Left Ile d'Yeu around 6.30am and we were greeted with a lovely sunrise along with a very calm and still morning.



The weather forecast was predicted to be NE3 going NNW3 however we had SE3 which decreased to Force 1 - not enough wind for us to sail, so unfortunately we motor sailed the 30 miles to Les Sables. The sun was out with hardy a cloud in the sky - we even took our waterproofs off and lotioned up.



Bruce dropped his fishing line over the side, but once again it didn't attract any bites. He has concluded that the para-vane is set too deep so plans to revert back to the more traditional method of feathers and a lead weight next time. Any day now we will have a fishy on our plate, I'm sure.

Due to heat haze, we didn't see much of the coastline until we were relatively close to the point just off Les Sables. It was pretty busy here, with dozens of fishing boats all drifting with the tide - bet they caught some fish!



Upon arrival at Les Sables, we had a choice of two Marina's; Quay Garnier in the fishing port and Port Olona. Port Olona is significantly larger (approx. 1300 berths) and marginally cheaper (very important given the past couple of days) so we decided on Port Olona.

You have to report into the Capitainerie to be allocated a berth, instead of just taking one upon arrival. We were allocated a berth on a finger with a reported gap of 4.7m but if we didn't fit we were instructed to contact him on VHF radio channel 9 and he would allocate another berth.

We left the waiting pontoon and commenced our brief trip through the marina, passing pontoon 'A' and turning down pontoon 'B', slowly keeping a watchful eye for the berth number allocated to us. Having found the empty berth, we both looked at one another and wondered if it was actually large enough unfortunately you can't just get a tape measure our to check the width) so the only way was for us to edge in.

We managed to get Drummer's bows in but as we got to her wider points it became very apparent that she just wouldn't fit into this berth. Carefully reversing back and into the main fairway we contacted the Capitainerie and explained that it was too small. It's a good job that his English was excellent and he quickly allocated us a new berth on pontoon 'G' slightly further along and at the end of a hammerhead on our own - perfect.

Once safely moored up and just before Bruce was about to turn off the sailing instruments, he noticed that the sea temperature was reporting 21.8 degrees C - wow, now we don't have any excuses not to go for a swim!

Total distance this season: 605.99 nautical miles