The 'Raz (pronounced Rarh) de Sein' is a notorious stretch of water that lies between Brittany and Ile de Sein. To quote the pilot book "A large mass of water is after all being squeezed through a misshapen channel less than 2 miles wide, over an uneven rocky seabed with depths of around 25m as opposed to 45m further north. The result will always be some turbulence, but to an acceptable degree at slack water before the new stream has had time to get established. Arriving early or late, even by as little as an hour before or after slack water, may make for a surprisingly rough ride. So, aim to be abeam of 'La Plate' at slack water, plus or minus 15 minutes. Accurate timing is of the essence." (Source: Wiley Nautical West France Cruising Companion, 2nd Edition)

Armed with this information, we had quite a challenge ahead especially when you consider that Camaret is some 19 miles from 'La Plate' and our boat speed increases and decreases accordingly, depending on wind strength, tide strength and wave height. Not surprisingly we were quite anxious about getting ourselves at 'La Plate' in the window of "plus or minus 15 minutes". We certainly didn't want to risk the 'rough ride' not in this stretch of water.

So, the alarm was set for 0430am on 12 May 2012. Having not slept very well (the mind busy thinking about the Raz) we got up and checked the latest forecast. We weren't happy with the predictions for our journey however the predictions for the 13 May seemed much more favourable so we climbed back into bed to chuck some more zzzz's around the cabin.

We were certainly pleased with our decision because during the day the wind howled through the rigging and the seas became very rough. A couple of English sailors later reported that it was blowing 35 knots as they came down the Chanel du Four!!

During the course of the afternoon a significant number of yachts arrived from Brest (a couple of miles away sheltered in the Rade de Brest) and by evening the marina was pretty full. At around 8pm the yacht adjacent to us was inundated with people and booze, then the music started - initially quiet then loud and then louder still - the party was on! I think it's fair to say the
french yachting season has started.

Thankfully the choice of music was to our liking, although a little loud. The music was eventually turned down around 2am (via a not so subtle prompt from a French guy) however all night you could hear people walking and talking around the Marina. This is definitely the liveliest Marina yet.

Unfortunately, and all too soon, the alarm went off at 0530am and having checked the latest forecast we were happy to leave Camaret to 'tackle' the Raz. At this point we were undecided on our final destination but subject to conditions and how we felt after the Raz would be either Audierne, Loctudy or Benodet.

The weather was as predicted, the seas calm, the wind from the North East - perfect. Hourly checks on our speed and the odd tweak to the sail configuration allowed us to arrive at 'La Plate' between the recommended time and thankfully the seas were pretty calm through the 'Raz'.

Feeling elated that we had 'survived the Raz' we decided to push on around Pointe de Penmarc'h to Loctudy.

We couldn't help but notice how the landscape changed from very rugged to much flatter with wind turbines strategically placed along the hilltops along with several towns, villages and lovely long sandy beaches.

Large Jellyfish accompanied us around Pointe de Penmarc'h, drifting just below the surface - Urhhh. I dislike Jellyfish, having been stung by one many years ago whist snorkelling in Majorca.

Some hours later having followed half a dozen or so cardinal marks around the point we eventually arrived in Loctudy and took one of the many visitors' buoys for the night.

It was such a lovely evening that we sat outside in the cockpit enjoying a glass of chilled french wine until the sun set - a perfect end to a quite stressful but successful day!

Total distance this season: 286.23 nautical miles