Tonic 2023

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!

Day on Gigha

06 June 2021 | Gigha

Barbara Sumner | Sunny!

Lovely sunny morning. We made a packed lunch and launched the dinghy, and put our folding bikes in, and chugged round the headland to the main bay which is 1 ½ miles away. There were quite a lot of people around and boats on buoys, at anchor, and some on the pontoon. The pontoon was built in 2015 and is beautifully solid with space for about 10 boats of our size. There is an honesty box for people to pay their mooring fees (£20 on the pontoon or £15 on a buoy). There were 6 boats on it so plenty of room for us to tie up our dinghy and get our bikes ashore. The water is amazingly clear, you could see the sandy bottom in more than 3m of water, and there is not much rise and fall of tide here which makes life much easier. There is only really one road on the island, going from north to south, so we headed north first to admire Tonic in her bay from the land. The scenery is breathtaking, with views of Kintyre to the east, Jura to the north and Islay to the west. We stopped to admire a black-hulled boat in a bay just to the north of where we were. The island seems to be divided mainly up into farms, with small scale sheep and cattle farming. We then cycled to the south end of the island, and on the way back we called into what appears to be the only tourist attraction, Achamore Gardens. Again there was no-one in attendance, but you could pay your £6 suggested donation by waving a credit card at a card reader in a perspex box. The driveway was lined with beautiful rhododendrons and azaleas, and when we reached the actual entrance to the gardens there was a lone peacock wandering around looking as it if was waiting to be fed. The walled garden is beautiful and quite extensive, with benches to sit on and enjoy the birdsong. I spotted a goldfinch. For the most part we were the only people there. We headed back to deposit our bikes in the dinghy and then went to the Boathouse for our dinner. We chatted to a young man who had a kayak pulled up on the beach and it turned out he was from the black hulled boat (Sherpa) in the north bay, known as Twin Beaches. He had also sailed up from Scilly arriving yesterday but had done the whole trip in one go, and single-handed, taking 3 days and nights. He said that he had found this beautiful peaceful bay and got his head down to get some decent sleep, when a huge yacht came and moored nearby. Some people started partying on the beach and making a terrific racket at about 11pm and then the yacht sounded its horn and shone its searchlight on the beach to try and get the people to be quiet. We had heard the horn ourselves and wondered what it was! We had a wonderful meal on the decking of the Boathouse (which is Michelin recommended but without the prices of a Michelin star!), the wind had dropped and the sun was shining on our backs. The fish was freshy caught - I had skate wing which was delicious and John had halibut, then we both had clootie dumpling (a new experience but delicious) and custard for dessert. Then back to Tonic in the dinghy. So lovely to have wall to wall sunshine!

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