Monday, September 14, 2009
On Monday we made the very short hop to Brest where will leave the boat for a week until Iain and a few others come out to sail back to Lymington where Alma will be wintered.
So this is the end of the cruise. It’s been an extraordinary summer. We’ve had all sorts of weather, visited wonderful places, met some great people, learned a lot about Alma and (we hope) about sailing and about ourselves. We’re excited about next summer when we plan to sail to Spain and Portugal in the first part of the summer and then on to Malta for the autumn. Can’t wait.
So this is the last Alma blog until next May. Hope it’s been interesting and helped us keep in touch. We look forward to catching up with as many of you as possible over the winter and seeing many of you on board Alma next summer.
All the best, Iain and Helen.
So this is the end of the cruise. It’s been an extraordinary summer. We’ve had all sorts of weather, visited wonderful places, met some great people, learned a lot about Alma and (we hope) about sailing and about ourselves. We’re excited about next summer when we plan to sail to Spain and Portugal in the first part of the summer and then on to Malta for the autumn. Can’t wait.
So this is the last Alma blog until next May. Hope it’s been interesting and helped us keep in touch. We look forward to catching up with as many of you as possible over the winter and seeing many of you on board Alma next summer.
All the best, Iain and Helen.
Pornichet to Brest 7th to 16th September
Left Pornichet on 7th (in glorious sunshine but little wind) heading for Belle Ile (the largest of all Breton Islands) to the south of Quiberon Bay. Entering the harbour under the towering walls of the 16th century Citadel we moored in the tiny inner basin after waiting to get in through the lock at high tide.
On the way from Belle Ile to Concarneau, we had our first visit by dolphins in a pod of 8-10 which swam alongside us. Wonderful to see there’s still some marine life left. Ironically Concarneau, our next stop, is the capital of the French tuna fish fleet. The town does however have a beautiful walled centre (13th to 17th century) and was the setting of Simenon’s Yellow Dog (Maigret).
We sheltered in Concarneau for a few days, then made the short trip to Loctudy ready to make the long journey around the SW point of Brittany and through the notorious tidal race, the Raz de Sein, before turning NE for Camaret and Brest. The winds remained strong (F5 to 6, locally 7) so we stayed put an extra day. Then when Sunday’s forecast looked better (F4 to 5, locally 6), we made a break for it. For the first 40M we had a storming sail averaging 7 knots. We arrived at the Raz de Sein so early we had some tide against us but as wind and tide were together, the race wasn’t rough (except over some shoal areas we avoided). The next 17M were directly upwind so harder going but still a great sail and we moored up in Camaret by 1900 – tired but delighted to have had such a good sail along this very exposed coast.
Left Pornichet on 7th (in glorious sunshine but little wind) heading for Belle Ile (the largest of all Breton Islands) to the south of Quiberon Bay. Entering the harbour under the towering walls of the 16th century Citadel we moored in the tiny inner basin after waiting to get in through the lock at high tide.
On the way from Belle Ile to Concarneau, we had our first visit by dolphins in a pod of 8-10 which swam alongside us. Wonderful to see there’s still some marine life left. Ironically Concarneau, our next stop, is the capital of the French tuna fish fleet. The town does however have a beautiful walled centre (13th to 17th century) and was the setting of Simenon’s Yellow Dog (Maigret).
We sheltered in Concarneau for a few days, then made the short trip to Loctudy ready to make the long journey around the SW point of Brittany and through the notorious tidal race, the Raz de Sein, before turning NE for Camaret and Brest. The winds remained strong (F5 to 6, locally 7) so we stayed put an extra day. Then when Sunday’s forecast looked better (F4 to 5, locally 6), we made a break for it. For the first 40M we had a storming sail averaging 7 knots. We arrived at the Raz de Sein so early we had some tide against us but as wind and tide were together, the race wasn’t rough (except over some shoal areas we avoided). The next 17M were directly upwind so harder going but still a great sail and we moored up in Camaret by 1900 – tired but delighted to have had such a good sail along this very exposed coast.
After Tim and Chris left on 1st September we had a short break in Provence (we took a train to Nantes then Ryanair to Marseilles) with friends Tom and Carolyn from Kilmacolm, Scotland - very different from life onboard – visiting vineyards, a game of golf, swimming and many excellent meals out.
Plan to be in Brest by 16th September and then one leg remaining before the end of the season. Report to follow…..
All the best
Iain and Helen
Plan to be in Brest by 16th September and then one leg remaining before the end of the season. Report to follow…..
All the best
Iain and Helen
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LATE AUGUST/EARLY SEPTEMBER
28th August friends Tim and Chris joined us in Pornichet after a very long drive from Reigate via Calais and Deauville. As soon as they arrived they kindly took us out in the car!! We visited Guerande (a medieval walled town famous for its sea salt still collected by hand in traditional salt pans). Had a great few days sailing with them visiting Roches Bernard on the Vilaine river and the small island of Hoedic south of Quiberon bay. Both places are beautiful but Hoedic especially – it’s a small wonderfully unspoilt island with lovely beaches (with masses of oysters just growing naturally on the rocks) and great views – would love to have spent more time there. After mooring up in the tiny harbour in the early evening we were welcomed by a Breton bagpiper on another yacht playing “Amazing Grace” and several Breton tunes – sounded like we were in Scotland!!
28th August friends Tim and Chris joined us in Pornichet after a very long drive from Reigate via Calais and Deauville. As soon as they arrived they kindly took us out in the car!! We visited Guerande (a medieval walled town famous for its sea salt still collected by hand in traditional salt pans). Had a great few days sailing with them visiting Roches Bernard on the Vilaine river and the small island of Hoedic south of Quiberon bay. Both places are beautiful but Hoedic especially – it’s a small wonderfully unspoilt island with lovely beaches (with masses of oysters just growing naturally on the rocks) and great views – would love to have spent more time there. After mooring up in the tiny harbour in the early evening we were welcomed by a Breton bagpiper on another yacht playing “Amazing Grace” and several Breton tunes – sounded like we were in Scotland!!
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