got outside the end of the sea wall there was quite a chop in the water and Chris got soaked by the bow wave while I hid behind her using her as a shield. In the morning Pete and I returned around noon, did a bit of shopping and then went to the mechanic again who said he was still working on it and come back at 1800. So we decided it was beer o'clock and went to a bar. After killing time all afternoon we went back again and this time we thought he had cracked it but he said NO C'est Casse at this point I said we'd have to take it back off him and =get it fixed when we got home. He agreed - I was worried about the cost of all of this but he wouldn't take anything. I think he was upset that he had failed to fix it so I gave him some euritos and said at least have a few beers on us for trying. FRUSTRATING.
While we were killing time Pete and I talked about stuff and laughed as I remembered a story that when I was a young guy working for my dad (who was a builder). He used to send me out to do drains tests for local estate agents. One of these was quite a large house so he sent a labourer (Peter Jellett) with me to help. Peter was an older guy and always wore a boiler suit to work which his elderly mum washed for him every day. To do a drains test you have to open the man hole cover and plug the pipes using an inflatable sausage. Once plugged you then fill the drain with water up to the gully say by a kitchen window and wait to see if the water level drops. If it drops it leaks if it doesn't it's good. When the drain serves an upstairs bathroom there is no gulley to look in so you just fill it up tapping the pipe with a small hammer and when you think the note changes and sounds like the pipe is full to about 300mm above the ground you estimate the level and put a pencil mark. then come back after 30mins and estimate the level again and compare pencil marks. On this occasion we left the tap running to fill up the stack pipe but forgot to turn off the water. When I tapped the pipe I realised that the water level was about 10ft up the pipe and peter was standing by the manhole. I called to warn him to get out of the way but before he could do anything the pressure blew the plug out of the drain and a column of foul water shot up out of the man hole, about 6ft in the air all over Peter's clean overalls. He just stood there and raised his arms like a scarecrow with gossamer wings. I don't think he ever forgave me.
While Simon and Pete went to sort out the engine, Chris and Carla decided to go for a swim in the inky blue sea. By goodness ,was it cold, but very refreshing.
The forecast was for a settled morning F2 to 3 with wind increasing in the afternoon. The journey involved sailing through "The Raz De Seine" rounding La Vieille - a large lighthouse on the headland. I have included here a picture of the chart for the area which clearly shows the headland and the off-lying rocky islands. When the tide rises here the Atlantic water fills up the bay to the north and south of the headland and islands and forces water to rush through the gap either northbound or southbound causing over-falls. This is where the tidal flow gets turbulent being caught and funnelled through the gap and for yachtsmen you need to time your transit to coincide with slack water.
The Raz De Seine
Cardinal at the end of the Raz
La Vileille Light House
We weighed anchor and motored on our course emerging from the bay just as Nanuk was clearing the headland and we sailed along quite nicely until we reached the overfalls. The wind had risen a bit but we made a smooth transit emerging south of La Plate West Cardinal mark just in time for the sea breeze to kick in increasing the wind to a good F4 from the south. We turned east along the south coast of the peninsula towards Audierne and had a cracking beam reach all the way there. Audierne is a short way inland up a river so we took a mooring buoy at St.Evette - a small yacht haven just in the entrance of the river protected by a big concrete sea wall. We were met by the berthing master - a young man called Antoine who was a language student and he took the opportunity to practice his English on us and was very welcoming and exceedingly helpful. The mooring at 6 euritos including a free water taxi was probably the best value for money so far.
St.Evette harbour from the sailing club beach
We read in the pilot book that it was feasible to make the journey up to Audierne in the rubber-dubber so we got it out and inflated it and put the outboard motor on it which promptly refused to start so we asked Antoine where we could get it serviced and he said there was a marine mechanic by the bridge in the town so P & C offered to tow us there using their rubber dinghy to see if we could get it fixed.
TT Nanuk towing TT April Dream
The mechanic spoke zero English so between Carla and Chris we managed to explain and asked if he could look at it - No problem, Carburettor he announced and said come back later at 1800. So we went away and did shopping, had lunch in a Creperie, looked at the boats, Chris and I went to look at the old church on the hill and sat and watched a film about a local artist painting a picture of a cabbage - WEIRD I know but what can you do? It was cool in there after the blazing sunshine outside. Pete and Carla were doing their own thing but they also ended up in the cabbage painting audience for a time!
After a bit we went back to the mechanic who greeted us at the door with parts of our engine all over his bench. He said he was working on it so we waited a bit but it was obvious that he wasn't going to be ready any time soon so we said we would return in the morning. Pete towed us back down the river - we must have looked a complete hoot. The river was flat but when we got outside the end of the sea wall there was quite a chop in the water and Chris got soaked by the bow wave while I hid behind her using her as a shield. In the morning Pete and I returned around noon, did a bit of shopping and then went to the mechanic again who said he was still working on it and come back at 1800. So we decided it was beer o'clock and went to a bar. After killing time all afternoon we went back again and this time we thought he had cracked it but he said NO C'est Casse at this point I said we'd have to take it back off him and =get it fixed when we got home. He agreed - I was worried about the cost of all of this but he wouldn't take anything. I think he was upset that he had failed to fix it so I gave him some euritos and said at least have a few beers on us for trying. FRUSTRATING.
S and P in TT Nanuk going to get the outboard
While we were killing time Pete and I talked about stuff and laughed as I remembered a story that when I was a young guy working for my dad (who was a builder). He used to send me out to do drains tests for local estate agents. One of these was quite a large house so he sent a labourer (Peter Jellett) with me to help. Peter was an older guy and always wore a boiler suit to work which his elderly mum washed for him every day. To do a drains test you have to open the man hole cover and plug the pipes using an inflatable sausage. Once plugged you then fill the drain with water up to the gully say by a kitchen window and wait to see if the water level drops. If it drops it leaks if it doesn't it's good. When the drain serves an upstairs bathroom there is no gulley to look in so you just fill it up tapping the pipe with a small hammer and when you think the note changes and sounds like the pipe is full to about 300mm above the ground you estimate the level and put a pencil mark. then come back after 30mins and estimate the level again and compare pencil marks. On this occasion we left the tap running to fill up the stack pipe but forgot to turn off the water. When I tapped the pipe I realised that the water level was about 10ft up the pipe and peter was standing by the manhole. I called to warn him to get out of the way but before he could do anything the pressure blew the plug out of the drain and a column of foul water shot up out of the man hole, about 6ft in the air all over Peter's clean overalls. He just stood there and raised his arms like a scarecrow with gossamer wings. I don't think he ever forgave me.
While Simon and Pete went to sort out the engine, Chris and Carla decided to go for a swim in the inky blue sea. By goodness ,was it cold, but very refreshing.
Marina in Audierne
Chris and Carla on the beach at St.Evette
Meerkat impressions
Nanuk moored in St.Evette
Camaret Sur Mer to Anse Pen Hir - Tuesday 6th August
Camaret is a pretty little port but we'd been there for some days and we were getting stir crazy so we decided to go and anchor in a bay just a short way down the coast a bit south from Camaret. It has the advantage of being free rather than paying 24 euritos in a marina. So we filled up our water tanks, checked the engine and off we went.
Here are some of the pictures we took along the way:
Here are some of the pictures we took along the way:
More rugged coastline
and again
Chris at the wheel again
An old gaffer (another one)
The Bretons call these Vieux Grement which I think means Old Rigging
At anchor in a bay called Anse Pen Hir
Captain Birdseye catching Mackerel
ANCHORING - nautical stuff not for my brother!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anchoring is something you either love or hate. It has the advantage that it's free and private, but it has the disadvantage of being only as safe as your anchor's holding power.
When you anchor overnight you are either visible by moonlight or you are invisible if there is no moon or thick cloud blocking out the light. Under these circumstances you are, in effect, an uncharted obstacle so it is important that during the day, when you are anchored you hoist a round, black ball in your rigging to say to others that you are attached to the seabed by anchor. At night you are obliged to show an all round white light to indicate that you are there and prevent collisions. Some old boats use a hurricane lamp but most modern yachts have a light fitted at their mast top.
The skipper of a small boat needs to know that his boat is staying where he anchored it, in other words he needs to know his anchor is not dragging so he will record compass bearings on three immovable objects so he can check his position (alternatively he can set an alarm on his GPS).
When you first anchor you find that you are up half the night worrying about your anchor dragging but when you get used to it you can sleep soundly having confidence in your anchor. On one occasion we were anchored in the river at Treguier where the tide runs at about 3 knots. I slept soundly but Lynsay sat up most of the night worrying about the holding of the anchor.
L'aberwrach to Camaret Sur Mer- 1st August
We left L'aberwrach behind with a forecast of wind south-westerly, force 4 to 5 with a risk of a F6 gust and that is exactly what we got. The passage plan was to exit the L'aberwrach river by the main channel and sail west towards Cape Finisterre where we would have to tack in a SW direction against the prevailing wind or motor down the Chanel Du Four. As we are in sailing boats we always want to sail if we can and tacking against a tide is usually unproductive as every mile you gain you get pushed back by the tide so we chose to go when the tide was running in the same direction, i.e. running towards the prevailing wind. Any yachtsman knows that wind over tide can cause rough seas so we tried to plan to get through the Chanel Du Four before the wind strengthened. From entering the Chanel to leaving it is approximately 5 miles which would normally be about an hours sailing. Chris and I tried to tack but eventually gave up and turned on the iron donkey while Carla and Pete attempted to sail the whole way. The first three and a half miles went by without a hitch but the stronger wind arrived and we found ourselves in very confused and aggressive seas. The waves were approximately 2 to 3 metres in height but with no regularity. The boats bucked and rolled and was thrown about unmercifully. The autohelm couldn't cope with it so we had to steer manually and keep the boat tracking through the deep water to avoid the worst of the over-falls.
As we were passing the St Mathieu Light House a large ferry was approaching the Chanel from the south. Of course this sea is nothing to him but he saw us struggling to keep on track and stopped till we had passed and were safely on our way again. Once we were through the overfalls the sea miraculously smoothed out and we had a fabulous sail across to Camaret Sur Mer where we tied up in the marina and cracked open a bottle of bubbly.
Chris' feeling during that really terrible journey -
I always wonder why I like sailing being buffeted up and down, white horses, cold wind in your hair, the loud engine and wind on the b ****y nose but then the sails go up and you are gliding along like a bird giving you a sense of freedom. Everything seems OK and then the waves start getting bigger again and all I can think about is getting into the marina for a nice gin and tonic. At one point the sea decided to throw a wheelie bin full of water in the air which landed on top of Simon. Luckily I was down below making a cup of hot chocolate.
We've been through rough seas before and for longer periods of time but never so confused and impossible to predict, which made that hour of sailing one of the most challenging we have faced to date.
As we were passing the St Mathieu Light House a large ferry was approaching the Chanel from the south. Of course this sea is nothing to him but he saw us struggling to keep on track and stopped till we had passed and were safely on our way again. Once we were through the overfalls the sea miraculously smoothed out and we had a fabulous sail across to Camaret Sur Mer where we tied up in the marina and cracked open a bottle of bubbly.
Chris' feeling during that really terrible journey -
I always wonder why I like sailing being buffeted up and down, white horses, cold wind in your hair, the loud engine and wind on the b ****y nose but then the sails go up and you are gliding along like a bird giving you a sense of freedom. Everything seems OK and then the waves start getting bigger again and all I can think about is getting into the marina for a nice gin and tonic. At one point the sea decided to throw a wheelie bin full of water in the air which landed on top of Simon. Luckily I was down below making a cup of hot chocolate.
We've been through rough seas before and for longer periods of time but never so confused and impossible to predict, which made that hour of sailing one of the most challenging we have faced to date.
Ferry giving way to NANUK in the Chanel Du Four
Point St.Mathieu
Chris helming in the Chanel Du Four
Approaching Camaret Sur Mer
Camaret's Boat Graveyard
Marina at Camaret
Sunday 4th August
Chris and Robin have childhood memories of Morgat just a short bus ride from Camaret so we took a day trip there, found the hotel they stayed in and had lunch in a nearby restaurant. Chris particularly remembered how she had been buried in sand by her brother and was still finding it in unmentionable places all these years later!! The manager of the hotel remembered Robin and has an outstanding bar bill that he'd like settled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Day trip to Morgat
Beer O'clock (Please note Jenny Britt - it was called 'Britt' beer)
Langoustines
The legendary Morgat Sweet Shop
An old gaffer
especially for Lynsay
Lollipops at Morgat
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