Tonic 2023

Vessel Name: Tonic
Vessel Make/Model: Beneteau Oceanis 411
Hailing Port: Brixham
Crew: John and Barbara Sumner
21 July 2023 | English Channel
20 July 2023 | Roscoff
19 July 2023 | Roscoff
18 July 2023 | Camaret
17 July 2023 | Lesconil
16 July 2023 | Golfe du Morbihan
15 July 2023 | Vannes
14 July 2023 | Vannes
13 July 2023 | Vannes
12 July 2023 | Vannes
11 July 2023 | Arradon
10 July 2023 | Auray
09 July 2023 | Golfe du Morbihan
08 July 2023 | Port Joinville
07 July 2023 | Ile d'Yeu
06 July 2023 | Port Joinville
05 July 2023 | St Gilles Croix-de-Vie
04 July 2023 | Port La Vie
03 July 2023 | St Denis d'Oleron
02 July 2023 | St Denis d'Oleron
Recent Blog Posts
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!

Change of plan!

17 August 2020 | Helford River
John Sumner | Sunny and windy
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 up from the tide we were able to sail without the engine on. We put the cruising chute up at midday and had a lovely downwind sail, the sun was shining and the sea wasn’t too rough. After reviewing the weather forecast for today and tomorrow we decided we had a better chance of being able to sail if we carried on and crossed the Channel today, so at the top of the Chenal du Four we set a course for the Helford River. It was quite an interesting crossing with lots of big tankers and cargo ships crossing our path, and at one point we had a fighter jet circling around above us! In the early part of the evening we also had some very black-looking thunder clouds but thankfully missed the rain. As darkness fell we took the cruising chute down and put the genoa out, and were very glad we did as the wind started to build and by 10pm we had 15-16 knots. We took turns to have a sleep down below during the afternoon and again in the evening, after our passage supper of tinned ravioli and peas! Even after dark it wasn’t cold although there was a starry sky. We got a data signal when we still 18 miles off the English coast, and spotted the Lizard light at 22.40. Approaching Nare Point there were about 9 or 10 large ships at anchor which was a surprise and all the lights were very confusing. We navigated through them with the radar on and finally dropped anchor in a small bay at the entrance to the Helford River at 3am. It didn’t grab very well so we guessed it was a stony seabed (possibly why most boats were anchored in the next bay? So glad to have finally arrived and get some shut eye! The photo is of the Le Four lighthouse - don't usually see it in such beautiful light!
118 miles in 16 hours.
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