Author: Nickyadmin

Île-D’Yeu – La Turballe – Piriac-sur-Mer

Days 55 – 58

Friday 17th – Monday 20^th July

As a sailor, my first thought is “What is the wind like?” – both in terms of strength and direction (especially with regard to the direction one wants to sail). On Friday there was about 3knots of variable so-called wind – not a lot. This is bad news when you’re planning a 25 mile journey; in fact the only good thing about it is that it makes leaving a port much easier, as you’re not been blown about in a small space.

Shanks’s pony and Izzy (self-steering girl) at the ready and we depart at 0915 – adieu D’Yeu. Naughtily, we went through the red light to the outer port, as had another sailing boat in front of us, strictly speaking, this is a “no-no”. It wasn’t long before we saw why the red light was on as a small ferry arrived at a rate of knots into the outer harbour. It was high water and actually there was good space, but it still made us feel bad.

Out of the harbour, we put the main up (forever hopeful that the wind might arrive); the sea had a glassy look with the occasional “paw print” gasp from the wind; the only excitement being the cardinal buoys that needed going round – the water around here isn’t hugely deep.

After about 3 hours of motoring, the wind did finally make an appearance – N 5-7 knots at first, but as we went on it was building gradually. We originally thought we would go to Pornic (the port in front of Pornichet) about 25 miles away; however, as we came past the top of the Île de Normoutier, the wind really had picked up and to turn to Pornic would be dead into wind! Also, a quick look at the wind tomorrow helped us make our decision to keep sailing ahead, as Saturday’s forecast said very little wind again.

“Paw prints” on the water, as the wind starts to come in near the Île de Normoutier

À donf! With both sails up and the engine off, we decided to crack on and enjoy the sail all the way to La Turballe – and this was another one of those million dollar a minute sails – lasting about 4.5 hours! This included crossing the mouth of the Loire (and avoiding the anchored ships).

The wind shifted slightly to the NW, but we were enjoying a healthy 9 – 14 knots of wind.  The cumulonimbus clouds were evident over the land, whilst at sea we had gin clear blue skies. The question was, would we be able to get around the Pointe de Crosic? Unlikely on the making tack, so we went about (tacked) and suddenly it felt like we were going totally in the wrong direction! (Tacking always does this). You cannot sail in a straight line to where the wind is going from (your sails will flap like flags) – so the closest you can get to the wind is about 45˚ (except on Boni, it’s only about 55˚!) You will see from our track, the zig-zag – these are the tacks we put in.

We arrived at La Turballe about 1910 and I called them up on the radio in my best (still imperfect French) and the Port Dory guy greeted us and showed us a place to go – really close to the pontoon gangplank for once – so not miles to walk to the facilities.

On Saturday we wanted to find the Mr Bricolage hardware store – guess where? – out of town shopping. Out came the bikes and off we went. This was mostly to find hose connections for Bob’s next attempt of fixing the bilge pump, with the idea of putting under pressure water down the pipes to see if they were blocked – more of this later…

Quite a festive feel walking through the streets of La Turballe.

La Turballe is a fairly substantial fishing port and a centre for Sardines! Today was the annual sardine festival which involves Everyone going down to the harbour to enjoy a plate of sardines and chips with a drink and to listen to some music.

We went to have a look and it was suitably busy and typically a festival for the local population (of which there are about 4,850). For €7 you get a plate of barbequed sardines; it was really busy with families all down there enjoying themselves. After a look at the festival, we strolled through town.

After lunch the Bilge Pump Project continued in earnest. The bits Bob had bought for the hose all fitted, the tap was turned on so to squirt the water up the pipe and down the pipe – try not to get too much water around the cabin Bob! In the end we decided that there was no blockage, but that the pump was probably u/s and we would have to buy a new one.

Thankfully the manual hand pump for the bilge still operates well (!) and Boni wasn’t sunk. We put everything back together, jubilee clips back around the pipes, screw the unit back on, put the filter back in. More than this, we will have to replace the pump (tear up a few more £50 notes in the shower – as dad warned us on our wedding day – he wasn’t wrong)!

We went for a glorious swim; the beach is just a spit away and the water was cool and refreshing. La Turballe is clearly a place the French come on their holidays as the front is packed with holiday apartments and houses and the beach suitably busy with families enjoying the sun and sand.

 

 

Later, we went out for a meal in town – an Assiette des Fruits de Mer to share for a starter and then I had the ubiquitous sardines as a main course.

 

 

Delicious, but I swear I used up more calories eating these than benefitted me (and I couldn’t manage all those spuds).

Back at the boat, we discussed how we could better manage our tech on board, as it is nearly always a challenge to hook up onto Port internet and the reason why many sailing boats have their own internet. The previous day, all my roaming data had been used up. This was hard (especially for me, as I expect to be in touch with those important people when need be). This is “WiP” (work in progress) for us.

At 2245 Bob sloped off to a bar to watch the England vs France match – I went to bed.

On Sunday morning the wind was blowing a healthy 19knots (F5) gusting 26knots (F6) from, the NE. Yes – some decent wind! This would be too much for Boni with her full sails up, so we prepared the first reef for the main sail. We had to ask at the Capitainerie for them to move their dory, which moored behind us so we could pull Boni backwards along the pontoon, to drift off easily for our departure at 1030.

Not long out of the harbour, we hoisted the reefed main and pulled out about half of the Genoa and this proved to be the perfect sail plan for our short passage to Piriac-sur-Mer.

“Ready about?” – to which you wait for the reply: “ready!”

“Helm’s a lea” – when you put the helm over to go through the wind, followed by “Lea ho!” as you go through the wind. The old genoa sheet is released and the other sheet is then pulled in – 4 turns around the winch. Invariably, the helm has to bring the boat back towards the wind (but not back through it) to make it easier to pull in the sheet – this is called luffing up – and then away you go on the opposite tack.

We tacked a few times today because our objective was around a corner that made us go towards the wind (to windward). No time for photos, but we achieved some healthy speeds for us – between 5 and 7 knots – not too shabby! It was slow work though and eventually we succumbed to the engine giving Boni a push. We came into the harbour at Piriac at 1215 with 0.80m to spare over the sill – I wouldn’t have wanted to have come in much later.

After signing in at the Capitainerie, which is quite a grand building, we had a salad lunch. Still very windy, but as the tide went out, the sill contained the water within the harbour and Boni settled. Later we strolled into town to buy something for dinner – minced beef and spaghetti, stopping off for a beer on the way back. Clearly not a good idea for me, as I slipped on the edge of the pavement and went crashing down… ouch! No blood (so not even worth an orange Smartie) but a skinned and bruised leg and damaged pride (what a clot)!

The harbour is pretty full and later there was enough water to get over the sill again and we watched more boats depart and arrive – always entertaining! A genteel evening waiting for the final of the FIFA World Cup to start at 2100 – Spain vs. Argentina. Bob was watching this on his phone, I was half listening, and writing. At full time it was still 0-0, which garnered extra time; thankfully Spain scored a winning goal – they were the champions!

The wind was still blowing hard… the tide had risen and everyone was moving quite a lot, as we were – ropes snatching and jarring uncomfortably. Of course, during the night, as the tide went out, it all calmed down again – which was a relief; but come the morning, it all started bobbing around, despite tight springs (those are the mooring lines you tie forwards and aft-wards to stop a boat surging to and fro too much). I felt a bit sleep deprived and then on getting up, remembered no kneeling, so feeling a bit sorry for myself.

 

Bob was still trouble shooting the bilge pump (of course he was!) so the floorboard went up and we switched it on to see what happened. Apart from the loud noise it always makes – nothing was coming out of the back, so he gets onto Jabsco and discusses the problem with them. Later they email him with a suggestion of a replacement – of course the pump we have is now obsolete. We partially filled our water tank, as this was getting very low, then, after the obligatory visit to the chandlery (!),  we wandered into town which was a-buzz with a massive market through all the streets; full of bustle and folk. Bob bought himself a couple of pairs of shorts. In the ruck-sack was our empty gas bottle which had lasted 6 weeks of us living on board. Replacement/new gas can be found at most super markets and the one here was no exception – also the price was cheaper at €35 (that’s about £32) – at home the same bottle costs about £40.

We found a less crowded way back and stopped off for a cool soft drink en route. What a beautiful old place this is and plenty of pretty flowers!

Our minds are beginning to turn towards our return to the Vilaine River tomorrow – so tidying up etc.

We had a good supper out at the restaurant at The Hotel Ker Lehn, sitting  and we happened to sit next to a Dutch couple who were also sailing – they had been out here for 15 years and had a trimaran (a boat with three hulls) – 9m long and 7m wide! To help to come into port – the two outer hulls fold in towards the middle hull, but even then it was a wide beasty. Always interesting to hear other people’s stories; we are definitely hampered by Brexit and only being allowed to be out for 90 days in 180 – hmmm!.

 

La Rochelle and beyond – heading back Northwards

Saturday 11^th – Thursday 16^th July

Days 49 – 54

Saturday evening : the temperature is still an amazing 30˚+++ as we strolled out to find a bar for the Football World Cup with the match between England and Norway set to start at 2300 French time.

There was a real busy – buzzy feel around La Rochelle as this was the first day of a 5 day festival around Bastille Day on Tuesday. The medieval towers were lit with Red, White and Blue and everyone was out, with plenty of bars, restaurants and stalls to catch the passing trade.

We located an Irish bar (“to be sure”) which had the most important thing: Air Con – how cool (literally) was that!? Stuart and Nina joined us, as did many others who were wanting to catch the action, including some Norwegians in our bar. The Norwegians scored first, then England did…. Then the tussle and by full time it was still one each, which means the match goes into a 30 minute extra time. Thankfully England scored a second goal soon into this time and defended well, so England were the victors.

I was so grateful to crawl into my bed – 0200!

Sunday dawned just as hot and sunny and temperatures reached 41˚. We took our dinghy across to the sanitaires (3 minutes) at the Port Office (rather than walking for 15 mins in heat, and back). We tied up on the Port pontoon, climbed the ladder up the wall and thought no more about it. The showers were OK, except they were hot with no ability to turn them down to cold (!) so we came out clean, but much the same temperature… Then suddenly the Port guy was there, telling us off for using their landing pontoon, shouting and wagging his finger at us – oooh la la – he was in a bit of a state!

It was too hot to explore, although we went to find a supermarket for a bit of shopping – mostly liquid refreshment and suddenly our fridge was full! I did a bit of hand washing (washing machine facilities are not always easily available) and this was a good day to do it, as the clothes dried in a jiffy. People came and went on the various tripper boats moored near us and all the time in the background was music and the bustle of the place.

We were looking forward to our friends Steve and Monica coming to join us. Their house is about an hour and a half away near Parthenay (inland) and they were keen to link up with us (and we with them). They found an overnight car park so to spend the evening / overnight together, and also Stuart and Nina joined us for a drink and a meal. Before we went out, we had to pay Ernest Le Glacier a visit. We first encountered his ice-cream shops about 17 years ago on a visit to La Rochelle to see our friend Antonia. His shops sell the most tantalising array of ice-creams and sorbets, as you can see from the list – I chose the pear (poivre) and bergamont orange sorbets in a cup. Incidentally, the spoon you have to eat it with is made out of biscuit!

Stuart and Nina had told use that one of the Vendée Globe boats had come into their basin, so we went to inspect “Respire” – don’t you think that the mast looks on the backward slant? But what a machine? – just incredible!

 

 

 

After a drink, we found a restaurant (out of the sun, although my dress was sticking to me for sure) and we settled down to an evening of delicious cuisine: Sea Bream on a bed of mashed sweet potato and a Café Gourmand for dessert for me.

The evening had a late ending, sitting on Boni with Steve and Monica, ensuring that we didn’t de-hydrate (I’m not sure the gin evaporated though)!

This was the hottest I had ever been in bed – no need for any covers – lying there impossible to cool down with the sweat soaking into the pillows – unreal!

Monday dawned equally hot; after a breakfast bought from the local Boulangerie of crosissants, pain au chocolat, pain aux raisins and a chouquette, we said our farewells to Monica and Steve and we went into town to find the market place and have a little around.

 

 

 

The architecture is stunning – they have all their important buildings right in the centre here – the Hotel de Ville, Palais de Justice and so on; there are many, many shops here in La Rochele, a mixture of big names like Yves Saint Laurent, Rolex, Omega, Cartier, Dior as well as very nice fashion and home accessories – very smart, very stylish.

After a coffee, we watched an acrobat in the street and then got back to Boni; it was time to pack up and go as the tide was rising and we were off to Le Bourgenay on our way back north.

There was a NW wind blowing 8 – 10 knots, eminently suitable for a sail (at last). Infact, out to sea, it was more like 13 – 15 knots and we were over-pressed, so put in a reef in the main and had only half the Genoa out. (If you have too much sail up on Boni, she starts rounding up towards the wind and gets out of control). The wind didn’t last the trip though and after a couple hours the wind ebbed away and we motor-sailed into Bourngenay.

The long visitors pontoon was pretty empty, but the Port dory man cam and asked us to move up as close as possible to the next boat (we didn’t) and no more boats came in. One of the Gendarmerie vessels was in port with us.

On Tuesday our objective was St Gilles-Croix-en-Vie and it was important to arrive a couple of hours after low water. The first prize today was the sighting of dolphins! As soon as they were there, then they were gone – not even enough time to grab the camera. Even if I had the camera in my hand – dolphins are notoriously difficult to photograph. However, there were about 3 of them and they were big, so definitely dolphins, not porpoises. We are on spring tides (the biggest, fastest tides) so there is not much water at low tide. As we entered into the long approaching harbour wall to the proper harbour we overtook another boat – similar to ours – an Oceanis 351 – so a meter longer. The helms lady was screaming at us; she seemed very stressed that we had overtaken her (although she was going very slowly)! The tide was flowing in fast to St Gilles and we wanted to re-fuel at the fuel berth, before berthing. This can be a bit of a caper, and today was no different as there was a sailing boat already fuelling. The port dory lady had greeted us and we explained we needed fuel and we would have to wait, so we circled around. Soon, Madam Stress arrived and started shouting for us to get out of her way! Yes, and did I say the tide was flowing fast? No? Well, it was, so you have to use your engine wisely. Madam Stress wasn’t taking any prisoners… and she wasn’t being very clear about what she wanted to do as she was in such a state – I almost thought it was a case of Turettes… Finally, she got past us, the Dory lady in hot pursuit to get her berthed and we went to the now vacated fuel berth.

Today is an important day for France – it is 14^th July, which is Bastille Day – a national holiday and festival in France, commemorating the storming of the Bastille (a major Parisian medieval armoury, fortress and political prison) on 14^th July, 1789, which is a major event within the French revolution. We wandered into town and there was a definite festive atmosphere with a community band and dancers on the front.

 

Busy, so we found a quieter spot for a refreshing drink. Today was also important for France as they were playing Spain in the world cup… It was interesting to note that during the match, very few people were about. Sadly for the French, Spain won (quite rightly, as they were the better team); but a bit of a dampener for the French. Les Artifice (fireworks) were let off at 2300 from the beach in a brilliant display.

 

Our evening meals!

Wednesday dawned grey with the sound of thunder in the air….

…. we didn’t want to be late leaving as the tide was on the ebb (going out), so a 0915 departure was good. Bob skillfully sprung off from the bow, reversing swiftly into the flow and we were off! Heading out to sea, past the southerly cardinal (danger to the north) and a good wind to sail in the general direction of Ile-D’Yeu.

Despite not being able to make the course we really wanted, we were able to have a really good sail – full sail up utilising the 8 knot NW wind, which translated to 5 – 6 knots of speed over the ground. Of course, it meant that we would have to tack (go in a zig-zag pattern to reach Port Joinville on D’Yeu). Here Bob & Izzy are taking it in turns to steer the boat (Izzy is our self-steering girl).

 

After about 4 hours, with only about 30 minutes to go, we took in the sails and motored up & into the Port. The pontoons here are not my favourites… no cleats – just hoops – which are a pain to be honest as you have to thread (your usually long mooring rope) through the hoop and back to your boats’ cleat. Otherwise, you tie a bowline onto the hoop and then attach it to you boat.

The good thing was that it was substantially cooler (although as soon as you get into port, the temperature does seem to rise a few degrees). After a salad lunch I had a “rest”, or as my dad would have called it a “zizzzz” – the last three late nights had caught up with me. My slumbers were eventually disturbed by some banging. This was Bob investigating our bilge pump. Could I help please? Well, of course, just let me wake up first!

We dismantled the pump and took the whole thing off. Could I blow down this pipe? Hmmm – didn’t look too attractive, however, with a good wipe off, I put my lips around it and blew, and blew, and blew – it wasn’t clear, that was for sure. After checking that the manual pump worked, which it did, we abandoned the project for now – to be continued (can’t wait)!

We got the bikes out (which is a bit of a mission, but totally worth it) and cycled into town; called by a chandlery to see if we could get some gas (Gas bottle no. 1 had run out a few days ago) and the man there recommended a place. We went to the fish shop for some Crevettes and Merlan (which is whiting) for supper and to the super market for a few things too. After our fishy supper we went to the bar where they were showing the football: England vs Argentina. Oh dear – what a disappointment! We lost and the Argentinians went through to the final which is on Sunday.

Port Joinville is a very busy port – a container ship arrives at least once a week and ferry boats are in and out every day! Otherwise a helicopter flies over and there are a couple of tractors which seem to race up and down the harbour wall delivering boat trailers…

Thursday 16^th July – we woke to no wind and much cooler temperatures – 21˚- phew!

Today we cycled to the northwest of the Île-D’Yeu and then back inland to the Grand Phare, which we paid a visit to. It is interesting to see that this lighthouse is not built on a rock or out at sea, but about half a mile inland. What a sensible thing to do – you can build it easily, have accommodation around it and nowadays it is also accessible to the tourists who would like to have a look.

The original lighthouse was built in 1828, however, it was bombed in WWII by the Germans in 1944, as was the other lighthouse on the island. It was rebuilt and finished in 1950, it’s 42m tall with 198 steps (that’s the gym workout done for the day!) – hence it’s rather modern look. Bob wasn’t too keen on going up – but he did make it to the top. The spiral staircase that takes you there is made from marble slabs and you are greeted at the top by the most fantastic views; it was automated in 1980 the Fresnel light can be seen 27 miles away!

The views from the top were stunning!

 

It was a shame that there was nowhere to have a drink there (these guys are missing a trick), but we swigged on our bottle of water, jumped back on the bikes to visit the old Citadel, which is rather hidden in a wooded area. There was an “exposition” (display, with some information about the place) – but it was all totally in French – je ne comprends pas!

After a bit of hand washing, we had some Soupe-de-Poisson for lunch – then some chill time (and time for me to write this!)

Beautiful flowers on this island!

 

Le Bourgenay – St Martin-de-Ré (Île de Ré) – L Rochelle

Monday 6th – Saturday 11th July

Days 44 – 49

It’s too darn hot! – as the song goes, and very little wind. Bob had been up half the night watching the footie – so he was a bit like a zombie… We treated ourselves to Crepes with Ice Cream over-looking Le Bourgenay’s developing harbour complex, which is currently mid-build.

 

 

It’s planning on becoming quite a place and later we walked the 1km into town (a roundabout with two shops!) for some bread and a quick beer in the Tabac (one has to do these things!) We passed what was probably the local mansion or Bourg and an angel watching over.

We invited David and Elaine (Whiskey Mac) onto Boni for drinks – very sociable – a pizza/quiche & salad supper on board and we went to bed as the sun set – ready for a 0700 departure on tomorrow – Tuesday.

 

The local hairdresser’s salon!

 

The best thing about leaving at this time was that it was cool; but the wind was negligible… on the beam but only about 9 knots, which kind of gave us an extra half a knot with the engine on. We were bound for the Île de Ré – St Martin in particular, which is a 17.5 nautical mile passage. The reason for leaving this early was so that we would arrive at St Martin at around 1030 – which is exactly what happened, with HW being 1130. We “sailed” in company with Le Jouannet – Stuart and Nina’s boat.

 

You have to call the Port up on arrival – I was trying to explain in my best French that we needed a berth for 2 nights – maybe more. The harbour is gated by a lock with a sill, so it is etiquette to allow the departing boats to come out first; the harbour master is in charge of this and insists that you circle in a small outer harbour area before you are called in; this was going to take 15 minutes to wait; then the ferry came in, then other boats were leaving and arriving all simultaneously and at the same time!

The Port Captain was very precise about our length – we always say we are 10m, but in actual fact we are 9.95m; so he looks us up in his book and says you are only 9.95m…! ( must practise: longeur – neuf metre quatre-vingt-quinze!). We are rafted alongside another boat whose decks are full of clutter and frankly a bit of a nightmare for us to traverse as the guy has his Walker-Bay rigid dinghy across his fore-deck.

Soon the lock gates close and we are penned in. Le Jouannet, being 13m long, is in a completely different position.

 

 

 

We were in and acclimatising… how about a game of Scrabble? OK, says I. (Good result for me – 308 vs Bob’s 199 – but he would insist on picking up vowels: I, I, I, I !!!)

After a quick foray into town to get our bearings, we decide to get the bikes off the boat – all a bit of an effort across Monsieur Chaos; but we manage. Off to the small Carrefour Express for some essentials and then Stuart and Nina invite us for drinks on their boat – very agreeable. Their boat is a 43’ Beneteau; an ex-charter boat – lovely!

The Île de Ré is a charming, low-lying island, perfect for cycling (there are extensive cycle-ways) with a population of about 17,650; the island is about 30kms long and 5kms wide with the highest elevation being about 20m (66’) above sea level. It has a varied history with a siege in 1627 and a large citadel by the port of St Martin built by Vauban in 1681 – with expansive fortifications. Apart from tourism, the salt pans serve as a serious industry here.

Wednesday 8^th July  – dawned with a thick fog upon us (due to yesterday’s heat) and we wanted to make a plan. We decided to go out on the bikes going south-westwards, through the extremely large Citadel, following the very brilliant cycle paths to Le Flotte – a charming harbour/port which was a hive of activity with many harbourside bars and shops as well as a market. We stopped for a drink and ambled our way through the busy streets.

Some pics of La Flotte harbour and an aerial shot (pinched):

Back on the bikes, towards our home port we stopped off for “Le Sandwich” – consumed in the shade under a tree – then to the beach where we erected our beach tent, donned our swimmers and dived in (or should I say dipped, as it was pretty shallow). However, on swimming out, we had a good cooling swim and a relax.

The cycle paths are great – the cobbles that give St Martin part of its character are not! (Definitely shaken, not stirred!)

In the evening we went out for a drink with Stuart and Nina in the town and later watched the sunset – spectacular!

On Thursday,  the heat was getting the better of us and we struggled….

 

So we went out for a “Formula déjeuner” in a local restaurant with flaked cod for a starter and then Sea Bass for a main, polished off with Pistachio and Vanilla ice cream – what’s not to like?

 

 

 

On Friday, I was determined not to have a repeat of Thursday! We set off on our bikes to the north of the Ile-de-Re at 0930 (still relatively cool), via Le Bois Plage-en-Ré and La Courade-sur-Mer – both places with markets; although we didn’t stay long as we wanted to get up to Arz-en-Ré..

This was via quite a network of long, straight cycle ways – and there were a lot of cyclists out.

 

We past the extensive salt pans, for which the island has many and is famous. It is arduous, manual labour and workers can be seen raking the salt into mini pyramids. How they make it pure from mud/sand – I do not know!

 

We cycled right up to the port at Arz – tricky to access as it’s only about 1 hour either side of highwater to get in or out by boat! We were hot! Bob said it was breakfast time (again) but we arrived between mealtimes, so a Grand Café au lait and a bottle de l’eau sufficed and a pack of a dozen chouquettes – which are pastry/light style doughnuts from the market (they were quite dry, but nice!)

On the way back to the boat we were able to stop off to see the donkeys, the ones famous for wearing pantaloons or culottes! You never heard of them? Oh, come on! These donkeys are important (especially for such an underrated animal). Their history is from the decades of them carrying the salt from the salt-pans. However, their owners noticed them tapping their legs to get rid of the insects and mosquitos. Their legs would become infected, so they designed trousers for the donkeys to wear to deter the mozzies and bugs, and this has been a thing on the Ile de Re ever since. We found the farm where the donkeys are kept and heard a lot about them all, including a larger, shaggy donkey who is mated with horses to make mules! (Only 350 left in the world apparently!)

The donkeys (in trousers) used to give donkey rides in the park in St Martin, but this is no longer the case as the summers have been getting hotter. So the model has now changed to making soap using donkey milk – and very soft and beautiful this is! We met Calina – she is one of the 15 donkeys kept on the farm. Caline means hug in French and her name is the feminine version.

Donkeys pantalons:

The rear view!

We cycled back to the boat (for a rest in the afternoon) before going to the Inter-marché for a shopping trip.

On Saturday, we knew we had to leave (sadly – we had become quite “at home” here!) The boat moored on our outside had been unoccupied for a couple of days, due to a wedding, so we were a bit dubious if the owners would appear or not. We spent the morning having a spruce up and getting ready for sea, stowing the bikes and a general clean through. By 1130 I was soaked to the skin, as were ALL my clothes (enough said!) which called for a shower and a complete change. I swear, I spent at least 5 minutes under a cold shower to reduce my body temperature. (Please close your eyes!)

The lock gates opened on time at 1215 and still no evidence of Mr “Father of the Groom” – heck! What to do? But then, he arrives, in a big rush and anyone who is leaving, gathering by the lock or ready to get out faster than you can say Bob’s a pirate!

Off we go under motor. No expectation of sailing today for our 9 nautical mile trip – wind was a negligible NW 3-4 knots – Bimini up, sun hats, sunscreen and sunnies on – a motor to La Rochelle.

 

 

Then… out the other side!

We pass under the bridge that joins the mainland to the Ile-de-Re – it seems that we might have only centimetres to spare  – but in fact – probably 3 metres!

La Rochelle is a large port and quite a large urban conurbation with some c. 80,000 inhabitants with a huge history of sea-faring.

Approaches to La Rochelle:

We arrive through the historic twin medieval towers into the Basin D’Ecoage – which is right in the centre of town. Despite having been booked in there was a bit of a “we’ll have to make a space for you” going on. The Port Office is in a fabulous old building – with very acceptable air-con (yes!) and we booked in for two nights. It’s busy here – lots of noise and festivities – which will apparently last for 5 days and nights… Hmmmm….

Stuart and Nina had also come across to La Rochelle today and we met up for a drink so to make a plan for later… England are still in the world cup football – a match tonight at 2300 (heck!) We retired back to Boni; had some supper and topped up the water on board (this time the cap on the tank was securely on)!

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink – So said Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” – eau dear! (Please ‘xcuse the pun!)

Île-D’Yeu – St Gilles Croix-en-Vie – Les Sables D’Olonne – Bourgenay Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th July

Days 41 – 43

On Friday, the plan for the day was to spend the morning cycling around the NW of the Île-D’Yeu and back to port via the Grand Phare (lighthouse) and the Citadel, then to pack up and leave by 1430, heading for St Gilles Croix-de-Vie.

A small puddle had been appearing around the base of the housing for the water pump and this needed investigating. Touching the joints and pipes only made things worse; Bob had gone to the shops to buy a few last minute things, so I was left wondering what best to do. Thankfully he soon returned, and being quite handy with plumbing, was able to take off the bit of pipe where the trickle came from. Nothing really looked untoward, so he clipped it all back together and checked the water tank – which was super low. So we filled up with water (210 litres), but the leak was still happening…

Further investigation lead us to take the whole pump off. Dismantling this wasn’t so great, as the inwards pipe to the pump now freely ran with all the new water that we put into the tank. With quite a lot of PTFE tape (plumbers self-amalgamating tape) – a lot of tape doesn’t make masses of difference – the pump and pipes were re-assembled and the leak continued. Please check the tank to see how much water is left in it – not much by now, as we had shipped it all out via the washing-up bowl. Bob diagnosed the problem as needing new “O” rings. We decided that we would just have to put up with the leak until we could get the rings. (We carry so much stuff to mend the boat for that “just in case” – but no O rings).

So, we decided to re-fill the water tank. However, with all the frenzy and too-ing and fro-ing, I failed to replace and secure the cap on top of the tank. So there we were merrily filling up the tank, and the boat with water! If I was grumpy before, I was very grumpy now! Bailing out and sending things up onto the deck to dry out was not on my list today. Most would say – well just pump out on the bilge pump – yet another “not working item of equipment” and a bilge is a greasy, disgusting place – one where it seems impossible to get rid of the smell of diesel. Another job onto the list…

By the time we were able to leave, it was 1600 and there wasn’t enough wind to sail, certainly at first; so for 2 hours we tanked along on the engine towards St Gilles Croix-de-Vie. This is a 15 nautical mile trip, which at average speed of 5 knots should take 3 hours.

 

 

 

The coast of Île-D’Yeu

Approaching St Gilles Croix-en-Vie

We pulled in around 1920 to be greeted by a welcoming Port Lady in a dory and had to raft up alongside another boat, which is par for the course when one arrives in the evening, as most people have got there before you. The place was quite jolly with a funfair going on along the front.

Saturday 4^th July dawned hot and sunny (already) and again little wind. We moved our boat forward along the pontoon, as people were leaving and our inside boat also wanted to depart.

Our mission was to find a shop to buy the O rings – on Saturdays most of the shops close by 1230 and don’t re-open again ‘til Monday. Off we went on our Bromptons about three miles to an out-of-town shopping centre to locate the Bricolage. This was simply a vast store; we had looked up the French for O Rings – Joint Torique (you learn something every day!) and could ask where they were in the store.

 

Locating a packet of varying sizes, we hot-pedalled (via the super-market) back to the boat and fitted a new O ring on both sides of the pump.

This time we didn’t lose too much water and the leak had completely stopped – hurrah!

 

 

 

The tide had gone out and we had a delicious lunch of baguette and Bulots (dog whelks) with lemon juice squeezed over them and a cold drink. We had once again put things out to dry; so soon packed everything up, go the bikes on board and departed for an afternoon sail to Les Sables-D’Olonne.

Au revoir to St Gilles, and what a cracking sail it was too!

We averaged between 6 – 7.5 knots in speed (that’s 6 – 7.5 nautical miles per hour) mostly on a beam reach (this is where the wind is at right angles to the boat and is the fastest point of sailing). Later we altered our course slightly and the wind was further abaft the beam (to the back of the boat)  and we were running before the wind. The wind was about a force 4 (NW) when we started, building to a force 6 (26 knots across the deck), so quite testing.

“Long sleeves” weather for today’s sailing!

Les Barges light, near to Le Sables – 25m high!

On entering Les Sables, there was quite a bit of activity in the port (when isn’t there?) and a motorboat that could quite get out of our way. (We did avoid it, of course!) All this when you’re not very sure where you will be going but the two Port dories were occupied with trying to sort the motor boat out… it had lost its propulsion. We had spied a place (the only place) and decided to go for it. The wind would be blowing us off, so we had to be pretty quick. Luckily there were a few people on this pontoon to take our lines – I didn’t clock this at first, but they were from the Douanerie (customs)!

This is us approaching Le Sables-D’Olone which was originally famous for its amazingly glorious and vast beach has become latterly well-known as a sailing centre for the renowned Vendee Globe – around the world sailing race which starts and finishes here every four years.

It has been an important port since 1218 and during the 13^th century some impressive fortifications were built; nowadays it has a population of about 50,000. It is also a centre for CAVAC – a French Agricultural Cooperative and for salt. It has two yacht basins and good facilities including free use of washing machines (note to self!).

We were told that we weren’t in the best place, but as it was so windy and now quite late, the Port Lady didn’t want to move us on the proviso that we would move/leave quite promptly in the morning. Some pictures from our evening stroll:

This place was heaving! The bars were packed and after our dinner on board, we strolled out to the beach and back through town, where it became totally apparent that the IronMan event for the next morning was being set up – this is rather like a triathlon I think – involving swimming, cycling and running. Then it clicked – France were playing this evening in the Football World Cup and anywhere with a Screen was ram-jam-packed. The match started at 2300; France were playing Paraguay. A huge roar of cheering went up later when they scored the only goal of the match. The fisherman go out early in the morning – about 0500 and the wash from their boats gives us all a touch of rock’n’roll – so not the best night’s sleep that I’ve had!

Sunday 5^th July

Once again the day dawned with not a breath of wind, gin-clear skies and the heat from the sun quite noticeable. The Port Lady wasn’t too bothered with us and we had to think about whether we wanted to stay or go. It was loud and crowded; people were cheering their IronMan people on with hooters and their voices. So we made an escape, under engine to Bourgenay, about 5 miles down the coast. We didn’t even bother with the sails, just motored down which meant that we would arrive about 2 hours before low water (LW) – enough for us to get in; Bimini shade up, hats on the whole way. Izzy (our self-steering girl) wasn’t a happy bunny though – to be added to the list of jobs! We arrived at around 1345 and made for the fuelling berth, helped by a fellow sailor from “Whiskey Mac”, who we got to know later.

In the afternoon, I caved in to a snooze; Bob decided that he would disassemble Izzy… so I wasn’t allowed to sleep for too long. But, the prize was to help put her all back together. We tested her and she looked OK – the real test will be when we put to sea.

Our neighbouring boat came along and asked if we would like to come and have a drink with them in about twenty minutes – how lovely! We quickly went ashore to book in to the Capitainerie, which I proudly managed virtually all in French – phew!

David and Elaine have kept their boat down here for several years now; they are from N Ireland and it was very nice to get to know them.

Classic evening sunset over Bourgenay.

Tonight England are playing in the world cup, so Bob had gone to bed early, to get up at 0130, now he’s sorted his VPN to watch the match live. We had a boat arrive and raft up alongside Boni in the meantime and now it is 2340, so I am going to bed with my ear plugs firmly in place!

 

Île-D’Yeu (Continuing our stay) Tuesday 30^th June – Thursday 2^nd July

Days 38 – 40

It’s great to crack on and get to places – you may have noticed my copying the French expression at the beginning of my blog: À donf! – which means just that. But equally important to stop, take time, relax and enjoy – between the two we garner some kind of balance.

So we have stopped at the Île-D’Yeu. This is a delightful island where a huge amount of folk get around on push-bikes although there is a land train, the electric bus and of course cars and vans etc. But the traffic here is not overwhelming and this made cycling around on our Brompton’s all the more enjoyable and a really quick way to get into town if you wanted something from the Boulangerie! The Île-D’Yeu has a population of approximately 4,600 inhabitants and is a small island about 8 x 2.5 miles, being part of the Vendée region of France (Atlantic sea-bord).

So our arrival the day before didn’t belie the huge amount of sailing boats that were about to descend into Port Joinville. The French are very much a sailing nation and sailing is one of it’s national sports (along with rugby, football and cycling). Very soon all the berths were chock-a-block and the big area right near us full of rafted boats. Crews getting into town (& into the bars).

On Tuesday morning there was a mass Exodus, and within about 15 minutes, around 0800 the whole lot of them had vanished – quite extraordinary! This was all part of a Vendée Rally – they were a serious lot – serious about racing AND partying!

Monday afternoon & Tuesday – more jobs, jobs, jobs… fixing the crane on the starboard aft quarter, in place to hopefully making the lifting of the outboard engine onto the back rail easier (we’ll see) and then appropriately, placing the outboard bracket on that side to take the engine – I think only one bolt fell in the drink (not too bad!) Then the Ensign staff had to be re-located to the Port aft quarter, as it was now way too busy on Starboard; the sprayhood had become dis-attached along the deck-line, so that was fixed, and then we realised what had happened the day before during our sail. Suddenly a circular piece of plastic pinged off into the air… no chance that we would catch it – into the water it fell. “What was that?” … maybe one of the sliders (holds the main sail into the mast)? Nope – all present and correct… what could it be? The realisation soon dawned as I inspected one of the blocks around the main sheet (the rope that controls the mainsail) that one of them had half its nylon pulley broken – that was it. Relieved to find that we had identified the miscreant, it was the excuse to visit the chandlers, of which there are two here locally. The first block we found was €161.00 (eeek!); the next, a lesser model about €45.00 – but much smaller. Hmmm… I’m sure we have several spares of things like this loitering about the boat. Of course we did!

After a quick salad-type lunch we got the Bromptons out and decided to cycle to the southerly side of the island to Le Port de la Meule (FYI: meule means millstone).

This is a charming little fishing port full of little boats, a sweet chapel up on the hill overlooking the port and a few rough rocks to clamber to look out to sea – whereupon the realisation that pirates were not far away!

Back on the bikes – over some rougher roads (slippy/loose shaley tracks) not my fav., towards Le Vieux Chateau – which is exactly what it is – an old castle and on to a delightful beach for a stop, swim and snooze – under our newly acquired beach tent.

 

 

 

Inside L’Eglise Notre Dame du Port

Such pretty stained glass windows.

On our cycle home we stopped off at the local church – l’Eglise Notre Dame du Port – a beautiful, calm space with pretty stained glass windows and several model boats hanging from the ceiling (I love how they do this).

Then we came across a rather interesting looking restaurant, which has seemingly won several awards: La Bafouettes. Only problem was that it looked decidedly closed. But, there was a number on the door; so I rang – a long answer-machine message in French ensued – hmmm – I had no idea what that meant; anyway in my awful French, I asked if we could a meal for 2 this evening – please ring me back on my number, blah, blah… Not holding my breath – probably we could find another eatery in town. However, about an hour later the Maitre D’ called me back and we had a place. Time to scrub up and put on some smart clothes!

Meal alert!

The food was well worth it – very original: appetiser of cauliflower soup with pistachios, with curried tuna on toast, starters: Pate Foie de Gras or Langoustines with a sumptuous set custard accompaniment and then a fabulous Turbot & spinach main course. We were too full for a dessert, so finished with a coffee.

 

On Wednesday, we were rather late getting up (!) but Bob soon hopped onto his bike to the boulangerie. Well worth it as I had asked for a Pain au Raisin which I adore, and since we’d been here, I hadn’t had one. Well – the one he bought back was about double the size expected… had to be forced down – it’d be rude not to!

We decided to have a wander into town, the market along the front was closing (note to self- Wednesday is market day here) and found a very acceptable eatery right at the end of the row of bars and restaurants called La Plancha du Pécheur – a fish restaurant. This was a busy place  (which is why you choose a restaurant, right?) and we had the last table!

A plateful of 12 delicious Oysters (no.3) was ordered followed by brochette (kebab) de thon (tuna), washed down with a bottle of Muscadet sur Lie – what’s not to like?

After, Bob retired to the boat; however, I was determined to post the card I had written to mum – how hard to find the post office? Very hard! The one on the map DOES NOT EXIST – (thanks Google!) and this was the first time that the electronic map had let me down; eventually I found the real post office- but then the queue… 15 minutes later I’d bought 4 stamps (forward planning here) and posted the card. After a quick pick up from the super-market it was almost time to get ready to go – go where you might ask?!

Eng-er-land were playing DR Congo in the World Cup and armed with my computer (so I could catch up the blog) and a couple of baguette sandwiches which Bob had knocked up, off we went to the Bar Maritime. Football is not a thing that I’m very interested in, but this little bar had several supporters in there – one wearing an England flag draped as a cape (why do they do that?) It was a pretty painful watch (if you were watching), but thankfully near the end England scored two goals and they were through to the next round, which I think is Mexico on Saturday.

The moon rose at about 2325 – my camera’s not great, but here it is!

Thursday dawned a bit on the cool side and it was time to get that washing on. The marina has it’s own set up for washing and drying, so this was easy to facilitate and didn’t take too long.

Out on the bikes again – perfect weather as it wasn’t too hot – down to the lighthouse at the most southerly tip of the island called La Pointe de Corbeaux – empty roads, beautiful flowers, huge pine type trees and easy cycling.

 

After a little stop there – was low tide, so plenty of rocks to be seen, we went onto a place called La Croix where you can buy a snack-style lunch from Chez Georgette – in effect a meal-deal for €8.90 a throw. This is Georgette, serving her food from a mobile van and she is making a good trade here from the passers-by!

 

This is right by a lovely, empty beach – I should imagine it’s very popular in the holidays though.

 

 

 

A cycle back to the marina via the pretty St Sauveur – sleepy for the central town of the island.

Heading South Saturday 27^th – Monday 29^th June – Days 35 – 37

La Roche Bernard to La Turballe, Ile-de-Noirmoutier & on to the Île-D’Yeu

The premier plan for our June – July sailing was to get to Spain and back. Hmm… that’s not long to get there and back, and explore; the weather – a big question mark and to be honest, neither of us were really feeling it. We have our boat here ‘til autumn next year – so I think we will have a longer slot for this kind of trip in 2027. Also, we were wanting to take a bit of time go south and discover the delights of the western seaboard of France and it’s islands that we have heard so much about.

Saturday morning dawned cool, grey with a bit of rain and no wind to speak of – at least it was heaps cooler. A stipulation of the Capitainerie is for us to leave the car in its official car-park – 1.5kms away. Not far, and this allowed a quick walk past the main boulangerie in town for a baguette (mandatory, but quite a long queue).

We slipped our lines and we were off! A quiet motor down the Vilaine which is a beautiful, rural river with plenty of wildlife to observe – gannets and swans a-plenty. We were keen to re-fuel before the lock at Arzal, which we had booked for 1100. It takes about an hour to get there and the fuelling on a 24h fuel pontoon proved to be straight forward (thank goodness – normally it takes a couple of goes, but not today!) and then we looked up to see that the green light was on at the lock, meaning that we could enter the lock tout suite! This was great and altogether, there were only three of us wanting to transit through today.

Every silver lining has a cloud, doesn’t it? This meant that there wouldn’t be enough (depth of) water to continue down to the sea and we would have to wait an hour. At 12 noon we could get going again and the open sea beckoned; the rain showers and greyness began to disperse, the westerly wind came in and the sails went up!

La Turballe is about 13 nautical miles to the SE, around the Pen Ar Ran peninsula and we had quite a reasonable sail down although the wind came and went a bit. But we didn’t much care – we were en route and that is what mattered. At La Turballe we were greeted by a welcoming party from the Capitainerie and taken to a berth. It was warm and sunny and we were quite hot! After eventually booking in (they seemed a bit disorganised) we headed for the beach with our swimmers for a refreshing dip, from the edge of the most amazing beach.

 

We had a wander into town which was quite lively and busy and spied some interesting drainpipes on the way to the super market the next day. We were planning to stay for another day, but had a quick look at the weather… Sunday’s wind was too much to turn down.

We left at a reasonable time on Sunday morning, the NW wind was blowing about 9 – 11 knots, perfect for our passage, 23 nautical miles to Port L’herbaudiere on the Ile-de-Noirmoutier.

 

We sailed close to a wind farm and through some very shallow waters (which dry at LW), across the “Embouchure de la Loire”. Here we had to watchout for the seemingly flow of ships leaving St Nazaire… only to discover most of them were at anchor! We arrived at the Port L’herbaudiere just after 1600 – no place to go unless you raft, so we had a look around the opposite side of the V (visiteurs) pontoon and our luck was in – one free berth – and in we went! We checked in to the Bureau de Port to discover that our Passport Escales ticket did not cover this place. Once in a while it’s OK to pay, as so many of the ports we are visiting are included on our contract. The harbour front here was geared up for tourists/visitors – many bars and beach shops. The question we mulled over a drink was should we stay or should we go? Bob cooked a delicious pasta dinner:

After checking the weather, another day of great sailing wind beckoned and this made up our minds – we should leave at 0800 to make the most of the tide with our next objective being Port Joinville on the Île-D’Yeu. The wind didn’t disappoint giving up 9 – 13 knots from the NW. We left at the same time as two other yachts (always a feel-good factor) and we bowled along in the sunshine as another wind farm came into view. A lot of this was down-wind sailing, on one gybe or the other (goose-winging really wasn’t an option as the swell from the Atlantic was generous at about 2.5-3m). It’s always interesting coming into a new port and getting yourself orientated. We had recently joined the Vilaine River chat on WhatsApp which warmed us that there would be a rally in Port Joinville and to get in early. We arrived at about 1400 and really there were not too many boats around, so we could berth easily.

By about 1600, the boats started coming in and the whole of the harbour filled up, sailing boats squeezing in and rafting up wherever they could. Apparently the rally had been undertaking a “round the island race” today.

 

We came ashore to the Bureau de Port, and I stumbled on in my broken French to be greeted by a Scottish lady at the desk who saved my struggle with the language (Duolingo is going ok, but it has it’s limitations). She explained that if we wanted to stay for a few days, then we should use our Passport Escales ticket after 1^st July (as the prices go up!)

Port Joinville is the main port for the Île-D’Yeu – for ferries, large ships, fishing boats and sailing boats – a real mixed economy and a great busy buzz about the place. We strolled into town to get the feel of the place – here it is relaxed and quite a different easy vibe – difficult to articulate – you just have to come! Easy to get an ice cream and iced tea.

We plan to stay for a few days – so more later!

Day 34 – Friday 26^th June – Jobs, Job, Jobs

Last night the heat went down somewhat and the idea was to get up early in the cool of the day and get on with the jobs. But things don’t always turn out like that do they? In reality, by the time we got going it was already heating up, and having realised that I had been sleeping with an unwelcome bedfellow, (although there could have been more bites) I was still a bit annoyed; the shower block at LRB was warmer inside than out and I guess we were both still a bit sleep deprived…

 

The old AGM battery

Here are the two new batteries awaiting their installation.

The main thing to achieve was to replace the old AGM battery, which was no longer holding its charge too well, with two new ones. This was not the greatest activity for a swelteringly hot day; remove all the bedding/mattresses and access the compartment under our bed where the batteries live; remove old battery, (did I say how heavy these batteries are? No? about 25kg, maybe a bit more) and then the worry as to whether 2 batteries would fit in etc.

Bob wired them in parallel and we altered the aspect of the batteries to get them both in. Had to call into two chandlers to find an extra fitting for the top of the negative port, then got this on. Next find a solution to pack them out so that the batteries don’t move, even if Boni suffers a knock-down or is overturned…. A visit to the local Bricolage (hardware store) saw us buying a long 3m length of 20mm x 60mm of wood (excuse the pun!) as then we did bring it back to the boat and sawed it up into 800mm lengths, screwed them together, made a wedge and packed out the batteries. There was plenty of sawdust on the floor… this is not the first time the cockpit has looked like a chippies yard! This with the existing webbing/strap from the old battery would do the job well.

The next job of putting up a crane on the stern was ditched for today but we did take the dinghy down to have a proper inspection of Jenny Wren and gave Steve a ring whilst down there. No evidence of sinking (!) or excess water in the bilge, checked her battery and the mooring lines – all good.

On return to Boni, the water beckoned and we enjoyed another swim in the river. We tidied up and ate on board, ready for the off tomorrow.

 

The next bit of the adventure begins…

Wednesday 24^th – Thursday 25^th June

Days 32-33

An evening departure via Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to St Malo, sailing overnight, was a pretty decent experience to get back to Boni. Certainly nowhere near as personalised as our return trip with Nigel in his wonderful plane, but this was good. We thought that the ship was pretty new; we were onboard within 20 minutes of arriving and we located our cabin (inner, no real porthole, but a picture of one with a view, where the window might have been – clever!).

The ticket included something towards our repast and the restaurant was pleasant and the food good  and nicely presented – I chose the lamb:

 

The ferry didn’t leave on time; which one might think was concerning, due to loading on some gas, but we were assured that we would still arrive at 0815 local time in France. The sun was setting and we still hadn’t departed… I caved in to the tiredness, foregoing watching our departure, which I usually find fascinating.

 

 

If you’ve travelled overnight on these ferries, you will know that you are gently woken up by a harpist (not a real one unfortunately!) – music piped into your room at about 0700. After a decent buffet breakfast we could watch our approach into St Malo – it’s quite different seeing it all from height (we are more used to seeing it from Boni’s deck)!

We went to watch the docking, however, noticed that the ship had picked up a fishing buoy and was dragging it along. One of the officers was called to have a look – but he wasn’t very concerned as the ferry has cutters on the propellers to cut it free.

 

 

 

 

The Entry/Exit System (EES) took about 30 minutes to clear and then we were on the road to La Roche Bernard (fondly known as “LRB”). We stopped off at Ploërmel – an out-of-town shopping area which had loos and a proper café. We arrived in LRB just after 12 noon, which was too late to ask for the Capitainerie to take us out to Boni. We found ourselves a salad lunch and got ourselves acquainted with the place. The temperature was rising, so having a wander around on foot was too hot – it reached a staggering 42˚C, so remaining in our A/C car seemed the best bet.

At 1400 we were able to get a lift out to Boni – the excitement was palpable! Her mooring lines were tangled, but the Capitainerie helped us with this. The cabin was very hot, the deck rather grubby, but we were back on board and the engine started on the button (always a relief) and we took her to the pontoons, via checking on our friends’ boat Jenny Wren – all looking good.

 

We took our time unloading the car with the help of a trolley (note to self – make sure you have a 2€ coin to use) – all much harder and slower in the intense heat. Then to the supermarket to get stocked up and we treated ourselves to a large bag of ice to help the fridge cool and to add to our drinks. Back on board, the heat was too much, so we launched the dinghy off the back of the boat where it normally resides and jumped into the water. That’s better!

The view from Boni that evening.

Day 31 – Thursday 28th May

Today marked the end of this first chapter of our sailing trip to Europe (sigh). It is so interesting that you can get used to living in a small environment and now we had got used to living onboard and the sailing, it was hard to accept that we were leaving. However, ahead of us, we had a very exciting and adventurous trip home….

Our taxi driver Stephane, arrived punctually at 0750 and drove us to the (mainly commercial) airport at St Nazaire, not far from the Pont de Sainte Nazaire that is an astounding 3.8kms long! We could see this vast bridge, which spans the Loire river in the distance. And then we had a bit of a wait, but the airport was open, so a space for us to relax (and for me to do another lesson on my French Duolingo – I’m now up to day 105).

A good friend of ours, who we had known from our time in Hertfordshire, who also happens to be a pilot and owns a 6-seater Piper, offered to come and collect us from St Nazaire to fly us into Bournemouth! How lucky were we? Nigel now lives on Guernsey and he was delighted to be part of our solution to get us home (so were we!) and this was a very exciting end to our holiday. These days, the availability of technology is quite incredible and Nigel was able to let us know of his progress and what was going on for him in the air.

Everything at St Nazaire airport seemed very quiet and “Marie-Celeste”-like… however, suddenly a team of border-force officials arrived – about 6 or 7 of them! Nigel had very kindly been in touch with the authorities and submitted our paperwork to them, so we were called over and went through the biometrics – that has been 25 days out of our 180 days in Europe (thanks Brexit!).

Nigel texted to say that he was in a holding pattern for landing – but no other plane was apparent. This is like the three buses syndrome – first to land was a massive Airbus transporter plane which takes the Airbus wings from France to Germany – it looks rather like a plane-whale! Next another little plane was taking off and then Nigel landed his plane: N101DW and taxied to the waiting area where he could park

Nigel came into the airport building, flashed his passport at the Douanes and then we were good to go.

Our bags were stowed and we donned lifejackets, which are required by the regulations. I was lucky enough to be in the co-pilot’s seat, next to Nigel and this whole experience was fascinating. Not only was Nigel able to communicate with the various air-traffic controllers (ATC) -there are several different ones en route, as then hand over from one bit of airspace to another, but he was able to explain to us about what was going on and what he was doing.

Several screens and instruments behold upon the dashboard and our own conversations were interrupted as Nigel needed to talk to ATC. After a smooth take-off we ran parallel with the The Loire for a short while, climbing all the time and then gradually turning northwards; we were going to be flying at 9,000 feet! The visibility was a bit hazy, so my photos aren’t brilliant.

 

 

Take off near the Loire River

 

 

First landmark of note was Mont St Michel and St Malo

Then we flew up the western edge of the Cherbourg peninsular and could see Carteret really well and then Cherbourg.

 

 

 

 After a while we crossed the Channel and could see the Isle of Wight and the Needles; by this time we were already beginning to come down in altitude and we turned towards Poole and over Upton to make our final approaches into Bournemouth airport where we landed and taxi-ed to Bliss Aviation (what a lovely name!) and that was the end of our trip with Nigel.

Approaching Poole and over Upton:

I cannot tell you how fabulous it was, so interesting, so tremendously exciting – something that will live long in my memory – massive thanks to Nigel!

We were greeted by a taxi, which took us home.