26 June 2010 - Camaret.

Hot and windless in the marina. This is the Port du Notic marina which has a bit of visitor space and is close to the town. Washing and toilet facilities pretty basic - probably have to go the the outer marina to get better facilities, but then it's a walk to the town. I think most of the Brits must go to the other marina as we have not seen many.

After doing the washing and lunch we bought 2 more charts and went to look for the menhirs which we found a short way out of the town. Walked along to Pointe de Pen-Hir. This gave a good view of les Tas de Pois, which are a string of big rocks extending from the point. They range from 58m down to 10m high. The thing to do here is sail between the rocks. As we watched a sizeable yacht with high-tech mainsail tried tacking through one of the gaps, gave up and eventually made it through another gap. On the way back we swam at Anse de Pen Hat which was much warmer than our last swim. Coming away from the beach we found the sign "Baignade Interdite". Woops - seemed all right to us.

It's good to visit marinas to charge batteries, fill up with water and fuel. The convenience of walking ashore is nice, but it's a bit noisy compared with the moorings at Ouessant and Molene, so hopefully tomorrow we will head off for a quiet bay, probably not far away as there is not much wind forecast.

25 June 2010 - Ile de Molene to Camaret

Same weather. Quick shop on the island, then a walk along a bit of the island which we missed yesterday. Came across a team of archaeologists digging up some buildings made of dry stone walls. Found our first menhirs of the trip - very small ones. We then took the dinghy across to the island of Ledenez Vraz which is linked to Molene at low water. Several sheds here belong to the goemoniers, who use them as a summer base, but less now that previously. Just in case you did not know the goemoniers are the seaweed gatherers. We could see their boats in the distance. Left after a late lunch and were surprised to find enough wind to sail, so went through Chenal des Las, Chenal de la Helle, and the last bit of the Chenal du Four (pretty much at the intended time, so with smooth conditions), rounded Point de St Matthieu and headed for Camaret.

The signal station at St Matthieu called us on the radio and asked various details: start and end of today's journey, callsign MMSI etc. Eventually arrived at Camaret and found a place to raft in Port du Notic. Seems a nice place. Started charging batteries. They have Net-a-Bord WiFi here so can at last upload all this blog stuff.

24 June 2010 - Ile d'Ouessant to Ile de Molene

Same weather again N-NE3 fine and sunny. Quick trip ashore to do some shopping then depart under sail which is a nice change but means no battery charging. We had earlier been told that Passage do Fromveur is "Like the Mississippi" ie a fast-flowing river of tide and seems to be not recommended, so we went round the W and N of the island as on the way in. Plenty of favourable tide, doing 10 knots over the ground for a while, and enough wind to go well. Some concentration needed to ensure that we were still heading in the right direction in spite of variable amounts and directions of tide. Motored into the moorings at Ile de Molene, which were all full but two boats left as we were thinking what to do next.
Took a walk round the island. It only takes an hour, but ours took longer as we stopped in a sheltered bay for a very short swim. Very small island but with quite a few houses, mostly linked with little lanes. There are no cars, just the occasional tractor and van. Water supply must be an issue here - all the houses have big tanks to store water from the roofs and there is even a big concrete area labelled Le Impluvium which I presume is for water collection and storage.

Maybe we will walk round the island again tomorrow and then go to Camaret via the Chenal de la Helle and Chenal du Four. This has to be an afternooon departure

23 June 2010 - Ile d'Ouessant

Still have the same weather except that today there is enough wind to sail - NE3. However we decided to visit places which we missed yesterday. Went to the Ecomusee du Niou which is 2 old houses which have been maintained in exactly the traditional style. No space for all the details except that the front of the houses faces South. At home the houses are aligned N-S so face E or W.

The impression before we came was that this was a wild outpost where life could just cling on in spite of wind, fog etc. However tt seems that although the island has been through tough times in the past it is quite fertile and has supported a population with a reasonable standard of living.

Walked along to the big lighthouse at Creac'h. This is the biggest and brightest for a long way. Its old generator hall now contains the Musee des Phares et Balises. It concentrates on the development of lighthouses. Highlights (sorry!) were Mr Fresnel's first lens system and one of the original diesel generators which powered the lighthouse and the rest of the island.

Then walked to the SW end of the island (no bikes today) and saw the lighthouse of Nividic. This was built on a rock which is hardly above sea level. To help deliver the building materials they built a small cable railway, of which the 2 big towers remain, so it seems at first glance that there are 3 lighthouses on the same corner of the island.

After returning to the boat we had a brief swim. One lap of the boat was enough as the water was cold!

Possibly Ile Molene tomorrow as it's nice to use this sort of weather to visit the small places which don't have good shelter.

22 June 2010 - Ile D'Ouessant

Definitely an edge-of-ocean feel to the bay (apart from the noisy people). The moorings are well spaced and there's no noticeable flow of tide in the bay. The boats just move gently on a very slight swell which we can hear breaking on the beach at the head of the bay. Looking the other way we can see a little rocky island in the middle of the bay, then rocks fringing the entrance and beyond that the Atlantic, looking about South-West.

Hired bikes and covered about half of the island in warm sunshine and hardly any wind. Checked the other bay at Le Stiff - not nearly as good as there is noise from the ferries and supply boats, one of which was unloading itself. Don't think about huge cranes lifting full size containers at Felixstowe Dock - the ship's own crane lifts out items about the size of a fork lift pallet stacked 1.5 m high and a fork lift truck takes them away.
Continues round to the lighthouse at Le Stiff. Visited the apiculture exhibition and were made very welcome by fully dressed beekeepers who seemed to be delivering some sort of course. Ouessant is the only place in Europe (they say) which is free of varroa and also free of EFB, AFB etc. They said it is a paradise for beekeeping as there are many wild flowers - also the decline of sheep rearing has allowed more heather and other heathland flowers. It has also allowed a lot of bracken, but they did not mention that. They say the season is very late here. They also seem to do a lot of queen rearing and ship out the queens. Had a taste and bought 2 pots. Quite expensive, light colour and flower taste.

The N end of the island has a huge radar tower which is used to monitor the traffic in the TSS 5 miles offshore. It was built after the Amoco Cadiz disaster and is operated by remote control. Anyway you can see this thing from just about everywhere on the island - it seems a bit like something out of a science fiction novel monitoring our every move "Note for record: the visitors on buoy 8 have entered zone 3B - Punishable Violation - riding bikes on a footpath"

Visited various headlands on the W of the island. Saw choughs, several, quite near, and waved heath which we saw last year in the Scillies. Had a very brief swim at the beach at the head of our bay. Water cold but the beach itself a sun-trap so soon warmed up again. Left the bikes at the shop as the man had gone home.

The pilot books suggest you should arrive fully fuelled, watered and victualled because of the limitations of the island. Not really necessary. There is a Spar (expensive) a 7 a 7 (remember to say it "sept a sept") and a 8 a 8 (did you say "huit a huit"?) which strangely opens from 08:30 to 20:30 and has a lunch break. Both with reasonable prices. So there is no problem in buying all the usual food stuff, including Seaweed Beer

This evening everyone seems to be quiet. Still high pressure with no wind and several places on the island which we have not yet visited, so may stay tomorrow too.

Battery Charging

(Just a bit of detail which you don't have to read)
So many things now have their own rechargeable batteries and we have to be able to charge them all, preferably from the boat battery. We presently can charge directly:
2 mobile phones, Pat's camera batteries, portable VHF battery, Pocket GPS batteries. However 2 things can only be charged via mains, so we have an inverter, bought in Dover, which charges the new laptop and Pam's phone. Best used when doing a long motor.

The boat battery charges from the engine, but we don't want to use it just for charging, and also from a solar panel, which is often blocked by sails etc. It can also be charged from the marina where electricity is normally included in the fee in France.

21 June 2010 - L'Aber Ildut to Ile d'Ouessant

Another fine but cool morning. HM collects our money and thinks Ouessant would be suitable in this weather. He suggested asking Eric, at the boatyard, for informtion. He also said we should collect water from the big pontoon before 11:00 as a party of yachts was expected.
We got to the pontoon just in time at about 9:45 and as 12 boats arrived and packed the small pontoon 3 deep we were moved to the end reserved for emergency access by the lifeboat crew. The 12 boats were all part of an organised club cruise - all very jolly and displayed a few smocks and pipes. Eric was not in the boatyard, but another man offered advice. It seems to be the ideal weather to go, the tide is neap (coefficient 58) and the swell is very small. However he suggested we do "le grand tour" ie go all the way round the N of the island instead of the more direct route through the Passage du Fromveur, which is marked on the chart with "courant tres violents" and I think has the fasted tide of the Brittany coast.
Again it seems that the passage is less exciting than reading the pilot books, which generally seem to try quite hard to stop you going anywhere. Motored out of harbour. Still not much wind and it's W. Got the weather forecast from Meteo France by phone, together with their outlook for the week. Seems to be light and variable all week, controlled by the Azores high with a ridge towards the UK.
Eventually we motored all the way there, with a few attempts at sailing, eventually picking up some helpful tide on the far side of the island. This is the edge of the Atlantic, but we did not think of it like that at the time - just a strange coast with a fearsome reputation and some offlying rocks to avoid. Ouessant (Ushant in English) marks the turning point between the Channel and the Bay of Biscay, so on every tide a lot of water rushes past. The area between the island and the mainland is well strewn with rocks and the area can be prone to fog. Anyway, today and the next few days seem to be a good time to visit. Took several photos of the lighthouses on the way past. There are a lot here.
Picked up one of the big visitors buoys at the head of the bay off Lampaul and dinghied ashore. Bought a few essantials in the Spar shop including Seaweed beer (I hope it's just the name) and had a glass of beer outside a bar. How strange to be sitting outside in T shirt at 7 pm drinking cold beer on an island which has a reputation as a wild, wind-swept place .

Will hire bikes and explore tomorrow. Meanwhile we will listen to the loud music and shouting from 2 nearby boats. Great.

20 June 2010 - Paluden to L'Aber Ilduit

No, we did not go to Ouessant. Paluden turned out to be the quietest place we have ever stayed in the boat. The steep valley keeps out road noise from any distance, there is no road nearby and no wind.

Sunny and warm morning but no wind. Had a lazy late breakfast. Then noises started on the bank by the rowing club. It turned out to be a demonstration by rescue dogs. These are big dogs (Newfoundlands I think) which are really hunting dogs but are also used to rescue people from water. Continuous and enthoustic commentary of every possible way a dog cam rescue a swimmer, boat or whatever. Our French neighbour says that such dog lifesaving clubs are common.

Motored down the river and put up sail by the Marina. Wind is light NW, not ideal for our trip. Decided Ouessant too far in such light conditions, so headed down the Chenal du Four. Reading about this channel causes more excitement than venturing down it in the boat in the current weather - no problems. However we did not go right through but stopped at L'Aber Ildut and moored on a dumbell mooring. A quich walk ashore showed that everything was closed - not surprising for 7pm on Sunday, so returned to the boat for supper and earlier bed than last night. This is also a very quiet place.

There are several kelp-gathering boats here. This is a minor local industry - the seaweed used to be used for glass-making and also as a fertiliser but now goes into the cosmetics industry.

19 June 2010 - Ile de Batz to Paluden

During breakfast the fog come in - could hardly see the shore. Eventually the visibility improved and we took a short trip ashore to buy bread and see a bit more of the island. Returned to the boat in more wind than expected (about 4) and decided the visibility was then OK to go - also the forecast said it would be better in the afternoon.
Lifted the anchor and sailed down the rest of the Chenal do L'Ile de Batz under single-reefed main only so we could concentrate on pilotage. Once out of the channel the sun came out and we had a great broad reach to Libenter buoy off L'Aber Wrac'h. Wind NE 4-5. Decided not to use either of the more direct channels as we had not done the homework, could not see the leading marks and it was a bit windy. Once round the buoy we could just get up the entrance in one tack. Sails down outside the marina at La Palue, where the marina boat came out to welcome us - very civilised
Went cautiously up the river to Paluden. Plenty of water and some rows of boats on dumb-bell moorings. Tha banks well packed with Oyster beds. The river is in a little deep valley. Picked up a Dumbell mooring at Paluden at the invitaiion of the French couple who were on the other side of it.

Went ashore and had our first meal out of the trip. Pam decided this was a suitable place as it was away from the main tourist (or any other) track. Excellent meal whichh restored our faith in meals out here after some disappointments last year.

Maybe tomorrow we might go to Ouessant as the weather seems right.

18 June 2010 - Trebeurden to Ile de Batz

Wind very light first thing. Good thing we made some distance yesterday - we would have felt frustrated if we had stayed in Paimpol yestarday and then had no wind today. Eventually got under way and sailed rather slowly. Forecast is for light wind all day with maybe a bit more tomorrow. Trying to get to L'Aber Wrac'h but may only have time to get to Ile de Batz as don't want to do lots of motoring. Pam did some fishing and eventually caught one small mackerel. The others fell off the hooks, she said.
Found a ferry anchored just outside the E entrance to the Chenal de l'Ile de Batz - must be waiting to get into Roscoff ferry terminal, which confusingly is called Bloscon on the chart, not to be mixed up with Roscoff which dries out.
Picked our way past the first few of the marks - channel is quite narrow and tide pushing us along - fortunately wind is light. We then started the engine and started motoring towards the little harbour Porz Kernoc. OK for a while and then something got stuck round the prop and the engine stalled. This is not a good place for such a thing. Turned the propshaft from inside and it turns both ways. Started the engine again and tried astern, then forwards - stopped again. Now seem to be stuck in gear and I can't turn the shaft.
We put out the Genoa again and start sailing and soon find a nice sandy area to anchor on. Unfortunately it is too deep for us to dry out this tide but is a good place to stop and think. After a while the tide is almost slack and Pam (she's the one with the wet suit) checks the prop. Just a big bundle of weed which she soon pulls off. No need for the knives and scissors which I have helpfully lined up..
After a breather and a cup of tea we go ashore to explore the island and check out the harbour with a view to moving there when the tide comes up a bit. When evemntually back on the boat we decide that we may as well stay put rather than mess about finding space in the drying harbour.

Weather note:
We seem to have a high in the nearby part of the Atlantic and low(s)to the E, giving a NE airflow for quite a while. Great for getting down the channel except when it's too strong and we were stuch in Paimpol, or tooo strong and too wet and were were in Cherbourg. The Low over France turned very nasty a few days ago and caused massive storms in parts of the South. We have not understood all the details yet from the radio, but sounds very nasty

17 June 2010 - Paimpol to Trebeurden

Forecast is at last reasonable - NE 4-5 becoming N and a bit less. We pay up and go at last. If you have to get stuck somewhere then choose Paimpol. However after a while it's nice to move on. Put sail up shortly after leaving the harbour - 1 reef in main + full genoa. Sailed down the bay, then motored the first part of the Chenal de Denou. Once past the narrow bit started sailing again and went to Carn Ar Monse to look for the dolphin. He was there and put on a good display including one jump right out of the water.

Continued round the N of Brehat, outside Heaux and could then bear away a bit. Lots of tide with us so went a good speed. Sea peu agitee I think. Arrived at Trebeurden and picked up one of the waiting buoys. The place is said to be expensive and it's quite calm so we will stay here overnight. Explored the island and found a well preserved Dolmen (chambered Cairn).

16 June 2010 - Paimpol

Wind still 6/7 again as forecast but fairly sheltered in the marina. Cool. Forecast is better for tomorrow. Done the washing so I now have some clean thermals - yes, it's still cold on the water and in this marina as it faces the NE wind.

15 June 2010 - Paimpol

Forecast is for 6 poss 7 today and tomorrow from NE + mer forte so we will visit the market. Buy loads of veg etc at the market and met Paul at the crepe stall. He invited us for lunch at his house. Excellent afternoon having lunch and Pam and Bénédict went "peche a pied" and brought back loads of oysters. Supper was oysters. Weather still looks rather too windy and wavy tomorrow - shame as the pressure is now up to 1024 and weather is fair. Paul says the dolphin is not at Men Gam but at Cain Ar Monse - must pass there on the next leg

14 June 2010 - Paimpol

Feeling rather tired. Forecast not too windy but still rather unsettled. So stay here. Pick up tips for S Brittany from a neighbouring boat. Walk to Abbeye de Beauport. By the time we get there it's a bit late to go in. Windy from NE

13 June 2010 - Jersey to Paimpol

The plan was to go to Lezardrieux, which is mostly cross-tide, with some tidal assistance. Start off motor-sailing as there is no wind. After a couple of hours the wind is strong enough to be able to switch off the engine and still make adequate progress towards our arrival waypoint. However as we are close-hauled we don't have the option of arriving above it. When just a few miles off the flood tide kicks in and we are tacking back and forth but getting nowhere. Try the engine. Now we can go direct towards the waypoint but painfully slowly. This is going to take forever and be very wearing. At this point the wind has got up a bit more and we are straight into it. Decide to head for Paimpol instead, which is on a close reach from where we are and we are helped by strong tide, so not long before we reach the entrance to Paimpol Bay. Tack cautiously up the centre of the wide bay as the rocks seem much closer than they are. pass the lock at free-flow and into a finger berth. Good marina - electricity and showers both included for a change.

12 June 2010 - Dielette to Jersey

Another reasonable sailing day, only needed to motor to get out of one marina and into the other. Had to wait an hour or so on the St Helier Marina waiting pontoon. There was almost 2 m of sill showing, however the tide risies so fast that it soon covered

11 June 2010 - Cherbourg to Dielette

This time we did NOT seem to mistime the Alderney Race. Sailed from outside the Inner harbour of Cherbourg to just outside Dielette. At this point it was not long before low water. However coefficient not too high so took a look inside and found the depth no less than 2m on the way in and more inside. They have just put in a load of new piles in the outer harbour and the piling barge was still there (thankfully not piling!) so we were directed to the fuel berth to wait. Rafted against the English boat "Stark". A Frenchh boat later joined on the outside of us. Used the brand new self-service fuel pumps on their first day of operation. A small fishing boats squeezed onto the end of the berth and filled up. Afterwards a second larger boat took its place and filled with 500 litres of diesel. Asked us to fend him off. Before going he offered us a crab. Handed over a large spider crab (arraigner), alive. Too big for any of our pans - filled the bottom of the bucket. Borrowed a v large pan from the French boat and Pam cooked it. Crab (and not much else) for supper

10 June 2010 - Cherbourg

Rubbish weather and forecast. Rain and strong NE wind. Use the excellent washing machines. Then visit "Cite de la Mere". Excellent. Tour of the nuclear sub Redoutable is the highlight. It's well preserved and presented and not many people there so we had a good look round. Rained all day.

9 June 2010 - Yarmouth to Cherbourg

Weather looked as if it might be a bit light for sailing, but if we don't go today we might be here for ages. Don't want to pay weekend rates at Yarmouth - the midweek rate is bad enough. The next day is forecast NE 5-6 so Alderney does not look inviting. Head for Cherbourg, motoring, following about a dozen boats out of the needles channel. Some of them head S for Cherbourg and some over towards Poole. Encouraging to see some other people think it's a reasonable time to leave and direction to go. Probably motored about 2/3 of the way. Then sailed.

8 June 2010 - Yarmouth

After rain last night it was still raining and not much wind at 05:30. Nobody felt like a trip to Cherbourg or Alderney in rain, not much wind and poor vis. Went back to bed. Eventually took the bus to Blackgang Chine and did the amusements (apart from the rides). Then walked along the cliff path to Ventnor. Only problem was no proper lunch. Still we survived and saw the interesting "undercliff" which has an unusual geology in that the cliff has collapsed in a special way. Cream tea at Ventor and bus back. Warm sun for much of the time.

Forecast now looks OK for crossing tomorrow. Well no storms anyway, but wind strength and direction may not be much good. Only problem is that some of the weather websites predict lots of wind from NE for Alderney on Thurs. Maybe go to Cherbourg.

7 June 2010 - River Medina to Yarmouth

I mean Yarmouth IOW of course. Used the bus passes at Yarmouth as the bus station is right beside the harbour. Bussed to near the Needles, took a look at them and the area. Then walked back to Totland and took bus back to Yarmouth

6 June 2010 - Gosport to River Medina

After a long day of motoring could we really face a trip to Alderney today, possibly with more hours more motoring? No maybe we will have a potter about and visit Cowes. Wind a bit light so sailed about for a bit, finding we have now missed any favourable tide and the wind then dropped. A little motoring and then the wind fuilled in again (against us of course). Slow beaT ... TO BE COMPLETED

5 June 2010 - Eastbourne to Gosport

Expecting a long boring motor or a stop at Brighton. However after rounding Beachy Head a bit of wind filled in and we started sailing. However it did not last long enough and so we had a long boring motor. Poor vis of about 3 miles meant there was not much to look at. Eventually the tide changed (to our second ebb of the trip) and we were helped through the Looe channel and up the E Solent. Then into Portsmouth harbour against quite strong ebb.

4 June 2010 - Dover to Eastbourne

In the lock at Eastbourne


Leaving Dover W entrance. Castle in the background
Warm sun all day. Wind cool and from the E. Only light wind so a bit slow. Straight out of Dover without having to wait for any ships. Sailed slowly until a few miles from Eastbourne, then tired of slow progress and motored. Passed through a big group (well 200 is big for me) of Gannets, gulls and 1 tern which were fishing and sitting about on the water. Our fishing line was already out but we did not catch anything. Suspect the birds were looking in the wrong place too. Pam says the birds were fishing for sand eels and we were fishing for mackerel.

3 June 2010 - Ramsgate to Dover

Warm and sunny with the weatherman warning of sunburn. Well the wind was quite cool so only a little bit of us might be at risk. Wind a bit light for going downwind with tide. Then picked up as we were waiting to enter. Dover Port very helpful in letting us in after a bunch of ferries. In Granville Dock. Visited the Roman Hotel.

2 June 2010 - Depart at last

2 June 2010 - Big rush of preparation

Then eventually on our way. Keep looking for something to do. Or in the absence of something to do, something to eat. We make surprisingly good progress across to Sunk Head, and down Black Deep, where we use the Cruising Chute. Eventually take it down when we are too far downwind. Through Foulger's Gat and then on towards N Foreland. Eventually have to motor for quite a long time after the wind drops. That is no ssurprise, but what is a surprise is to find that Ramsgate harbout have closed all their visitors moorings to do some dredging. Well, it's badly needed but why do it in June. Hope they finish before Ramsgate week