Current Position
48 46 29N
003 35 15W
Trebeurden, on the Pink Granite Coast
We slipped our lines from the Riviere Treguier and motored back down river in brilliant hot sunshine. For the first time this trip, we were sailing in shorts, tee shirts and bare feet. I don't know why exactly but I love moving around on deck without shoes. It's a lovely feeling. It was so hot I got my sun hat out and lathered my face in sun block. There was no wind and we feared a motor sail all the way to Trebeurden as there wasn't even enough for the cruising chute. We had tide against us so to try and help us along we put the main sail up. After an hour or so, there was breeze but right on our nose. We could of course have tacked our way along the coast but it was a 32 mile passage and we were aiming to get to Trebeurden in time to get over the sill and into the marina. What we ended up doing was motor tacking, but when the tide turned we still had the wind on our nose which made for a horrible lumpy ride - known in the trade as "wind against tide". On the plus side, the change of tide helped us along and we started to make up for lost time. By this time though, we were both back to long trousers and fleeces and hats as the wind brought with it a real chill. I am amazed how extreme the weather can be. It was a long slog and frankly hard work. As well as navigating rocks there were pots everywhere, some you could barely see, and we managed to run over two which thankfully, after making a real racket as they bounced along the hull, shot out the back of the boat. We have a rope cutter on our propeller for such eventualities but thankfully the ropes stayed clear of prop. However, this made us even more diligent which on such a long passage is very tiring. The coastline was beautiful. Very rocky and the further along we got, the pinker the rocks became. As it turned out we arrived too late to cross the sill so picked up a buoy outside the marina and settled down for the night in the lee of the Ile Milleau. Very rock and roll - not as bad as Alderney or Derrible Bay but enough to keep waking us up through the night. We reckoned we would be able to get over the sill at 2pm - 2 hours before high water. We called Port Control on Channel 9 and in very poor English he told Andreas we were good to go but when we got to the sill we didn't like what we saw. Just a bit too much concrete for our liking and a depth marker that was so badly covered in slime we couldn't read the figures so we spun the boat around and went back to the mooring to wait another hour. By that time there was plenty of water and we very confidently went straight in. Next day was a trek up the hill to the shops and a wander around followed by a fantastic burger and fries in a very small local cafe where we were made very welcome and enjoyed chatting to the locals. When the tide goes out here it really does go and the bay completely dries out, it is a very pretty scene, with gorgeous sandy beaches and rugged shoreline. There was enough pink granite surrounding the marina to fit out every kitchen along the south coast of the UK!!!! As we were getting ready to leave next morning, we noticed the harbour master scrubbing away at the depth marker.
Song for this post : Soak up the sun by Sheryl Crow
Thought for this post : If in doubt, don't go out ( or over!!)
Highlight for this post : A very lovely, albeit short, taster of the lovely warm and consistent weather to come when we can sail barefoot.