Tonic 2023
| Vessel Name: | Tonic |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Beneteau Oceanis 411 |
| Hailing Port: | Brixham |
| Crew: | John and Barbara Sumner |
21 July 2023 | English Channel
Back to Brixham!
Left just after 6am as it was getting light and there was a lovely sunrise. We had 10 knots of wind but it was almost on the nose so we altered course and sailed a bit further east to get a better angle. Lovely and sunny but the wind was cold. We still had to have the engine on till the wind had backed [...]
20 July 2023 | Roscoff
Day in Roscoff
We have to visit the customs office today to get our passports stamped to say we have left the Schengen area. It's one of the reasons that we are rushing home, because we don't want to be in danger of overstaying our allotted 90 days due to bad weather. In actual fact we've only been here for about 70 days. Our appointment with the Douane was at 2pm so we got the bikes out, and on our way up the ramp lo and behold who should be coming down the other way but our friends from Torquay Tony & Sylvie! They were with her brother-in-law whose boat was in the marina. The checking out at the Douane went smoothly although the guy seemed to think we were checking in not checking out despite us having completed the form saying we were leaving! We then carried on into the town where we had an ice cream, and watched 2 young men playing boules which was very entertaining. It was pleasant in the sunshine and lovely to see that younger people are carrying on with French customs, as it usually seems to be older men playing. Back to the boat to get everything ready for tomorrow.
19 July 2023 | Roscoff
Another long day!
Got the bikes out and went to check in, then to the supermarket for final provisions - the checkout girl must have thought we were coffee addicts as we stocked up on 12 packets of our favourite brand of French coffee! Another 11am start to make the best of the tide. There was a fair bit of swell and it was quite cold and cloudy but we were able to sail with the cruising chute up through the Chenal du Four. Arrived at Roscoff at 8.30pm. All the visitors' berths were taken so we tied up on the long pontoon outside of our friends on Rowena. 62 miles in 9 hours 20 minutes. The photo is one of my favourite landmarks on this coast - Pointe St Matthieu which marks the southern end of the Chenal du Four which is a 10 mile stretch of coastline with strong tides.
18 July 2023 | Camaret
Raz de Sein
Raz de Sein today - strong tides here so it's important to get the timing right. We don't need to leave till 11am as the tide doesn't turn favourable till mid-afternoon. Another sunny day and a decent wind so we were able to sail till the wind dropped at 3.30pm. Arrived at Camaret at 7.30pm and the only space was on the outside of the breakwater so we tied up there, and discovered we were next to Rowena - Paul & Sue Jones, and Margot the dog, who we had met briefly in St Denis. They invited us on board for a drink which was lovely. Had a reasonably peaceful night although there was a bit of swell coming in. 54 miles in 8 ½ hours. The photo is of the rather forbidding coastline on the approach to Camaret.
17 July 2023 | Lesconil
Lesconil
We're getting a clearer picture of the weather over the next week or so and there is some bad weather coming up the Channel next week, so we are now heading for home. Long journey today so set off at 8am in lovely sunshine. Unfortunately there was very little wind so we had to motor all the way except for half an hour in the afternoon. Arrived in Lesconil at 6.30pm and were greeted by Andy & Beverley on Star Turn who had arrived there earlier. There was some Breton dancing and a street market in the town so we went to have a look and enjoyed a gallette from one of the stalls. A nice way to unwind after a long day at sea. 63 miles in 10 hours 20 mins. The photo is of one of the beautiful islands in the Gulf.
16 July 2023 | Golfe du Morbihan
Leaving Vannes
We had decided to leave on the afternoon lock, which meant we have most of the day to enjoy here. As it's Sunday we watched our Church service in the cockpit – we had the cockpit tent up because it had been raining on and off. I went into town to get a baguette and there was a lovely craft fair by the harbour. The lock doesn’t open till 5pm so we went for a walk in the afternoon to a park nearby called Tohannic which has a lake, and came back past Montcalm, which is a 17th century convent turned hotel. The French boat outside of us called Al Dente was also leaving at 5pm so we followed them out. We had planned to anchor off one of the small islands in the Gulf but we had problems with the anchor which didn’t set first time and when we tried to drop it the second time it jammed and we couldn’t get it to run through. Fortunately there were some free mooring buoys a couple of miles away so we were able to pick up one of those instead. The photo is of a guy wind-foiling backwards and forwards in front and behind us as we motored along. it looks great fun and they go really fast!
Market day in Auray
An old bridge spans the river to link the old port of St. Goustan which in the 19th century was a trading port with Spain and Britain, to the rest of the town. There are records of a bridge there dating back to the 13th century but the current bridge dates from 1752. Monday is market day and it is a huge market, a mixture of fruit & veg stalls and clothes, hats, jewellery etc. I bought a straw hat which is much cooler and prettier than my Tilly hat but no good when it's windy! The stall-holder was very interested in my Tilly hat as he has a hat shop and is thinking of stocking them. We had coffee in the Café des Halles and were entertained by a man playing the piano accordion. John bought 3 huge melo ns for €5. We went back to same café for lunch and enjoyed their Plat du Jour (mixed grill) and a Kir immensely. There is a lovely buzz about the place and it is very colourful, in such an atmospheric setting of a medieval town. Back to the boat and we were then faced with the challenge of getting off the fore-&-aft mooring without getting the joining rope either (a) in the bow thruster (as the tide was pushing us against it) or (b) in the propeller. John with his engineering skills rigged the lines so I could release them fast at the same time as he drove the boat away. Mission accomplished! We then shot out of the Gulf with the tide roaring beneath us (saw 10 knots on the speedo) and motored into Crouesty marina where they put us on a nice finger berth which we were lucky to get as the marina was filling up fast. It was roasting hot - good excuse for an ice cream! We sat in the cockpit in the evening with our little fans cooling us down! It was registering 30 degrees down below.
