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