Made it across Biscay

Whilst in La Rochelle we met two lovely Irish couples, Joe, Yvonne, Sean and Mary who we rafted against for the first two days of our stay, and who we spent  a couple of pleasant evenings.
My daughter Claire arrived in La Rochelle on the 15th June to a glorious sunny day, after dumping her bag off at the boat we hit the town and went browsing round the shops, all we bought was a pair of sunglasses each, so I now have about four pairs, in the evening we had an enjoyable time consuming more wine, chatting and  catching up on things.

Chilling out

 On the Saturday the weather had changed dramatically to rain so much of that day was spent on the boat lazing about, in the evening we decided to eat out. We found a nice looking restaurant and using what little French I know acquired a table for three, the menu looked good and we all chose a starter and a main, unfortunately the meal wasn’t as good as we had hoped when it arrived, however the wine which was selected by Kevin was very good. After the meal we took a stroll back to the boat, by now the town was lit up making it look very picturesque.

Late evening in La Rochelle

Sunday the day of Claires return it was back to being sunny again, unfortunately Claire had to leave by 8 am so was not able to have any time to bask in the sunshine.

Claire waiting for taxi home

The rest of Sunday was spent getting the boat ready for our passage across Biscay the following day, once the chores were done is was back to basking in the sunshine, we needed to get as much rest as possible as we wouldn’t be getting much sleep over the next few days, that was my reasoning anyway. On Monday the sun was shining again so we set off and headed towards north Spain, the day was uneventful and I took the first watch at 9pm. Kevin took over at 12 midnight, and no sooner had I settled down for some sleep the wind increased and it started to rain. From then on it rained on and off for the rest of the passage, the waves were a good couple of metres which meant we were rolling about quite a lot. After a hundred nautical miles into our journey we no longer saw any birds or fishing boats, this continued until about 70 miles off the Spanish coast. The bonus however was that we got to see five pods of dolphins each of which swam alongside the boat for some considerable time, we even had one pod with us at 12 midnight on the Tuesday, and although you couldn’t see them clearly they looked to be illuminated in the water so when they swam towards the boat they looked like torpedoes.

Hard to catch a good shot of a Dolphin

We finally arrived in Gijon at about 08:30 on the Wednesday having completed the 266 nm crossing in approximately 48 hours , moored up and went to bed to get some well-earned kip. Gijon is quite a large city, with plenty of shops but no really good supermarkets which I have now become obsessed with since starting our journey, I used to be more into shopping for clothes, not any more. Gijon has a nice beach and some lovely parks. While in Gijon we had our first visit from a customs officer, he could speak almost no English and we could not speak Spanish, but eventually we had the paperwork complete and he happily went on his way. We are now hoping that if we get another visit here in Spain we can just show them our copy of the paperwork and they will be happy. Well you can dream can’t you? We spent three nights in Gijon before moving on to a lovely little bay about twenty miles west of Gijon where we anchored up for the night, as the swell was coming into the bay we thought we may end up rocking and rolling all night, but surprisingly we didn’t and we had a good night’s sleep, or it may just have been the amount of wine consumed what knocked us out.

No traffic noise from the road bridge, it must be all the trees!

The following day we made our way to Ribadeao which so far is the most expensive marina we have been in. During our sail across (well we motored actually as there was no wind at all) we came across a large branch of a tree floating by followed by a wild Boar (obviously swimming was not its forte) The marina is located in one of the Rias and is very pleasant and not too big or busy unlike the last three marinas we were in in France.
The weather at the moment is great, lovely and warm and our tans are coming along nicely, we are planning to move on tomorrow but not sure where to at the moment it very much depends on the weather. At the moment there is no wind and so we can’t sail and we don’t want to keep motoring, it seems that we either have too much wind or none at all. Over the next few weeks we plan to anchor where we can as we both enjoy the solitude and tranquillity it gives you, weather permitting that is.

Total distance to date:  868  nautical miles
Our present location: https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=43.539092,-7.038803&hl=en&sll=43.552032,-6.827316&sspn=0.377215,1.003876&mra=mift&mrsp=0&sz=11&t=m&z=11

Made it to La Rochelle

We have finally reached La Rochelle which is our final destination in France before heading off across the Bay of Biscay to north Spain.

When we arrived in Pornic the sun was shining but it was blowing a right hooley, the marina was not one of the easiest to get into either as there was limited depth and we require a minimum of 2m. As we were pondering our best option a head popped up form one of the boats already moored up, and told us the best place to go, it was James the English chap we had met on Houat. It was not ideal for the conditions but it was all that was available. Once moored up we paid our dues and chilled out for the rest of the afternoon.

Unfortunately most of the time we were in Pornic the weather was not great and so we did not do any coastal walks, instead we walked for a couple of miles to the chandlers to purchase some items for the boat, one of which was some rope and a buoy so that Kevin could make an anchor trip line, (its something that helps you pull the anchor up if it gets stuck), because the buoy could be mistaken by other sailors as a mooring buoy Kevin got me to use my artistic talents to draw a skull and cross bones on it.

Anchor Bouy

Whilst in Pornic I decided to treat ourselves to what looked like apple doughnuts from the Boulanger, they looked really nice, however they actually turned out to be the most revolting thing we had eaten since coming to France and both doughnuts ended up in the bin.

There did not seem to be any let up in the bad weather, and the forecast for the next few days was not promising, we were starting to get worried that we would not make La Rochelle in time to meet my daughter Claire there on the 15th June. We therefore decided to make a run for it on the 8th June and head for Ille D Yeau another small island about 26 miles further south, we ended up having to sail 39 miles as the wind was not in the right direction for us to sail straight out of the bay without tacking several times (also know as beating, another description would be “getting very wet and not moving very far forward). The wind was blowing at 4 to 5 knots which is 20 to 25 knots and the wave height was 2 to 3 meters, but the sun was out so it could have been worse.

We arrived in Ille d Yeau at about 20:00, Kevin suggested we eat out to which I eagerly agreed, (thank goodness I really didn’t feel like cooking), we found a quaint restaurant that served the local dish of fresh Tuna straight from the fishing boats. We had agreed not to stay a couple of days on Ill d Yeau as originally planned, but to head south again the following day which was the 9th June to Le Sables D’Olonne, which is the home of the Vendee Globe yacht race.

The weather forecast was for rain from 9 am onwards on that day we decided to start our journey to Le sables early, so was up at 6 and set sail at 06:45hrs. We managed to keep ahead of the rain although you could see the dark clouds all around us, and so we were very thankful for that. When we arrived at the point where we needed to turn and sail towards the marina entrance to Le Sables the rain had still not materialised, the wind was in the right direction and so we decided to keep on heading south to La Rochelle. On our way to La Rochelle we used our cruising chute sail for the first time during our travels, only for a couple of hours but it made a big difference to our progress.
As we approached la Rochelle you could see the large bridge which we needed to sail under, it looked very impressive, we needed to make sure we went under the right arch to ensure the mast could get underneath it. The chart showed that there was a red and green buoy marking our way which Kevin had asked me to look out for but try as I may I could not see them until we were almost upon them. The arch also had red & green markers painted on to each of the pillars either side of the arch you should use for south going vessels. With the right arch identified we sailed easily under the bridge.

Entering the marina to La Rochelle was like “Paddys Market”, I thought Pornichet was bad, but this was even worse there were boats everywhere all making their way in at the same time, it was like being on the dodgems.

La Rochelle is a beautiful old town with narrow streets and plenty of different types of restaurants offering a wide variety of choice and we agreed that we had made the right choice in coming here a few days earlier than planned. Whilst here we are trying to get as many jobs done as we can that need to be done before we head for Spain, as well as lots of chilling out time. Kevin’s daughter Rachel and the grand children Summer & Taylor “Skyped” use in the evening, it was great to see them all. I then “Skyped” my daughter Claire, her husband Steve and son Isaac but the connection was so bad we had to give up.  Skype is a great tool when you are travelling, but can be frustrating if you have a poor internet connection.

Today which is the 12th June we headed off to get a fender board which we will need when mooring up against harbour walls which is quite common in Spain. The nearest place to get what we needed was about 7 Kilometres away, we had originally planned to go on the bikes, but decided to walk instead. On hindsight we may have been better sticking to our original plan as the board was really heavy and it was one hell of a long way back to the boat carrying it.  At times we must have looked like a couple of characters out  of the film “The Plank” , especially when a women passed us on her bicycle, if Kevin had turned round at the right time he would have knocked her clean off her bike. Whilst on the way back to the boat we also called in at the supermarket  to pick up some Camping Gaz which Kevin managed to fit into the rucksack, must say was glad he was carrying it and not me.
Once back at the boat Kevin got straight into working mode and started to give the washboards a second coat of varnish, as the varnish was proving difficult to get on Kevin decided to thin it down a little with some white spirit and emptied some into a clean yogurt pot, giving me strict instructions not to tip it down the sink. After a little while Kevin came back in and asked if I had tipped it down the sink to which I replied no, it so happens that white spirit melts yogurt pots and so it went down the sink without any help from me what so ever.

Always another job to do

Hopefully the weather will improve by the time Claire arrives on Friday, she will stay with us for a few days before heading back home on Father’s Day to husband Steve and son Isaac who unfortunately could not come out with her on this occasion. It will then be back to weather watching to determine the best time to cross the bay and North Spain. Our plan is to head for Gijon a trip of around 250nm with a backup of Santander if conditions get a little rough. This will be the longest single trip we have made in a sail boat to date.

Total distance travelled to date: 572 nautical miles

Present location: https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=46.142021,-1.167812&hl=en&sll=46.116443,-1.202316&sspn=0.094482,0.264187&mra=mift&mrsp=0&sz=13&t=m&z=13

Quiberon Bay Area

We are now starting to move south again having spent a few days sailing around the Quiberon Bay area, we started of by visiting Morbihan which is 50 square miles of sheltered water with over 60  islands, most of which are uninhabited. When we arrived we sailed towards Arradon which is a popular sailing area, and picked up a buoy just past the main mooring area. The weather was perfect for sunbathing but not for sailing, very little wind and glorious sunshine, the area was tranquil and there was hardly anybody about, so we sat back for a relaxing afternoon.

Morbihan mooring (Sorry no motor boat)

 Shortly after mooring we were joined by a couple in a small motor boat, and then our afternoon’s entertainment began, had we been to the cinema it would have been X –Rated.
We had been told that you could pick up a mooring buoy anywhere in the Morbihan but that you had to stay with your boat in case the owner came back and you needed to move. So the following day we headed off to look for an anchorage, unfortunately all the anchorage areas have now been taken over by mooring buoys and so we decided to move on to a small island called Houat which is 2 miles long and just across from Belle Ile.  The sail across was good with a force 4 to 5, when we arrived we picked up a mooring   buoy just outside the small harbour, as the harbour was full. The mooring was really choppy and so we knew we were in for a bumpy night. Shortly afterwards three sail boats left the harbour and so decided to give it a go which required us to  moor onto bow and stern buoys in windy conditions, we achieved this by the help of another English couple who had just moored up with great difficulty.

After mooring we took a short stroll along the coats towards the south of the island and came across a beautiful wide sandy beach where several sail boats were anchored, we decided that if the weather conditions were right we would anchor there the following night. The following morning the harbour master collected our mooring fees of 22€, which we felt was quite steep considering we were only attached to a buoy and the toilet and shower  facilities were not up to much, so we definitely decided to move later that day.

First off though we took a walk round the island, the east coast was very picturesque with lots of wild flowers and a variety of wild life, however once we got to the north and west of the island the landscape changed and it became more barren with less beaches. On getting back to the boat we set off round to the south of the island and anchored up for the night, the sea sate was like a mill pond, so it looked like we were in for a peaceful night.  How wrong could we be, the wind changed direction at around four in the morning and the waves rolled in, so there was very little sleep attained after that.

Bev walking around Houat Island

Following breakfast we decided to head south to Pornichet, the pilot book described it as a new harbour with all the facilities we required apart from food shops which were a short walk away. When we arrived it felt like Paddy’s Market there were all types of boats entering and leaving the marina some under sail and moving pretty fast. We eventually found a visitors mooring, the pontoon however was like a spring board and it took me all my time not to bounce off and into the water.
That evening we walked into the small town of Pornichet but there didn’t look to be anything open and nowhere we fancied to eat, so we made our way towards the beach road and came across a restaurant on the beach which we decided to give ago. The menu was of course in French and I had forgotten my phrase book, some of the dishes we could hazard a guess at what they were and others we couldn’t. Kevin played safe and went with a burger and I went for a salad, however when it arrived I wasn’t sure what half the meat dishes were on the plate, but I have to say it was one off the best meals I have had in France, and I finished it off by what can only be described as a dessert to die for chocolate mousse, the best ever.

The following day Saturday 2nd June we took a walk along the beach front (it goes for miles), we ended up doing about a ten mile walk having found a supermarket on our way, I have never walked ten miles before just to get groceries. On the Sunday we got the bikes out and cycled to St Nazaire which is a busy dock area with little opportunity for visiting yachts to stay there. When we arrived there were several large sail boats, catamarans and tri-marans which looked to be preparing for a race. As we walked along admiring all the boats we came across Samantha Davis and her team, so the trip had been worth it, even though we stood around for about three hours waiting for the start of the race only to be told there wasn’t one even though the advertising said it would start at 17:00.

Sam Davis's boat

Sam Davis

Today which is Monday 4th we are moving south again to Pornic, but first we headed off to the supermarket on the bikes, this time we found one much nearer but there were several hills to cycle up to get there and back my backside still hasn’t recovered from the last bike ride round Ille de Groix. Kevin has now washed the boat down and filled the water tanks, so we are ready for the off.

Our present location: https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=47.262922,-2.342148&hl=en&sll=47.261757,-2.342834&sspn=0.131642,0.359802&mra=mift&mrsp=0&sz=12&t=m&z=12

Total nautical miles to date: 403