Crossing the Bay of Biscay

Our last week in France We stayed 10 days in Les Sables D’Olonne. This is the longest we have stayed anywhere since leaving Gosport and it was nice just to stay in one place for some time. Our parcels all arrived safely and included some cruising guides for Spain and Portugal. We enjoyed some warm weather and to celebrate nearly two months in France we went out for a meal at a restaurant recommended by friends from the UK. There were a number of interesting murals painted around the town, one that caught Graham’s attention was one painted on what would have been a rather drab electricity substation. Judith liked… Read More

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Storms and Friends

We have experienced the first big storm of the trip, “Storm Miguel”. Thankfully it was well forecast and we were safely in Pornic marina for the storm. Unfortunately, we were reminded of the seas force and the need to respect its power. A lifeboat had launched from Les Sables-d’Olonne (some 40 miles south of Pornic) to rescue a fisherman who had gone out to sea in spite of the storm. The lifeboat capsized and three of the crew lost their lives, the fisherman is still missing although a body was recovered from the sea on the 16th June and is still to be identified. This impacted the whole community on… Read More

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Exploring South Brittany

In our last update, we were about to sail from North Brittany to South Brittany  This meant sailing through the Chenal Du Four and The Raz de Sein. Both of these have a reputation for causing trouble for sailors if the weather turns or are you are there at the wrong time. The currents can be strong and if the wind is against the tide, steep waves can be found. Reading the pilot guides timing is important and arriving when currents are going in your favour for the Chenal Du Four and at slack water for The Raz was mandatory.  This meant we had a couple of early starts leaving… Read More

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