Rochefort to La Rochelle Log
The day has finally arrived and with weather predictions of NE3 means there is a slight chance that we can sail to our first port of call La Rochelle, but we suspect we will be motoring all the way :-(.
The lock gates are scheduled to open at 8.15am for approx 45 minutes however at 8.00am the bridge alarm in the distance sounded and before we knew it the traffic was being diverted and the bridge was open. Needless to say we didn't want to miss the gate opening so we had a last minute rush to drop the lines and spring Flirtie out of her compact berth to join the queue of other yachts (including Barry & Steph off Festina Lente) who were all leaving the marina.
Even at neaps the Charente river still runs at quite a rate - we were cruising along between 6-7.5 knots past the transporter bridge and the many fishing huts.
Once out of the river we were able to roll out the sails and have a really pleasant sail past Ile d'Aix, Fort Boyard and on towards La Rochelle. Just one tack allowed us to sail to our final waypoint before heading into Les Minimes Marina. Unfortunately that's where the sailing ended as the final approach into La Rochelle sore the wind on the nose.
We could not have asked for better sailing conditions for our first sail of this season.
Total distance this season: 32.01 nautical miles
The lock gates are scheduled to open at 8.15am for approx 45 minutes however at 8.00am the bridge alarm in the distance sounded and before we knew it the traffic was being diverted and the bridge was open. Needless to say we didn't want to miss the gate opening so we had a last minute rush to drop the lines and spring Flirtie out of her compact berth to join the queue of other yachts (including Barry & Steph off Festina Lente) who were all leaving the marina.
Even at neaps the Charente river still runs at quite a rate - we were cruising along between 6-7.5 knots past the transporter bridge and the many fishing huts.
Once out of the river we were able to roll out the sails and have a really pleasant sail past Ile d'Aix, Fort Boyard and on towards La Rochelle. Just one tack allowed us to sail to our final waypoint before heading into Les Minimes Marina. Unfortunately that's where the sailing ended as the final approach into La Rochelle sore the wind on the nose.
We could not have asked for better sailing conditions for our first sail of this season.
Total distance this season: 32.01 nautical miles
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