Port Tudy to Loctudy

We decided on an early(ish) start, hoping to maybe round Pen Mar’c and reach Audierne today. Our more realistic expectation was to get to Loctudy, then head to the Raz de Sein tomorrow.

There is no boulangerie in Port Tudy itself, but it was not a long walk to La Bourg so we were back on Robinetta by 07:45, baguette and croissant in hand. A couple of boats had already left, with more preparing to go when we cast off at 07:55. Once we were clear of the harbour there was a noticeable swell, with the wind a good force 4 from the South West. Julian hoisted the no 2 jib, but shook out yesterday’s reef, then put it straight back in with fewer creases.

I helmed for the first hour and once we were out of the shelter provided by Groix the waves were only slightly smaller than yesterday. However they were spaced further apart and more regular. Trying to make the heading to clear Pen Mar’c put us very close to the wind and so nearly head on t the waves. It was not at all easy to sail the course, and butting into the waves slowed us down hugely.

We fell back on the Loctudy option, and were soon close reaching along at 4 knots at a sensible angle to all but the biggest waves.

The weather was familiar to British sailors. Some blue sky, some gray overcast, and cool enough to want an oily jacket against the wind chill. By 09:00 I decided on oily bottoms too, against dollops of spray that found their way into the cockpit.

By half eleven the wind had dropped enough to shake the reef out of the main sail, and as soon as Julian took the helm he decided he wanted the larger jib too. Once we had full sail up Robinetta regained the speed she had lost.

It stared to drizzle just before noon, then rain started pounding down. I took the helm and Julian ducked below to put on his wet weather gear. By the time he was back on deck the rain was almost over, but it had flattened the sea noticeably, and the wind was also decreasing.

We ate lunch in shifts, with the weather too unpredictable to set out a picnic in the cockpit, but the sky soon cleared again. We put the engine on to keep the speed up at 13:00, but then the wind speed increased again so we turned it off. We motor sailed, with more or less revs (sometimes none) for the rest of the afternoon. There were a lot of yachts about, including a lovely little classic gaff rigged yacht that sailed close to wave at us. Another little gaffer, a Skellig 19, was sailing in the entrance to Loctudy, and they came and escorted us through the entrance channel to make sure we went the right way.

We had had a good day’s sail, but were glad to get into a place where we could easily find a visitor’s finger berth, rather than the crush of Port Tudy. There were a lot of British boats in the marina, we were berthed between two of them, and it felt as though everyone was admiring Robinetta. We decided to eat ashore for a change, at the marina bar/restaurant, and had a lovely meal, spoilt by only one thing. We read tomorrow’s weather forecast.

Thursday afternoon, when we should be heading through the Raz de Sein, the wind would be North Westerly 4 gusting 5. That would be a head wind for us sailing, but even worse would make for horrible wind over tide conditions in the Raz de Sein. We would not be able to get through it. Trying to go round the Raz would give us a minimum 85 mile passage, beating most of the way, so that was not really an option either. Since we can not get through the Raz de Sein tomorrow we can not get to Douarnenez for Friday lunchtime.

Julian spend the rest of the evening working out where we could leave Robinetta and still make our booked flights from Quimper on Saturday. It needs to be close enough to Douarnenez to get there in two days (weather permitting) after we get back on Robinetta for the Temp Fête. Sailing with a timetable can be a frustrating business.