La Rochelle
An omission from the previous blog; I forgot to mention the John Dory, or St Pierre, as it's known in France. Pete bought it in the fish market, prior to leaving Saint-Martin-de-Re. It was delicious, simply pan fried in olive oil and then basted in paprika butter, alongside a tomato salad. We ate it for lunch, at anchor, off Ile de Re.
Port de Minimes, in La Rochelle, has 4300 berths. On entry to the marina, there is a long reception pontoon with a small office, where you pull alongside to check in and be allocated a berth. The staff come out to take your lines too. Knowing that Muirgen would be here for a while, we were pleased to find that every third night is free when you pay upfront, making this one of the cheapest marinas per night we have visited, at €70 for 3 nights. The staff jumped in a dory and directed us to our berth and were on hand again to take the lines, which was lucky, as the wind was blowing is off the pontoon quite strongly and it was the wrong side for the reverse kick.
Following a tidy up and a light lunch, we walked into La Rochelle, via the coastal promenade, passing all the marine supply shops, the Ville de Bois and into Le Vieux Port. Here we found a proper bar, with a good range of beers, where we could sit outside and enjoy the views, which included the old port, the red and green lighthouses which form the transit for entry and the towers at each end of the city walls. We had a wander around the old port area and shops nearby, where Pete was reprimanded by a gendarme for forgetting to wear his face mask, which was obligatory in this busy area of the city. Rain was forecast for early evening, so we returned to the boat, via a City Carrefour, where we provisioned with beer, wine and chicken for dinner. The squally rain hit as we were heading for the shower block, soaking is through but had cleared temporarily when we returned. It was very humid, so the hatches were up and down all evening, as the rain showers came and went. We enjoyed video calls with Mum and Dad and with Paul and Nancy, ensuring Pete stayed up until after 11pm. I expect he will be grumpy tomorrow.
I was up Friday morning, showered and had been on a trip to find a boulangerie before Pete rolled out of bed at around 9.30am. As we were expecting guests, we cleaned the boat from top to bottom inside. I did the galley, the cooker, both heads and the cabin and Pete swept and vacuumed the floor. Not exactly a fair division of labour! In the afternoon, we visited the Musee Maritime, which was good value at €9 each. There are three parts to the museum, the first being the history of La Rochelle, which I was surprised to learn had been in British hands a number of times. The second part is the three ships, a massive weather ship, where you can explore all areas and which also houses sailing memorabilia and celebrates Bernard Moitessier, the 1968 Golden Globe race and other fascinating travellers. The other ships are a trawler and a tug. There are then around 50 old yachts, mostly wooden, including yawls, ketches and sloops, all in excellent condition. The third part of the museum deals with the oceans and climate change. We were parched after two and a half hours in the museum, as all their cafes and bars were closed, so we walked to the harbour side for a couple of beers. Ted joined us by the second beer, having driven down from Douarnenez. We remained in town for dinner, it being my last night. I selected La Grand Rive, a slightly Asian fusion restaurant, with a view across Le Vieux Port to the towers. For my last supper, I ate baked camembert, followed by tuna steak with sesame, creamed white and sweet potatoes and wok fried vegetables, washed down with a bottle of muscadet sur lies (Pete and Ted shared the wine!). The tuna was divine and Pete and Ted, who were eating mussels, had food envy. Luckily we were under a canopy as we had two torrential downpours while eating and were treated to two rainbows. We visited another couple of bars on our way back, one by the maritime museum, which was like a student bar and then Le Bistrot Des Robinsons, right by the marina, because another torrential downpour had started. This bar was rather bizarre, with model animals hanging all over the place.
It's now Saturday morning and I am packed and tying up loose ends, including writing this, my last blog. Tim Gorton is on his way to Manchester airport to fly out here, as I fly back and he will be our guest editor for the duration of his stay. I imagine the blog will be a very different style and packed with humour. I will also be leaving Tim a note detailing how to take care of Pete, such as making sure he has his reading glasses, his mask and some toothpicks if they are going out and how to get half man, half mattress out of bed. Good luck, Tim :-)
For those that are interested in statistics, we visited 33 places, including the 3 in the UK, with berths totalling approximately £1075. We stayed more than one night in some places, as you will have read and spent some nights at anchor (see details below).

Places visited:
Cromer
Shotley (Harwich)
Ramsgate
Boulogne
Saint Valery en Caux (2)
Port en Bassin
Cherbourg
Dielette (2)
Granville (2)
St Malo
Ile des Hebihens (anchorage)
Saint Quay Portrieux (2)
Treguier (1 night marina & 2 nights at anchor)
Roscoff
L'Aber-Wrac'h (1 night at anchor & 1 in marina)
Camaret (2 nights on buoy)
Morgat (2 different anchorages & 2 nights marina)
Sainte-Evette (Audierne) (mooring buoy)
Loctudy
Concarneau (2)
Port Tudy, Ile de Groix (anchorage)
Sauzon, Belle-Ile (2 nights on buoy)
Vannes (2)
Ile aux Moines, Gulf of Morbihan (anchorage)
Piriac sur Mer
Pornichet (2)
Port-Joinville, Ile d' Yeu (3)
Quai Garnier, Les Sables d' Olonne
Ile de Re (2 anchorages & 1 night in marina)
La Rochelle (2 nights so far)

We have spent £465 on diesel and run the engine for around 120 hours. We have travelled over 1000 miles from Grimsby to La Rochelle. Provisioning has been expensive, using small city supermarkets and individual shops but the quality of the food has been very good. Just under a grand spent on groceries, wine and beer, with a further £800 spent on entertainment (eating and drinking out and visiting museums etc.). Average spend has worked out at £500 per week, which is more than I had hoped but anchoring opportunities have been few and far between.

Muirgen will remain in La Rochelle for a few more days, while Pete and Ted transfer Waylander from Douarnenez to La Rochelle, over 3 to 4 days maximum. Muirgen will then continue on her journey to Spain.

A bientot.