Current Position
48 00 45N
004 33 00W
St. Evette
We left Cameret and did a 26 mile passage to a lovely upmarket holiday resort with a stunning anchorage called Sainte Evette. Our passage meant negotiating the Raz de Seine - another area of water with a fearsome reputation and you certainly don't want to be going through in " wind over tide" conditions. Our pilot book and the Almanac both state it is best to go through at slack water, so that is what we did and it wasn't anywhere near as bad as we had feared. Admittedly, in stronger wind conditions it would have been a whole different ball game. We started on the engine but eventually the wind picked up to F3/4 from the SW and we had a good sail. We have noticed that the days start with very little wind, but picks up by about 1pm and the afternoons and evenings are quite breezy and that is when we get our best sailing. We were intending to stay just one night at Ste. Evette, on the anchor, and the harbour master ( a very attractive young French man) came alongside and asked if we would like croissants and a baguette the next morning. The thought of freshly baked croissants for breakfast was just too tempting and so we said yes please, and he told us he would be back at 8.30am the next morning - and sure enough he was, with a box of baguettes and croissants which he delivered to visiting yachts. How cool is that? Fresh coffee and very fresh croissants while sitting in the cockpit watching several groups of young children learning to sail in Optimists and Hobie Cats while others were learning to wind surf and kayak. Just listening to their laughter was very uplifting. Do schools in the UK have water sports on the curriculum? If not they should.
Song for this post: Symphony No.9, in E minor "From the New World" composed by Antonin Dvooak ( the music from the Hovis ad)
Thought for this post: Everywhere we have been we have seen children learning to sail and having the time of their lives. It is no wonder the French are such confident sailors - they start young and it is clearly an important part of their education
Highlight for this post : one of life's best sounds has to be that of children having such fun - even when they crashed into each other!