Light airs and Yachtsman’s Gales

Light airs and yachtsman’s gales is what we called our 2014 account of sailing up the east coasts of England and Scotland. It applied even better if possible to today.

We left Treguier late on the ebb and had a nice motor down the river. For once there was no fog and we got to enjoy the scenery.

We exchanged compliments with a big Guernsey registered Bermudan sloop as we left the river. They asked if we were going to Paimpol. They must have known about the traditional boat event there this coming weekend. We had pretty much abandoned the idea of going there - it leaves too little time to get to Cowes for the OGA55.

The weather did look a bit threatening but there was nothing bad in the forecast.

As we made our way out it got rather nice.

Now we had to decide where we were going. It was either the Isles de Brehat or the Channel Islands. The wind seemed fair so we set a course for Herm. We turned the engine off and set the No. 1 jib and all plain sail.

Then the wind dropped and we had to motor. The seas were calm so George the tiller pilot took over. After a while that seemed like a slog of a motor sail and Alison worked out that the winds and tides looked more favourable for Jersey. That looked good and was about the same distance, although it would mean a long trip to Alderney the next day. We changed course and were able to turn the engine off and sail.

Around noon the wind went light and we turned the engine on. After a while we started feeling rain drops. They were big and heavy but only one at a time. There had been no rain in the forecast.

Then the wind got up and we put a reef in. We were doing 5.7 knots on a broad reach.

Then the wind and rain came in hard. Sheets of it. Alison went below to get full oilies on. The wind blew the rain into my back so I didn’t get very wet even without salopettes and with my jacket open. We dropped the jib and reefed down hard.

Then it stopped and so did the wind. We shook the reefs out but still had to put the engine on. We motored on for a while in flat calm and sunshine.

We should have been able to see these fronts coming but the next one caught us too. Back in went the reefs and this time I untied the bottom hoop so we could reef more if we needed to.

We kept the reefs in until we were in the Western Passage to St. Helier - it was reasonably comfortable with the wind on the quarter but we saw a yacht bouncing towards us from St. Helier and realised we were in quite a sea!

We shook the reefs out and put the engine on once in the lee of the island. Even now, the seas were 'interesting' with some wind-over-tide. A couple of dolphins appeared through the waves and kept us company for a few minutes. These were bottle nosed dolphins, and did not play around the bow (I think Robinetta is too small for their entertainment) but it was still nice t get a visit.

We knew our way into St. Helier having been there in 2015 on Ariel of Hamble so we made our way to the waiting pontoon where we rafted outside a small French boat that had sailed from St. Malo. We chatted with young lad with excellent English - they had had a wild ride too and had not expected it.

We got secured and went ashore for fish and chips. A good end to an excellent day.

We had done 55 nm in 13 hours with the engine on for only 5 hours. I don’t think I’ve ever changed sail configuration so frequently. Apart from changing jibs all the reefs were put in and let out from the cockpit. Robinetta is good for that!

Fog and slow progress, Morlaix to Treguier

One of the reasons for braving the fog to go to Morlaix on Friday was the highly recommended Saturday market. We had intended to have a good look around then lock out on the second lock opening at high water.

Morlaix lock at low water

The weather changed our minds. It was grey, and cool, and looked as though there would be more fog down river. We decided to have a good look round the market, then wander down the river to see it at low water, and just relax. Julian decided to have a digital detox day, and did not look at his phone, or turn on his computer all day.

Next morning there was bright sun at Morlaix, and we felt ready to leave. The first lock out was not until 10:58, but that was still earlier than we would have left yesterday, so not a problem. It gave us a chance to properly route plan our trip to Treguier, including all the windings of the river. Even if we made good speed all the way it would be dark before we got there. The pilot book said it was well marked with lighted buoys and available at all states of the tide, so we knew there should not be a problem. We set off down the river in the company of another 3 yachts, carefully following our in bound track as there was less water now than then.

Patchy fog

We reached the river bend where we had left the fog behind two days before, and it was there again. Just as thick and clammy. This was NOT what we had wanted! Luckily we had our in bound track, and route planned out. Other boats were the problem! White boats and white fog are not a good combination.

The fog was patchy once we were in the Bay of Morlaix, then finally gone in the Bay of Lannion. Looking across at Roscoff showed it still shrouded in fog, but every now and then the Ile de Batz was clear.

We had the tide against us, and the wind from dead ahead. From a force 2 it rose to a force 5, and we changed down to the no 2 jib, and 2 reefs in the main. Even so we were motor sailing to try to sail closer to the wind. There was no point just using the engine to power though as heading directly into the waves slowed us hugely. At one time our time of arrival went to 03:15 rather than the midnight we had hoped. This did give us plenty of time to admire our surroundings!

Cote de Granit Rose

We planed an alternative stop, anchoring at the Ile de Gildas near Port Blanc, but by the time we reached where we would change course to head inshore the wind had died to nothing, and the tide was with us. Arrival at Treguier was down to half past Midnight, and we decided to carry on since the sea was now calm enough for George to helm.

The sun set as we passed Ile de Gildas, and by the time we rounded Pointe du Chateau we were in darkness. We could see the Ile de Brehat lighthouse, with its 4 flashes, fireworks in the sky near Pleubian, and a host of lights in the bay ahead. Most were red, or cardinal flashing white; the greens were a lot less obvious.

Following a chart plotter course, with lighted buoys to check positions, is not too difficult, especially once we were in the bay and in totally flat water. It does take concentration though, and although I noticed the stars overhead I could not spare them much attention.

Once we entered the river we had to work even harder. The moon was not up, so there was very little light, and a lot of moored boats, although they were clear of the buoyed channel. We finally reached Treguier at half past midnight, wondering what we would find. It was nearly slack water at high water on a neap tide, so as relaxed as it gets on a tidal river. And there were spaces, lots of spaces, on the finger berths.

We went into the first berth we found, pointing down river in the last of the flood tide, tied Robinetta and Worm up securely, and went to bed. It had been a long day.

The lack of boats was partially explained next day by the harbour master, who thought the weather was so good people were anchoring in the river instead. Yachts that came in throughout the day had another suggestion. There was still fog at Roscoff, and in the Chenal du Four, so few people were moving east.

Small boat on a big pontoon

Towards Morlaix in the fog

Neither of us wanted to stay in Roscoff for more than two nights. It felt very expensive compared to the other marinas, and we did not feel especially well looked after. Julian wanted to go to Morlaix, and did some careful passage planning to allow us to lock in to the wet basin at the top of the drying river. It meant an early start, getting away from the berth by 07:30 at the latest, so I set the alarm for 06:30.

When the alarm went I looked out of the cabin, and my heart sank. Fog. Thick fog, making it hard to see the masts of the boats on the next pontoon over. We got up much more slowly than we had expected, but still prepared Robinetta for the trip, hoping the fog would thin. At 7:30 Julian thought it had, and suggested we go. We had the radar reflector rigged, the AIS transponder working with it’s aerial up the mast, and the running lights on. We could also hear a fog horn. We knew that there would be a ferry coming in to Roscoff, and discharging passengers at 08:00, and I suspected this was it.

We came off the pontoon and set off towards the marina exit, but as I had feared the lights were red, forbidding movement. We station kept for the next ten minutes, waiting for the ferry to finish docking, then set off out of the harbour as soon as the lights allowed.

The fog stayed thick. Very thick, and only the course programmed into the chart plotter told me where to steer. There was very little wind, but we got the main sail up and bent on the no 1 jib. Putting the engine into neutral dropped the speed so much that we would miss the lock in, so the jib was furled away and we carried on under engine.

At about nine Julian pointed out that he could see the sun through the fog, and there was some blue sky overhead. We began to be able to see occasional small leisure fishing boats; white shapes in the white fog. The blue sky stayed, but fog blanketed the sun again. The area is well buoyed, but we had less than 1 cable visibility most of the way.

We threaded our way though the rocky islands, at high zoom on the chart plotter, keeping a careful eye out for crab pot markers. We passed an oddly regular looking island, taller than most, and realised that this must be Château du Taureau. We could see no details, just a shape in the mist. We were not the only boat moving in the area, but it was hard to know how many other idiots were out with us!

As we got to Locquenole, where Le Dourduff river separates from the Morlaix river I almost went the wrong way, despite the chart plotter, as I tried to follow a local boat through some moorings. I could see a bridge ahead, and wondered about its air draft, but Julian promised there were no problems, looked at the chart plotter, and told me to head to starboard, and up the other branch of the river.

My little excursion did mean I was clear of the channel when the Morlaix ferry came speeding past, which was not a bad thing. I put Robinetta’s engine in high revs, to try and follow the ferry for as long as possible, but it was out of sight in less than 5 minutes. It had made the direction to go obvious though, and then there was a line of moored boats that defined the channel on both sides. I could see red and green buoys mixed among them, then I could see the shore line, on both sides, and suddenly we were out of the fog, heading up a river in bright sunshine.

The transformation was startling.

The Morlaix river above Locquenole is beautiful, threading though attractive countryside, with clear bouyage. We passed a line of scum on the water, that obviously marked the place where the incoming tide met the outgoing river flow. It was still an hour to high water, and the current was negligible.

The Morlaix lock came into view, with the ferry that had passed us on the way up just leaving its dock to set off down river again. Between us was a slalom course of red and green buoys in quite a narrow channel. We crossed tracks without incident, but with judicious use of the throttle to slow down.

There was no sign of the lock moving, but a local boat was moored up against a wall, obviously waiting. The wall was well set up, with heavy chains to put lines round as temporary moorings. They were placed for bigger boats than Robinetta, and we had to go round twice to get our lines right.

The lock opened only five minutes after we moored, and we went in with four other boats. It is a big lock, and could easily fit in three times the number. The harbour master is a lovely guy. He helped us moor up in the lock (on ropes set vertically so there is no need to keep adjusting the lines) and gave me a mooring plan, marked with exactly the spot he wanted Robinetta to go. When we reached it he was there to make sure we did not miss it, and he helped take our lines. Real service!

Once Robinetta and Worm were secure we walked into town for an early lunch (not having had breakfast) then had a great walk round the place. The views from the viaduct are amazing and I am very glad we braved the fog to get here.

Aber towards Aber (but nowhere near Wales)

The boat inside us on the pontoon said yesterday that they were thinking of going at 08:00, so we were up and ready, but no one appeared until nearly nine. They then reported they would not leave for another hour, so Julian and I went for a walk to the village to buy milk and bread. It felt good to stretch our legs a bit.

Once back at Robinetta 45 minutes later, the small boat that had rafted outside us had gone, and our inside neighbours were obviously ready too. We cast off as soon as the engine had warmed up, and let them get away.

What we should have done is tied up on another part of the pontoon (which was now mostly empty) and done some in depth passage planning. Instead we just headed out of L'Aber Ildut, knowing we were way too early for the north going tide.

Once we were clear of the harbour approaches the next three hours were rather unpleasant. The inside (any possibly calmer) route was closed to us, because the tide funnelling through it would be too strong to make any head way, so we had to go round the outside of all the off lying dangers which added miles to the route.

Swell on the inshore rocks

The swell rolled in from port, the tide pushed against us at nearly 2 knots. What little wind there was came from dead astern. Robinetta rolled horrendously, and we had to get the sail down as there was not enough wind to hold it still against the swell... Julian could not take the smell of the diesel exhaust, so I did most of the helming while he stayed below and did some work on the new mount for the fuel shut off cable.

No other boats were going the same way as us, but at least 50 were racing in the other direction, using the tide and wind effectively. It made our plodding progress seem even slower.

As we got closer to the Portsall cardinal buoy the swell wavelength shortened, and the swell was “complemented” by waves raised by the light wind over tide. The result was not quite overfalls, but it made sense to me to steer clear of the areas of seabed that were marked as shallower. As a result we went almost all the way to the buoy before changing course to head towards L’Aberwrac’h.

About quarter of an hour later I noticed that the swell had decreased. I could see it breaking on the rocks to port, and the reefs there were taking the worse of it. It had also settled back into a steady pattern, so much easier to deal with. Even better, the breeze was on the stern quarter, rather than directly aft, and we could see it in the courtesy flags and burgee. It was still very light, but Julian is always desperate to sail so we got the main up. The swell still threatened to gybe it so I asked for a preventer and Julian was just about to rig it when his phone rang. It was a work query, but they were happy to call back in 5 minutes.

With the preventer rigged and jib flying I could make a good course steering directly for Ile Vierge lighthouse without the use of the engine. As soon as I suggested this to Julian he turned the engine off. We were still making about 2½ knots, the same speed we had been making all day. He took his phone call, then the helm, to give me a rest as I had been helming most of the day.

We ended up having a rather delightful sail, nearly all the way to the marina at L’Aberwrac’h. Julian did not want to stop sailing, so we decided to go up river to Paluden. That would put the wind directly behind us, and the risk of gybing constantly in an unknown river seemed unacceptable. Julian proposed lowering the main, and going up on foresails, so we went head to wind to get the main down, then turned back and were blown up river with the tide at a relaxed 3-4 knots.

Sailing always feels better than motor, and it was simple to tack the jib whenever we needed to. We were looking for the dumbell moorings that the Cruising Association Almanack gives as being available to visitors, but when we finally found them they were a bit daunting. We went round the trot a couple of times, looking for the right place, but when we picked our spot and went along side actually mooring to them seemed very complicated (although the tide held us there very solidly while we thought what to do). 

Robinetta on the correct mooring!

A man shouted to us from the shore. Apparently these were not the right moorings; as visitors we should be taking one of the four swinging moorings slightly further up river. We extricated ourselves with difficulty, having to cast Worm off as she got caught up in the mooring lines. Luckily she came to rest against buoy on the other side of the trot and we motored round and picked her up. The man on the shore shouted again, probably thinking we were trying to moor up on the dumbells again!

The view upriver from the mooring

Once we were where we should be, on a swinging mooring rated for 8 tonnes, Paluden turned out to be a lovely spot. We paid our mooring fee, then ate on board before going for a walk to the nearest town in the evening. A very pleasant end to a trying day.

A fine sail from Douarnenez

Alison had looked at the weather forecast for today with Piers on Carlotta and was worried about the swell left over from the storm. The forecast was for 3m but it only dropped a little over the next couple of days while the wind dropped a lot. That would leave us with an old sea with no wind to steady us. So I wanted to poke our nose out and see what it was like. We could divert to Morgat or Camaret if it got bad.

We got out of Port Rhu and moored up at Treboul to pay and buy bread and then we were off. One reef and the small jib. It worked well for a while and we were in good company!

Les Vieux Moines with St Mathieu lighthouses beyond

The wind slackened and we shook out the reef and then it died. The engine went on for 15 minutes and then the wind came back. The swell increased past the Cap de la Chevre but was long and easy.

We hit the entrance to the Chenal du Four bang on time to carry the tide all the way to L'Aber Wrac'h.

The wind eased even more and we changed up to the big jib. The sailing was a delight.

Theta in the Chenal du Four

We were not alone going through the Chenal, but most of the boats passed us, as normal!


Around 16:00 through the Chenal du Four proper with 16 miles to go Alison said she was tired and would like to go into Aber Ilduit. I was assuming we would carry on but it did make sense. I could cook dinner on a mooring more easily than at sea. We thought we were past the strongest tides and could carry on in the morning and have two shorter days.

The little marina in Ilduit now has a visitors pontoon and we ended up in the middle of a raft of three with a friendy French modern boat inside and a lovely little plywood gaffer outside. We bought a replacement control cable for the engine, cooked, showered and charged the laptops. A very pleasant evening.

I should mention that this was a scheduled work day for me but as it was the last good day of wind in the forecast we sailed. I had three meetings by phone and caught up with emails on passage and then later in the evening. There is a bit more I need to do but it can be spread through the week.

Bad Weather

After three says of lovely blue sky and plenty of wind for racing the forecast for Saturday night and Sunday looked dire. Wind SW force 6 gusting 8, with torrential rain.

Julian and I walked over to Treboul on Saturday morning and had a talk to the Capitanerie about taking refuge in Port Rhu. He had a look round and found Robinetta a berth well inside the harbour. A lot of the boats wanted to do the same, and space was at a premium but being small is an advantage when space is tight.

With the evening sorted out we went back to Rosmeur and I rowed Julian across to Kett with the new sternlight on the old mount. Once that was fixed I rowed to see Sheerwater, with some charts. They were planning to stay where they were and brave the weather.

We released Robinetta's mooring at 16:05, and motored towards Treboul with the stay sail up, but the sail cover on the main. All the official racing had been cancelled but the big boats were still out, entertaining the crowds. The pilot cutters had also decided to have an unofficial race, well away from the quay side.

The wind was pretty strong, and just the staysail gave us 1.5 knots. There was very little swell, since Douarnenez Bay is well sheltered from the South West.

For a change we headed for the Passe du Guet, rather than round Ille de Tristan, which gave us a much shorter trip, and we were securely moored in Port Rhu by 16:55. Our berth was well away from the visitor pontoon, with space for Worm ahead of us.

We spent two nights there, while the gale blew through. Sunday at Rosmeur was pretty much a wash out; the stages were taken down and the musicians squeezed into the bar. We ate dinner in a Creperie, courtesy of Philip and Tanuja from Sheerwater. Our first meal away from Robinetta or the festival site since we got back to France! They reported that the moorings had not been bad at all in the end, but we were glad to be in Port Rhu.

Douarnenez day 3, dragging anchors and racing

I woke at 05:00, feeling uneasy. It was only half an hour until high water, and when we anchored last night the depth gauge was not working. The charts said we were in 2 m of water, which meant 7m at high water, but we had no easy way to check. I went into the cockpit to have a look and we were definitely closer to one of the yachts, Kett of Littlehampton. Julian let out some more chain and and we checked our position on the chartplotter. It looked as though we were still in place, so we went back to bed.

We went ashore to shop and for the race briefing. I had a coffee and sat on the sea wall waiting for the briefing, and Julian glanced over and saw that Robinetta was now almost touching Kett. Abandoning the race briefing we headed back to Robinetta via the taxi boats as quickly as we could.

The moorings supervisor boat was alongside Robinetta, trying to hold her off Kett, and we jumped on board and got the engine on, then motored clear.  Looking at the chart plotter we were pretty sure that it was Kett that was dragging her anchor, not us, but our bowsprit had shattered Kett’s stern light whoever was at fault.


Julian pulled up the anchor, and we headed off to re-anchor. It was half eleven by now, and we had missed the race briefing, so I rowed Julian back over to Kett to see if he could help sort the stern light. I then rowed back to Robinetta and stayed on anchor watch. We had not had time to check the anchor was holding before leaving her so it seemed stupid to abandon her. Julian got a taxi boat then walked to the chandlers in Treboul to buy a new light. The man off Kett went with him. It turned out that the skipper was in hospital in Douarnenez, and having had a little time to think he realised the dragging might not have been our fault....

I started preparing Robinetta for the race. Julian had handed in the form saying we intended to join in last night, but we knew very little about it. Julian phoned, telling me that the chandlers had closed for lunch, and asked me to talk to the organisers to find out details, so I did. It turned out that the start had been moved forward, to 13:30. I watched Sheerwater sail past Robinetta’s stern as I waited anxiously for Julian’s return.

Sheerwater

Julian appeared in a taxi boat at 13:15. By then I already had the engine on and was hauling up the anchor. As race starts go we have had better, but helped by the fact that they moved the start even earlier on the fly, so we still had the engine on and the main only half raised when the three minute gun went.

We crossed the line last, and stayed there. This was not such a bad thing since we did not know what the course was.... We had up the no 1 jib and needed it, since the wind was light close in, although better by the turning buoy. It rained quite hard for about ten minutes, making us use our oily jackets for the first time in a while.

The finish was interesting to say the least. It looked as though everything had been moved earlier to make time for Greyhound and Recouverance to have a mock battle right by the finish line. They are BIG boats, sailing at close quarters and doing a public demonstration, and were not going to get out of the way of the last boat in a little boat race.... We avoided Greyhound by putting in an extra tack, but had to start the engine to get out of Recouverance’s way.

Once the race was over we headed back to the moorings. It was nearly 15:00, and we were starving! Luckily our initial mooring was free again, so we picked it up and had lunch in the cockpit before anything else. Julian felt really tired after the disturbed night and active morning, so he had a sleep while I got the sails sorted and tidied up the boat.

Douarnenez Day 2

Found out last night we are nominally in the 'small traditional pleasure boats' class which races tomorrow so we have a free-ish day today. Met with Solent & SW gaffers and arranged to meet on their raft at 6pm tonight.

Cine Mara

Ariana, Corncockle and Carlotta

Fancied a sail and went out to watch the race. Some nice photo opportunities.

Greyhound

Rose of Argyll

Gwenili

La Cancalaise

La Recouvrance

A short sail, and more engine problems

High water Port Rhu was at 15:45, so we had a relaxed morning, doing a bit of painting before it got too hot, then shopping, and doing laundry, which soon dried.

The last forecast I had seen showed almost no wind all week, but by the time the sluice gate opened in the harbour there was a good breeze blowing. Julian and I had decided to raise sail as soon as we were clear of the sluice gate and bridge. I was helming, and it all seemed a bit busy to me, with yachts leaving and entering Port Rhu, and a fleet of sailing dinghies under tow. None the less we got the main up, and were sailing even before we were passed Isle de Tristan.

I suggested a reef, as the helm felt heavy, but Julian sensibly pointed out that this was because we did not have the jib flying yet! He took the helm, and I got the jib out, and we started flying along, close hauled. We were done with engine, but pulling the stop cord had no effect, so Julian went below and turned the engine off by pulling the fuel cut off valve at the other end. 

We needed to go onto a broad reach, then gybe, to head towards Rosmeur which is hosting the Temp Fête this year, and Julian decided we would be better off reefed when broad reaching.

Once the reef was in Robinetta revelled in her new course, flying along at 5.5 to 6 knots. We had a gorgeous sail, only putting the engine on to lower sail once we were close to the moorings.

A harbour boat guided us to the correct mooring, then another helped us pick it up since it had no visible pick up buoy (it had got trapped and sunk). Once on the mooring we tried to turn the engine off as we normally would, by pulling the stop cord. It still would not budge.

Julian went below and shut off the fuel supply at the engine end again.

It was only mid afternoon, so we rowed ashore in Worm and registered for the festival. We got our wristbands, plus beer, cider, and three tins of local produce. There was even a jaw harp, two reusable beer mugs, and a programme "log" in English. Apparently they had printed 100 in English, and 700 in French!

Back on board Robinetta we had dinner, then Julian tried to get the stop cord to move. It would not budge at first, and when he did get it to move it did not pull the fuel cut off valve at the other end as it was supposed to. We last had this problem in 2014, just before we set off for Scotland. Looks like we need a new stop control.

Flying home an unexpected route

With the alarm set for 6.30am we were expecting to do the final packing up of Robinetta before taking the bus to Quimper to catch our 10:45 flight. Unfortunately rather than the alarm we were woken by a text message alert.

The flight was cancelled.

BA could not help us find another flight home unless we travelled to Toulouse, or waited for Tuesday, neither of which were possible, so Julian started looking and grabbed the first flight that showed up on his search, the 18:30 from Brest to Southampton. We would have to catch the bus to Quimper, then the train to Brest, then a tram, then a bus.... but we would be in England by 18:30 UK time, and trains from Southampton Parkway to London were frequent.

Finding and buying the flight took time, so we did not make our previously intended 08:09 bus, but we did catch the next one which actually took a shorter route than the earlier one so we were in time to catch the 10am train to Brest.

Mini sub at Brest Castle maritime museum

Two hours in Brest, looking round the castle and maritime museum, made a worth while stop over, so the travelling day feel more like a holiday. The schedule of the bus that connects the end of the tram line to the airport meant we had a three hour wait there, then the plane was 30 minutes late...

We were tired and over hot by the time we took our seats on the plane, but we then had the most amazing flight home. From a cloudless sky we could look down and see the coast spread before us. Julian thought we were flying over Paimpol, but I was pretty sure we weren't, so he got out the Samsung tablet, and opened up the chart. We were over Roskoff.

We then passed Guernsey, with Herm and Sark, and the Cherbourg peninsula visible beyond, before reaching the Isle of Wight and a Solent crammed with boats by Cowes as they finished a slow Round the Island race.

Having a flight cancelled is a pretty stressful event, but I am very glad we took the route home that we did!

Loctudy to Douarnenez

We left in drizzle and mist. Visibility was OK but we put the AIS on with the new antenna. We needed the cabin hatch closed for the rain so we led it through the ventilation chimney. It worked well like that.

Leaving Loctudy was a matter of dodging crab pots and small fishing boats - some servicing the pots and some fishing with rods.

We set full sail but kept the engine on to help point. We managed to point as little as 45 - 50 degrees off the wind some of the time.

It took an age to get around the Pointe de Pen Marc'h, beating long boards. The west going ones were into the waves which rarely stopped us but were very hard work. The north going ones where rather nice. But we realised we would never have made the Raz by the afternoon slack on our previous plan of leaving Loctudy at 5am. Not with a northwesterly.

Once round the Pointe de Pen Marc'h sailing was easier and we made one very long board up the coast, only tacking when we got to 10m depth (of course we know that is less than 10m until I recalibrate the echo sounder). We could see other yachts on the AIS doing the same thing. They tacked much earlier.

Passing Audierne I got enough 3G signal to check the weather again - it was still OK to try to get through the Raz. I also found the Pointe du Raz webcam. It looked serene.

Although the wind was due to fall it got stronger now. We put in a reef and throttled back. Alison was pretty tired on the helm and decided (having read something in a book) that heaving to might help reefing. It all got a bit fraught as the only way to get the roller reefing to work on Robinetta is head to wind. I shouted a bit. We managed.

We had planned a sausage dinner but with the new plan I suggested we shift that to breakfast. Alison said she wanted a pot noodle - the perfect dinner when you don't want to cook! She had a Teriyaki one and I had Hoisin Duck. Well, what passes for Hoisin Duck in a pot noodle.

It was late dusk by the time we got to the Anse de Feounteunod at 22:15 and getting misty but we could see well enough to thread our way through the moored small boats and find a spot to anchor. We dropped in about 6m indicated (so maybe 4.5m). We had time for four hours sleep before we needed to head for the Raz.

Like all the anchorages we have tried in Brittany the swell came in. So we spent half an hour stopping odd clanging noises. The hardest new one to find was the spare shampoo bottle rolling around in the vanity unit cupboard.

Then we both managed at least three hours sleep; although the swell never stopped it was mild.

The alarm went off at 2am and we preped the boat then got the engine on and hauled up the anchor, retracing our GPS track through the moorings with Alison in the bow making sure no boats had moved. We had hoped for a moon but it was cloudy.

Once out of the lee of the anchorage there was a really nice wind with lots of north in it so we could sail to the Point. I had set a route in which took us nearly to Les Chats - the rocks at the southwest end. I thought we would need to be able to go northeast through the Raz to get a good reach. I wanted to be very early and try to go through against the last of the ebb tide so the tide would be with the wind. That way it might be smooth-ish.

But it was so calm that we could motor gently into the headwind and tide and make 2 knots. So we were ready to turn early, but then Alison spotted a yacht tri-colour masthead light ahead so we turned a little south to let it get ahead before following it in.

Even at 3am we were not the only boats going through the Raz. There would be more.

We were even earlier than I had planned but it seemed to be working. We realised we had made one mistake. There are lots of useful navigation lights - channel markers, cardinals and lighthouses. We should have learned these and their patterns - it would have made it easy to fix our position and to know which lights were unexpected and therefore other boats.

We did get one AIS alarm - a yacht coming through in the other direction under spinnaker. We could see his red light but the AIS made it really easy to see his track and know how to turn to pass parallel.

By the nominal slack time of 4:11am we were parallel to the rocks on the point - half way through! It was really easy going - head to wind but no swell and no wind over tide effects.

Once through we turned onto a close reach and I found the Cap de la Chèvre light was perfect to aim by. The speed increased to 5 knots and we turned the engine off and had a wonderful sail into the morning. We went onto proper watches now with one on the helm and one sleeping, until 8am when I felt like cooking breakfast. We hove to and had a really nice meal of chipolata sausages, mushrooms, leeks, potatoes and tomatoes.

Then we sailed gently towards Douarnenez until we lost the wind about half a mile out and put the sails away.

We got into Treboul at 10:30, exactly as hoped. After filling the tanks with diesel we headed in to our booked mooring - the same one we had before in Port Rhu.

Re-planning

We didn't know what we would do today. We got up quite early to have a think. I thought the harbour master here, who's English is excellent, might make some phone calls for us. I looked at the local busses and it seemed we could get to Quimper on Saturday from Loctudy so maybe that was an option. Benodet and La Foret seemed to have buses only on weekdays but a taxi would still be possible. Audierne looked less good - no weekend buses and an expensive taxi ride.

Alison suggested we might try the overnight passage through the Raz. I looked at the weather and it had changed again. The 20 knot gusts were still there at 3pm but the night now looked much better. F3 with little swell, reducing later. Slack water would be 4:11 am so we had time to get to the Raz.

The Secret Anchorages book mentions a bay seven miles west of Audierne and only three miles from the Pointe. It looked like a good idea. We settled on it and even after a nice chat on the pontoon with another British couple we were away by 8:30.

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.

Heading west from Port Louis

Worm had about 30 gallons of rain in her this morning. Julian got most of it out with the bucket.

I was starting to take the cover off Robinetta’s main sail at half nine this morning when a very charming French man with perfect English came down the finger berth to ask if Julian and I would mind having a conversation with some students of his. He was an English teacher, and his students would be in a local café at 10:30.




We agreed it would be interesting, and I put the cover back on. It started to drizzle again, so we were glad to be in the dry talking to interested people.

We left the cafe at 11:35, and went straight back to Robinetta to get her ready to leave, (not wanting to incur another day’s mooring fee). After days of sailing in shorts and teeshirts it felt odd to be putting on waterproof trousers and jackets. Julian got the bowsprit out as we headed out of the marina, but it took longer than normal and he was still working on it as we passed the fort.

The sea state there was horrid, short steep seas as the head winds met the ebbing tide. I raised the stay sail, and tacking on it and the engine helped a little, but I was looking forward to getting into more open seas. Since Robinetta was head to wind we raised the main sail, but put three turns round the boom of reef rather than hauling it all the way up.

Yesterday’s forecast has been for light (force 2-3) South Westerly winds. Today felt like a top end 4 gusting 5, and when Julian re-checked the weather that indeed was as expected. The wind direction was pretty good for heading to Concarneau and once we were clear of the channel and could put the no 2 jib up and sail more freely to the wind the seas calmed down a lot. We were on a close reach, and it was challenging sailing, but quite fun once I had the “helping hands” to make the tiller easier to use. We were going at a good rate, over 5 knots in the gusts and nearly as much in the steadier wind.

Then we came out from behind the shelter of the Ile de Groix and the sea state increased again. Most of the waves were fine, but every couple of minutes a pair of larger ones would come at us in a challenging way.

I realised it was 13:45 and we had not had lunch yet, so suggested Julian go below and make himself something to eat before taking over the helm. Once he was below and I was alone on watch I began to realise that the sea state was not something I wanted to cope with for another 22 miles to Concarneau. That would be another five hours, and no ports of refuge if the sea state got worse. Robinetta was too small for the conditions, so we needed to turn back.

I told Julian what I thought, and he agreed. Down below it had been very obvious how rough it was getting.

We tacked, and headed for the Ile de Groix, which was another close reach. The helm felt lighter in this direction, and we slowed down to 3 knots, but the sea was still rather rough for us until we were in the shelter of Groix. It then became a rather pleasant sail.

A huge catamaran came past us, hesitated for ten minutes just off Groix, then turned round and powered right across Robinetta's bow as though to show how fast a boat could move. She carried the markings of the Route de Rhum race, all the way to Guadalupe, and looked really powerful with just one sail up.

Robinetta had the right amount of canvas for the conditions for her, and an hour saw us at the entrance to Port Tudy where we turned the engine on and got the sails down. The ferry from Lorient left harbour while we got ready to go in, then the Bro Warok preserved fishing boat headed into the harbour then out again... there were two other yachts waiting to go in too.

Port Tudy was just as crowded on a Tuesday afternoon as it had been on Sunday, and we ended up rafted 3 out on the hammer head, but this time we were not going to leave! Given the conditions a four hour sail was plenty.

We had a chat with another English sailor from a boat called Wave Function II. He had come on a broad reach all the way from the Ile de Glennan, and told us he had nearly broached twice. This made me even more certain we had done the right thing in turning back.

Locmaria harbour

We had a cup of tea, and I finally got round to eating lunch, then we went for a walk across Groix to Locmaria, a harbour on the south side of the island. The boats there were rolling horribly (the moorings are only protected by a mole, and there is no inner harbour) and we were glad of our place in Port Tudy.

Houat to Ile de Groix?

The promised thunder storms rolled in after we got to bed last night, accompanied by rain that made the cabin ceiling leaks reappear. Far fewer than before we had the work done!

Le Palais, Belle Ile

The previously calm anchorage also acquired a swell that made Robinetta roll. As a consequence Julian was hauling up the anchor by 08:00 and we ate breakfast under way with George on the helm. The weather forecast contained no wind, so we left the main down and did not unfurl the jib, The staysail went up as normal though. The idea of a day of motoring in the sweltering heat made both of us a little depressed, but at least the first hour was pleasantly cool. There were also a few clouds about which meant the sun was not continuously beating down.

Top end of Belle Ile

We headed for the east side of Belle Ile, and motored along it admiring the coast before heading for the Ile de Groix, which we had chosen as our first destination on the trip back towards Douarnenez. Belle Ile faded into the distance as we rigged the parasol, then ate lunch, motoring along in the oily calm.

At 14:00 I realised I felt cool for a change. Julian was below, dozing and keeping out of the sun, and it took me a couple of minutes to discover that the lack of heat was not just down to the sun being behind a cloud. There was actually a breeze.

Rather than disturb Julian I raised sail alone, and once I turned back on course Robinetta began to bowl along at 3½ knots. The sea surface still looked windless, but she was moving well. Julian popped his head up, and we had a beautiful sail all the way to the Ile de Groix, with the wind increasing smoothly.

We were slightly reluctant to stop sailing once we reached Groix, so we began to beat into the entrance channel of Port Tudy, our chosen destination. This was rather busy, with a ferry going out, a dive boat very close to the entrance channel, and a number of yachts and speed boats coming and going. We realised that sailing any further would cause more problems than enjoyment, so got the sails down and the bowsprit in.

The harbour at Port Tudy was heaving with boats, but we got Robinetta onto the final place on the hammer head, just by the entrance. She fitted perfectly, not overhanging the way the other boats did, and once Worm was moored up on the outside we were set. Julian went to plug in the power lead, and discovered a problem. No empty power sockets, and we needed power so he could work tomorrow.

Another 40' boat came in and moored up on the boat ahead of us on the pontoon. They were rafted three out now, and I began to feel guilty about our use of space. Another 2 bigger boats were milling around, trying to find somewhere to moor. It all felt a bit crowded and cramped.

45 minutes after berthing we decided to leave. It was only 17:00, and there would be space and power in Port Louis. The only drawback was that we had put everything away.

We left the bowsprit stowed, but the sailing breeze was too good to ignore for the three mile sail into Lorient, so up went the main and staysail, and we had a lovely (if slightly unbalanced rig wise) reach across to Port Louis.

The marina was pretty full, and we ended up rafted outside a large Bavaria on the visitor pontoon, but it felt much more relaxed than Port Tudy, and we were glad to be back.

Belle Ile and Houat

The swell died down nicely last night and we had a good night’s sleep. The wind blew steadily but lightly from the head of the fjord keeping the boats from swinging near each other or the rocks.

It was cooler too – not the searing heat we have become used to.

So we felt awake and able to have a decent start. I went on deck and got us ready to go while Alison put the cabin into day mode. That seems to be falling in to place as a habit – we must swap it around at some point.

The wind was strong enough that we debated setting the No 2 jib but XC said it was 3-4 and due to drop so we went for the No 1.

The shearwaters were looping the fjord as we left but proved very difficult to photograph. The zig-zag pattern on their upper wings is beautiful.

Outside we went head-to-wind to raise the main and then turned left down the west coast. The first part was pretty much due south and the freshening south-easterly wind pulled us along at 5 knots like a steam engine. Alison was finding it tough on the helm so we put a little reef in the main. We didn’t slow down.

The wind kept freshening and I realised we should have the No 2 jib but before we could change them we needed to reef the main more. I took it right down to the first hoop and we furled the jib and carried on with deeply reefed main and stay-sail.

I should have changed jibs then but didn’t think of it. As the wind eased Alison would have had the No 2 jib out for the last 15 minutes before I took the helm but didn’t want to try the No 1. When I took over I put the No 1 out and it felt good. Deeply reefed main and full head-sails shouldn’t really work but close hauled Robinetta was nicely balanced.

When I’ve read books on rig design they all assume the centre of effort is in a fixed place and one needs to reef fore and aft in parallel. With Robinetta the balance seems to shift with wind-speed and point of sail. I don’t know if this means a poorly designed rig or if it is true in practice for all boats.

We were quite far out to sea by now and beyond the bottom of the west side of the island. We tacked in to get closer for the views and to see if we could pass inside the only marked rock. This brought us close to another small yacht going the same way and we sailed beside each other for a while. Mostly Robinetta was faster but they did start to overhaul us when they put out more of their roller-reefing genoa. The wind was easing more and we went head to wind and shook out most of our reef in the main. It’s nice to sometimes find a boat that isn’t faster!

They dropped their sails and went into one of the bays, presumably to anchor for lunch.

The wind kept easing but kept us at about 3 knots all the way to the eastern end of the island. The whole seaward side of Belle Ile is lovely. The cliffs are quite high with offshore rocks and sea stacks and small sandy beaches.

Rounding the island’s southeast corner we lost the wind completely and put the engine on. The east shore is lower with bigger beaches. The southern one is full of moorings. On this Saturday afternoon – the last in June – it was full of motor boats and one sailing yacht. There are two or three further beaches and they were all occupied.

We could see Houat, our destination, now. Houat is surrounded by rocks and is said to be dangerous to leave or approach at night. There is a harbour on the north side and two good beach anchorages, one on the east side and one on the south. XC was predicting northerlies and our experience at the Iles de Glenans told us the vent solaire was likely to kick in from the north so we chose the southern beach.

Coming from the south there is an isolated danger mark and to the east of it a small island. An approach between the two avoids all the other dangers. Alison calculated a 2.5m tide and it was one hour before high water so we dropped the hook in 5m and went for a swim. A fender as an extra bottom rung to our ladder works well as a swim ladder.

We haven’t eaten ashore at all yet this trip. It was our only Saturday night of this leg and we felt like a change so we dressed up a bit and rowed ashore and walked into town.

The village on Houat is delightful. It is absolutely covered in flowers – lots of hollyhocks and roses and other flowers.

We bought some milk at the general store and walked to the harbour. There were lots of fishing boats and some yachts but what caught my eyer were two tiny three-masted luggers moored up together.

Alison spotted a hotel restaurant and we walked up their garden and booked a table. The Hotel Iles was running two sittings – one at 19:30 and one at 21:00 so we wandered off to find a bar for a drink before dinner.

The bar was nice and I spotted someone wearing a tee-shirt with a three-masted lugger on it. He noticed my interest and came over and said hello. He had sailed one of them over from Morbihan. It had been made in 1997 based on a Bantry Bay boat and been at the Breast festival in 2000.

Dinner was excellent. We shared a hot goats cheese salad starter and I had moules-frites and Alison had the seafood platter with spider-crab and langoustines and crevettes. I had raspberry sorbet and lime sorbet for afters and Alison had what was billed as Tiramisu but was more like summer pudding.
When we got back to the beach one of the boats at anchor was in full party mode with loud music blaring out over the whole bay. I hoped they would stop before midnight.

Back on the boat I was a bit concerned about the depth of water below us. Ever since I configured the echo sounder with the transducer offset I’ve not been sure what the chart plotter displays. We predicted the tide would have dropped by about a metre but when we turned the plotter on we were now in 3.6m by its measurement so it looked like we had a 3m tide not a 2.5m one. With the uncertainty of the reading we needed more information.

I dropped the dinghy anchor over to use as a lead line. We measured the depth of water with a steel rule and we only had 2.4m or 1m under the keel with another metre at least to fall!

Luckily there was a nice big space to move to. We put the engine on and I changed into older clothes and hauled the anchor up and we moved into 6m and dropped it again.

So now we know that the chart plotter does use the transducer offset number and we know that I need to change the number stored in the echo sounder. It looks like I should take at least a metre off the transducer offset.

The party boat went quiet about 11:20pm. Nice folks after all.

Port Louis to Belle Ile

Fort Louis

We spent a day in Port Louis, visiting the fort and its museums, then having a seista before catching the bus and going to the supermarket. We bought a ready to reheat paella and ate on board Robinetta. Add in a bottle of supermarket special offer white Bordeaux wine and we had a lovely dinner. All in all Port Louis was a good place to spend a shore day.

This morning we were waiting to pay when the office opened at 09:00. Only 18 euro for 2 nights, excellent value.

We left the pontoon at 10:15 and Julian got the bowsprit out while I helmed. We swapped jobs before we reached the main channel out of Lorient, and I got the jib up as we passed the fort we had visited yesterday,. It seemed a little gusty in the channel, do I flew the no 2 jib, bit within twenty minutes I changed it for the no 1. We had a lovely sail out of the South Channel, heading for Belle Ile at 4-5 knots.

Unfortunately the force 4 breeze began to fade, first to a 3, then to a 2. Our speed dropped to below 2.5 knots and we reluctantly put the engine on at 12:25. Julian was sure that sailing should still be possible, so he went forward and rigged the blue reaching sail. Once it was flying we put the engine in neutral to try it, but Robinetta made under 2 knots, so the sail went away again and we were back on engine.

Then, abruptly, the wind came back and we could sail at nearly 4 knots again. Every now and then it would go lighter, but we persisted with the sailing after 14:00, trailing a fishing line when the speed dropped and bringing it in when we sped up again. We did not catch anything.

A quartet of common dolphins came and swam lazily along side for about 20minutes, then headed off west, leaving us decisively behind.

We managed to sail until we were almost at the west cardinal that marked the rocks to the west of the tip of Belle Ile. The wind then failed again and we got the sails down before heading for the anchorage at Ster-Vraz.

Julian swimming at Ster-Vraz

We had found this anchorage in the “Secret Anchorages of Britainy” book. I would hesitate to call it secret, since there were a dozen boats in it, plus more in a side cove called Ster-Wenn. It is lovely though. Once we were securely anchored Julian went for a swim. We could have rowed to a beach at the head of the cove, but it had been a long hot day, and we just stayed aboard, and I cooked dinner.