Vessel Name: | Tonic |
Vessel Make/Model: | Beneteau Oceanis 411 |
Hailing Port: | Brixham |
Crew: | John and Barbara Sumner |
Slept like a log and awoke to a calm bright morning. We completed our immigration forms to notify the authorities of our return from France and submitted them online. Set off at 10.20 – there was a bit of weed on the anchor but otherwise clean, and we hadn’t moved! We had 12 knots of wind on the [...]
Today's plan was initially to go to Roscoff, ready to cross the Channel tomorrow. Set off at 9am to reach the Chenal du Four at 10.30 to catch the tide. We had to motor the first part of the way as there was very little wind, but by the time we reached the bottom of the Chenal du Four and got the pick [...]
Fortunately the rain eased off during the night, and we got a reasonable night's sleep. Awoke to a lovely sunny morning. We had decided rather than plug all the way to Roscoff today as originally planned, we would have an easier day and catch the end of the tide at the Raz de Seine, and head for Camaret. [...]
Early start - weighed anchor at 0810. Again quite a lot of swell which made it quite difficult on the foredeck. Bright sunny start to the day but later on it was quite overcast. We had 11 knots of wind to start with so put the cruising chute up but that only lasted an hour or so. Later on we went through a thunderstorm which was quite scary as we know someone who was struck by lightning on his boat. The storm was quite close at one point. We were very glad of the shelter of the bimini! The wind filled in a bit in the afternoon but still on the nose so no chance of sailing. We finally reached the anchorage at Ste. Evette (near Audierne) shortly after 8pm. (78 miles). By this time it had got quite cold and showery - I wore socks & shoes for the first time all holiday! Plenty of space to anchor. Shortly after we arrived it started raining in earnest and thunder & lightning. Not very nice! This photo actually belongs to the next day as I didn't have an interesting one from today. It is the Vieille lighthouse at the Raz de Seine, one of my favourite landmarks, in beautiful sunshine!
Our Wedding Anniversary! Awoke to bad news - Quarantine has been introduced in the UK for people returning from France. We had planned to go to St Gilles Croix de Vie, which we haven't been to before, and find somewhere nice to go out for a meal, but in view of the news we decided it was best to head for home as we don't really feel safe in France any more. I went to get a baguette from the vending machine. Set off at 9.30am. There was a really big swell as we came out of the marina so it was very unpleasant on the deck getting fenders and ropes in and the mainsail up. The wind was on the nose but very little of it so we had to motor - yet again! Decided to head for Belle Ile and anchor in Port Andro on the south east corner of the island. John had a very brief sighting of dolphins - where are they all this year? We reached Port Andro just as it was getting dark at 10.30 and anchored in 7m near the rocks on the right hand side. (79 miles). There were some boats in but not too crowded. It was still a bit swelly but not too bad, and after a celebratory G&T we had a reasonable sleep. The photo is the anchorage at Port Andro.
We had expected rain today but although it had rained a bit overnight, it was a fine morning. They have a really good display of the weather forecast from Meteofrance at the Capitainerie. There is also a vending machine outside where you can get a lovely fresh baguette for €1. What a great idea! Bourgenay doesn't have much of a town or shops, just a few cafes by the marina. Despite the rain forecast the weather was looking OK so we decided to go off on our bikes and we headed South. There is a super bike track which goes along the coast for a while and through some woods, and then across the salt marshes. We stopped for our picnic in the woods near the beach, then carried on to Talmont St. Hilaire. It was sunny but a fresh breeze which was very pleasant, and for once there weren't too many people about. There is a very ancient ruined castle at Talmont St. Hilaire so we decided to have a look round as it only costs €6 each. There has been a castle there since the 11th century and Richard the Lionheart made it his home. The history is very interesting. On our way back to the boat it started to rain as we were cycling back to Bourgenay. Fortunately we had taken our waterproof macs with us so didn't get too wet!