We left Belon at 0800 heading toward Groix. The sea was glassy calm and we decided to push on to Belle isle, about 25 miles further to the east. Horror stories abound about the summer crowds on both islands, and about fights breaking out. Over. The last spots in the crowded walled harbors that were planned in the 17th and 18th centuries. I reasoned that, Belle Isle being the much larger and more interesting island, we would spend two days there.

We were met at the entrance to Le Palais (photograph) by the harbotmaster's zodiac. The first order of business was rapidly turning tail to avoid the large ferry that abruptly pulled out, taking up the entire mouth of the harbor. To my surprise, at 1400 the outer harbor was half full. The harbor aster took our lines and secured our bow to the harbor wall and our stern to a floating buoy.

The rest of the day was dedicated to watching the boats file in, and the feats of seamanship ( or not) as the spaces between boats became increasingly tight. Also, as the pace. Got more hectic, even with two zodiacs the harbormaster was no longer able to take lines. All this was further complicated by the ferries that arrived every 15 minutes or so. This time at least, our neighbors were friendly and full of good advice.

Because the town is not accessible from the harbor wall we took the zodiac to a floating pier and had dinner at a local creperie. After that, more fun watching the parade of boats entering the inner harbor, which only opens through a lock at high tide. This was a true circus, with about half the boats entering backward because there is no turning room. Not advisable in a large boat without local knowledge.