30/07/2009 by admin.

Yesterday we sailed from La Rochelle to Royan, a distance of 53 miles. It took a little longer than expected as we had to wait off the entrance to the Gironde river for the tide to turn. The wind picked up during the day, and was blowing force 5, over 25 knots, by the time we got to Royan. The marina at Royan is right in the middle of the town, with a row of shops and restaurants on the boardwalk at the end of the pontoon. Wiffy , while not available in the marina, is available at the bar at the entrance to the pontoon. Any excuse for a drink. The waiter, a tad eccentric, speaks very good English,far better than my French, so it looks like this will be our base while in Royan.
We were woken this morning to what sounded like a cat being slowly castrated. It subsequently turned out to be the guy on the neighbouring yacht doing some violin practice. I only hope his navigation is better than his musical skills. In spite of this, we will probably spend 3 nights here, before heading back to La Rochelle.
Royan is a very popular holiday resort, with miles of sandy beaches and plenty of shops and restaurants. The architecture is very 1950’s, with very few old buildings left, primarily due to heavy bombing by the Brits in 1945. In spite of this it is a very attractive town with plenty of parks and open spaces. We had a long walk this afternoon to what turned out to be the best mini golf course we have seen so far. In spite of Stu getting 3 holes in one, his consistency let him down, and age and experience won over. Claire’s Mum’s birthday is today, so we will be singing happy birthday over the phone to her later.
Off to the beach tomorrow, weather forecast looks good. It’s a tough life out here, but we are stoically pulling through.
Chris

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29/07/2009 by admin.

Today is Wednesday the 29th July, and it looks like it is going to be another hot and sunny day here in La Rochelle. The forecast for the Charente/Gironde region is for North Westerly winds increasing to 25 knots this afternoon, so it could be an ideal day for sailing. We plan to sail down to Royan on the mouth of the Gironde today. It is a distance of 53 miles, so is likely to take us about 9 hours.
Last Monday we sailed over to Boyardville on Isle d’Oleron, about 10 miles south of La Rochelle. As the tide was ebbing, we anchored off the beach outside Boyardville and did some swimming. The water temperature was OK, but the water was not very clear so the scuba gear stayed dry. Fort Boyard, made famous in a tv show, lies about a mile off the coast there. In the middle of the afternoon I noticed about 8 small catamarans being rigged up on the beach. Suddenly 2 of the cats started sailing away , both heading in our direction. The first one had a small child in it, whose ambition to sail off round the world was clearly not matched by his ability to sail. You can just imagine his parents on the beach saying, “Zut alors, I didn’t know little Pascal could sai!”. However a rescue boat set off after the budding round the world sailor and successfully managed to return the boat and it’s occupant to the safety of the beach. However as the second boat came nearer to us, I noticed that there didn’t appear to be anyone on the boat, yet it appeared to be gathering speed heading out into the bay, narrowly missing our stern and making a beeline for an anchored sightseeing boat. I thought at first it might be Taffy making a break for it, but on checking down below found him in the saloon with his feet up on the settee reading the latest issue of Cosmo. ( I am beginning to worry about his reading material). I know the French are keen on solo sailing, but a catamaran with no-one on it seemed to be taking things a tad too far. Stu and I jumped into the RIB and headed off in pursuit of the unmanned boat. We eventually managed to catch up with the boat and started towing it back to the beach, by which time the rescue boat came out to retrieve their wayward cat. The guy on the rescue boat was very appreciative of our salvage efforts, but when he realised we were English, he gave up trying to be nice and headed back to the beach without another word. I was contemplating claiming Lloyd’s Open Form salvage rights, but my grasp of French probably wouldn’t have stretched to that . The trip back to La Rochelle was largely uneventful with Claire getting some helming practice in, and doing rather well at it.so looking forward to some proper sailing today. Will report back from Royan , wiffy allowing.
Chris

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27/07/2009 by admin.

Today is Sunday 26th July, and our hottest day on the boat yet, with the temperature reaching 33’C. We spent the last couple of days in Les Sables d’Olonne with the Wilkins and Claire Warner. Freddie gave the locals a masterclass in surfing while the rest of us did some serious sunbathing. The sailing was largely uneventful with little wind and a long deep atlantic swell, with the only highlight being my attempt to get Fizz into Quai Garnier marina at low water springs with not quite enough water under the keel. However the whole crew should be congratulated for maintaining an appearance of nonchalance as Fizz shuddered to a halt before I reversed her out and proceeded to the deeper marina at Port Olona. I am convinced the local population looking on assumed our sudden stop and reversal was all carefully planned . We got back into La Rochelle yesterday evening and today the Wilkins and Pam flew back to the UK, leaving Stu, Claire and myself on Fizz for another week before we also fly back to the UK , leaving Fizz in La Rochelle until we return at the end of August.
La Rochelle is a fascinating coastal town with a rich maritime heritage. It largely escaped the aerial bombing of the 2nd world war, which afflicted many of the other large coastal towns along the French Atlantic coast, so most of it’s old buildings, some dating back to the 14th and 15th century are still intact. The streets around the old port area are packed with bistros, restaurants, cafes and boutique shops. The Aquarium is well worth a visit with a 20m deep shark tank, but the Maritime Museum was disappointing, consisting of an old stern trawler and a laid up weather ship. Every evening a variety of street performers , including bands, clowns and pavement artists keep the tourists entertained along the Quai Duperre in the Old port. One guy in particular, who dresses up as a mannequin and stands on a plinth on the bridge is very good, tipping his hat and winking when money is put in his tin.
Tomorrow we head out to Isle d’Aix for some swimming and scuba diving before returning to La Rochelle tomorrow night. We plan to head down to Royan on the Gironde on Wednesday for a couple of days.
Taffy was very proud to contribute to a small game of one-upmanship while we were in Les Sables. The neighbouring French yacht was proud to show off their resident golden retriever dog and a cat, both of which are accompanying the owners on their sailing adventures. However, we were able to go one better when Taffy stuck his head out of the saloon window, much to the amazement and concern of the neighbours, who retreated into their yacht muttering darkly about les crazy rosbifs .
Chris & Pam

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21/07/2009 by admin.

The Absaloms headed back home on Sunday 19th July, and we set out for a sail down to Isle d’Aix, a small island about 8 miles south of La Rochelle. There are no roads on the island, just a small village, a couple of lighthouses and lots of sandy beaches. With time moving on, (we had to be back at La Rochelle at high water to get into the Marina at Les Chalutiers) we headed back to La Rochelle on a broad reach with 15 knots of breeze and plenty of sunshine. After re-fuelling at Les Minimes, we headed over to the Marina at Les Chalutiers, right in the centre of La Rochelle. We had to wait for a road bridge to open before we could get into the marina, and we eventually got tied up at 4 o’clock. Weather has been great, plenty of sunshine and relaxation.
Looking forward to the Wilkins (Trish, Jeremy and Freddie) arriving later today, and Claire tomorrow. Hope the weather holds out.
Taffy was alarmed to read an article in yesterday’s paper about gnomes going missing from gardens in Sussex, and owners being advised to cement their gnomes in place. He muttered something about “infringement of personal liberty” and was threatening to send a postcard to the European Court of Gnome Rights.
The “where is Pam’s tattoo “ competition has 7 days to run, the winner to be announced end first week of August. If you haven’t sent in your entry yet, there is still time. Don’t miss out on the chance of winning a bottle of vintage Bretan cider. Entries can be logged in the guest book.
Chris & Pam

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17/07/2009 by admin.

Arrived in Les Minimes Marina in La Rochelle last night after a trip over from Les Sables d’Olonne that can best be described as a game of 2 halves. The forecast warned of an approaching storm with 30 knots plus of wind and heavy rain squalls. We left Les Sables in bright sunshine with 5 knots of breeze and after 3 hours we dropped anchor about 2 miles east of the Isle de Re road bridge so that Stu and Dan could do some scuba diving. They had earlier seen a huge jelly fish , about 3 ft diameter, so they were keeping a sharp lookout for it’s mates. As the wind was strengthening, we got them back on board and we sailed the last 6 miles under the bridge and into La Rochelle. In the meantime Liz and Rosie got a train from Les Sables via Nantes to Lorient to pick up their car. By all accounts it was an epic 7 hour journey but they made it safely and we met up at the Marina. We went out to dinner at a local Bistro last night to celebrate a certain person’s fifty something or other birthday. We then had a run back to the boat in a thunderstorm before finishing the day off with cake and champagne. A cracking day out !
During the night the forecast storm hit, with gale force winds gusting to 40 knots and torrential rain. It felt good to be safely tied up in a sheltered marina. Today the remnants of the storm are still with us, with occasional rain showers so we will probably savour the delights of La Rochelle this afternoon and hopefully get out for some sailing round the islands tomorrow.
We all agreed that our favourite stop-over so far has been Les Sables d’Olonne. We had two great days on the beach, the restaurants were good, and the Bastille Day fireworks display on Tuesday 14th was the best we had ever seen. We stood on the eastern breakwater right in front of the fireworks waiting for them to start at 11 o’clock. There were thousands of people lining the promenades and beaches and at 11, the street lights were turned off and the firework display started. It lasted for nearly 20 minutes and culminated with a series of huge fireworks which sent shockwaves through the crowds. Absolutely brilliant !
The highlight of Wednesday was Stu and Dan jet-biking in the huge swell just off the harbour. The conditions were ideal for jet-biking and provided the required adrenaline rush. My personal highlight was getting my hair cut at a local coiffure where I learn’t , albeit a little too late, that a level 4 in the UK is not the same as a level 4 in France. On a positive note, I won’t need to get my hair cut again for a few weeks.
I am pleased to report that Taffy has been behaving himself over the last 2 days, although he was seen last night studying a poster advertising a local strip club, so we might need to keep an eye on him while in La Rochelle.
Chris & Pam

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13/07/2009 by admin.

At last, internet access after a shortage of wi-fi , or wiffy as it is known here. Arrived in Les Sables d’Olonne this evening after a 50 plus mile run from Pornic with little wind and not much sun. However, the sun came out as we entered the breakwaters of Les Sables and has been shining ever since.  We plan to spend a couple of days here at Les Sables, the home of the famous Vendee solo round the world race. Tomorrow is Bastille day in France, and there will be a huge firework display at the harbour entrance tomorrow night, so should be a good spectacle.

A quick update on the last few days. We left Lorient last Saturday with all the crew tattoed up (John had brought some tatto transfers) which had caused some concern to the restaurant staff the previous evening at the marina.   Whoever guesses where Pam’s tatto is wins a bottle of Bretan cider. Answers can be sent to the website. Saturday night saw us in Trinite Sur Mer for 2 nights. We went to the beach at the river entrance and Stu and Dan did some scuba diving. After picking up some local mackerel and prawns at the briliant local fish market, we sailed for Pornic on Sunday. John, Dan, Stu and I did some swimming en route, water temperature is getting warmer. We forgot to stop the boat when John dived in, and his swimming skills were not what they used to be, so we did some useful man-overboard practice. Pornic, is a beautiful little village, and John and Stu sampled the local gaufres (waffles) after dinner in a local restaurant.

Off to sample the local delights of Les Sables tonight.  Taffy is being left on board after a little contrep-temps with the local gendarmerie in Pornic.

Chris & Pam

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09/07/2009 by admin.

Picked up the Absaloms this morning and set off for a hairy sail round Isle de Groix. Great sailing, 25 knots of wind most of the way round. Moored up in Kerneval Marina at entrance to Lorient tonight. Off to La Trinite tomorrow.

Chris & Pam

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08/07/2009 by admin.

Brilliant sail over from Concarneau to Lorient today, 30 miles, cruising chute up all the way, broad reaching and downwind, averaging 7 knots. Sunshine all the way apart from a shower as we approached Lorient entrance. Pam in charge of hoisting and bringing down the cruising chute, under supervision of Stu . Pam now contemplating a late entry into the next Vendee solo round the world race. Taffy spent most of the trip over asleep in the saloon. Not sure what he was up to last night, but we got funny looks from the 2 blond young ladies on the Finnish yacht moored next to us as we left Concarneau . Stu is now quizzing Taffy on his chat up lines. Now moored up in the centre of Lorient awaiting the arrival of the Absaloms tomorrow.Chris & Pam    

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07/07/2009 by admin.

Arrived safely in Concarneau last night after a short run from Benodet. A bit of a scuffle trying to get a berth here, not much room, and a 25 knot breeze across the marina, but managed to get alongside without chipping the gelcoat.  By the way the official results from the mini golf tournament yesterday in Benodet were 1st Chris, 2nd Stu and 3rd Pam. Spent this morning teak-oiling the deck and cleaning up the boat. Taffy’s free ride has ended, he is now a member of the crew and was on his knees cleaning the deck along with Stu and myself. Spent this afternoon wandering around the 14th century castle here in Concarneau, very scenic.

Tomorrow off to Lorient ready for the Absaloms’ arrival on Thursday.

Chris & Pam

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06/07/2009 by admin.

Arrived in Benodet at 7:30 last night after a challenging 10 hour sail from Brest in a Westerly force 5 with a 3m deep Atlantic swell for good measure. I am learning how to fall on my ### on the fordeck with grace, pretending that I mean’t to do it, while Stu is learning new swear words to use while snuffing the cruising chute. Pam is patiently taking instructions from Stu on how to avoid the cruising chute being dragged under the boat.  Spent this morning at the market in Benodet, and off now for a spot of crazy golf before sailing round to Concarneau this evening. Taffy the gnome (our stowaway) is enjoying the ride, although he is not so keen on French food. He would rather get stuck into some Welsh cake.

Chris, Pam & Stu

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