July, 2012 (France)
Progress so far (Click picture to zoom)
1st-6th
We are finally on our way again after nearly three weeks in Loctudy. We left in a F 4-5 south westerly and had a good sail down to Lorient, intending to go into Port Louis Marina, but discovered it was full due to the Volvo Ocean Race which was starting its final leg from Lorient to Galway on 2nd July. We decided not to bother trying any of the other marinas as there were so many boats manoeuvring around we thought it unlikely that we would find a berth, so we motored across to the east end of Ile de Groix and anchored for the night. It wasn’t the most comfortable of nights as there was quite a bit of swell, but luckily it died down a bit later on.
The following day we sailed down to the Baie de Quiberon, arriving about lunchtime. It was a beautiful day and we anchored in a bay near Port Haliguen and lazed around in the cockpit for the remainder of the day. Unfortunately we made the mistake of anchoring at the end of the runway for the local airfield and the peace was frequently disturbed with small planes and microlights taking off and landing until the evening. The next morning the weather had returned to wind and rain so we motored into the marina where we spent the night and our only expedition was to the local supermarket as we were running short of fresh food.
After a very long lie in the next morning we headed down to the Golfe du Morbihan, where the tidal stream can reach 9 knots. This is another inland sea with a very narrow entrance, dozens of small islands and a constant stream of tripper boats. We arrived just before low water and motored in while quite a few boats remained hove to outside. At its strongest we only had 2 knots against us before the tide turned and we picked up speed. The almanac states there are plenty of anchorages, but everywhere we went was full of moorings, so we had quite a problem finding somewhere that was out of the current. After a couple of attempts we did find somewhere suitable and had a nice quiet night.
The following morning we were up quite early intending to motor up to Vannes to catch the bridge opening at 09:30 (it only opens 2 hours either side of high water), but we were so organised that we were ready earlier than planned and caught the 08:30 opening and were tied up in the centre of the town not long after that. We spent a couple of nights here and enjoyed wandering around the old walled city and visited the Cathedral which has some lovely stained glass windows. In the afternoon we walked to the butterfly garden, which I really enjoyed, but Mike found the temperature well in excess of his comfort zone, so had to keep escaping outside every so often! There was a huge array of butterflies of all different sizes and spectacular colours flying around.
7th - 10th
We left Vannes in the rain and motored down to the same anchorage we had used on the way up and the following morning headed out of the Golfe de Morbihan with the outgoing tide. The weather had improved again, so we good sail back up to Port Haliguen where we anchored in the bay, in the hope we’d be able to get an internet connection to let us watch the British Grand Prix, but unfortunately we were unable to pick it up.
We had a nice leisurely lunch and were about to leave when I noticed a young boy, about 9 - 10 years old in difficulties with his wind surfer. He’d been sailing back and forth past our stern all during lunch and was going progressively further out into the bay. He was obviously getting tired as he kept falling off, and watching him through binoculars, we could see him waving for help, so we weighed anchor and motored out to him. Mike lowered the dinghy and eventually we managed to get him aboard. Rescuing the surf board was tricky due to the swell, and we could only proceed very slowly when we finally got it in tow. The poor kid was obviously very shaken, but still managed to thank us in English. We re-anchored and were about to stick the outboard on the dinghy to take boy and surf board back to the beach when a returning safety boat spotted him in the cockpit and came over to ferry him ashore. I find it very difficult to understand how any parent could allow such a young child to be so far out for such a long time without raising the alarm. However, at least there was a happy ending.
We set off again and sailed down to Houat, where we anchored at the east end of the island and spent another roly night. Mike says I’ve got to get used to these as there will be plenty more in the weeks to come! The following morning we had a nice gentle sail down to La Turballe arriving about lunchtime. We’re now into the French holiday season and the marinas are getting much busier. It’s quite interesting and sometimes alarming to watch their boat handling techniques, as they only seem to have full forward or full reverse. Commands are often given with much waving of arms, running around and shouting. Luckily, nowhere near us as yet!
