We left Sete at 1900 on the Monday night. The forecast was light and variable breezes and for most of the way that's what we had. We motor-sailed slowly, taking our time. It was a beautiful night with a huge moon, almost bright enough to read by. We had a very brief visit from some dolphins just before sunset, glimpsed a few fishing boats out of Sete and otherwise saw practically nothing until about 0400.
Poor Pip was unwell, despite the glassy flat sea. We think it was food poisoning from a quiche. We had bought several, along with some gorgeous bread, from a bakers in Sete, and one had obviously disagreed with her. Sarah stayed on watch an extra two hours so Pip could sleep it off. No complaints, though, as about 0500 a little breeze got up and finally we could turn the engine off.
With a flat sea and about 12 knots of wind, Roaring Girl romped away on her favourite close reach. So much for going slowly: we charged along at 5.5 knots plus. Not bad for a fully laden cruising boat with a long trail of weed and deliberately under-canvassed so the invalid could enjoy a flat berth. After about 2.5 hours, as the sun warmed everything up, the breeze died, and the engine came on again. By then, Pip felt much better.
The picture is one of the cardinal marks off the mouth of the river, the flat marshlands hazy in the background. For such an awesome and fast waterway, the actual river mouth is tiny. All the big ships go to Marseilles, Sete, or into the ports of the Gulf of Fos. This bay is to the east of the Rhone and the national park of the Camargue. Coming from the west, there is a big sand spit which you must skirt round carefully, but the safe depths are clearly marked by these cardinals.
There are hordes of fishing boats sitting on the edge of the channel, just out of the way of the numerous large container craft. Sailing boats motor or (when we came in) drift about. It's a very busy place, and we were glad it was full daylight.