Going through the tricky bits

No photos of going up a lock or through a really narrow bridge as we were always too busy. Below are photos of going into a downhill lock and the Libron sluice which is a similar width to the lock entrances.

Some pics from recent weeks

Lock on staircase near Bezier filling

Looking toward the Pyrenees after leaving Agde

Getting ready to leave Agde

Our first view of the Mediterranean

Motoring down the Herault passed Agde to get the mast raised

Typical view on the canals

Laid up for the winter, note the anchoring!

Out of the water

In a strong and increasing wind Mango was taken out of the water today.
The wind made it more tricky that it would have been as we had to
extricate ourselves from a tight berth in the process of which the bows
got blown off in the opposite direction to that which we needed to go so
we had to turn her round; but all went well and the yard did a very
professional job of getting us out of the water and on to the hard standing.
This is the 3rd southerly gale we have had since arriving in Gruissan
and like the others it looks as if it will last a couple of days. The
forecast said rain but fortunately it has not materialised as when it
rained a couple of days ago did so torrentially for 2 days. The
southerly gales seem to be related to high pressures in the Med and low
pressures crossing the atlantic rather than, as we are used to in the
UK, a low pressure system crossing us.
As a safeguard against her being moved by the gales Mango is tied down
to a huge concrete block plus some 5 and 10 ltr containers filled with
water. We have scrubbed off the hulls and found where the antifouling
got rubbed off whilst we were going through the canals. Other than the
antifouling the only damage from going through the canals is some
scrapes on the gunnels and bows so we are feeling quite pleased with
ourselves.
The air tempreature is still high so with the wind everything we wash is
drying off really quickly. When ever we feel fed up with the wind we
only have to think what it has often been like in the UK even in the
summer: windy wet and cold.
Our cruising is now on hold until next year.

In the Mediterranean

On the 20th we left the canal at last and got our mast put back up by a
very obliging yard, Port Nautic, in Grau d'Agde on the Herault. This is
only the second time we have put the mast up with the tabernacle and it
was a bit fraught as we could not get the pin in to the mast step until
we eased the shrouds and released the mast from the tabernacle, it is
all a learning curve.
The following day we woke up to next to no wind (it was blowing quite
hard the day before)and frost on deck, which is apparently quite normal
when there has been a cloudless night. We manoeuvred Mango out of the
craning area and took her down to the public quay where we fitted the
mainsail, tidied up and then left the Herault heading south.
Our destination was Gruissan and we had a lovely sail there in a gentle
westerly wind which made it a fetch. The sky was cloudless all day, the
visibility fantastic and the water warm, a great introduction to the
Mediterranean. The visibility was so good we could almost see our
destination and there were tremendous views of the mountains behind the
coast. We put out the fishing lines but had no luck despite (or because
of) seeing what looked like a small school of dolphins feeding.
We sailed in to Gruissan harbour at about 1615. Gruissan is one of the
resorts built on the coast but looks OK and looks to have a lot of
wooded hills around it. We are hoping to base Mango here, but it turns
out that we may be the wrong size to fit in the marina, too wide for a
monohull berth and too short for one of their multihull berths.
Hopefully we'll find out if there is space for us in a couple of days
The forecast is for very strong winds on Monday so we will be here until
they drop off.

Agde

We got to Agde at the weekend and have spent the last few days sorting out where we go next.  We had hoped to go in to Marseillan  in the etang de Thau as we could get there regardless of the weather, but they were full so we have requested a berth in Gruissan and arranged to get the mast put up tomorrow on the river Herault down stream from Agde.
The fly in the ointment is the weather, a front is sweeping over us tonight and there will be strong winds until Friday and it looks as if it may be unsettled after that.  Gruissan is only 18 nm from the river mouth but we really don't want our first sail after putting the mast up to be in dodgy weather!
We have liked the look of Agede, though we have not spent much time there yet as we have been cycling to Marseillan and down the Herault to investigate our options.  The old part of Agde feels very much the medieval town with narrow twisted streets and towering houses, very few of which are upright! We had a very pleasant meal on the river front.

On the way to Agde

Our next stop after Homps was La Somail. This whole stretch of canal
from Trebes has the best scenery we have seen plus it winds round
following the contours which makes it more interesting to navigate,
though trickier when one meets other boats which we are doing more
frequently now. The most spectacular view we had to date was south of
Homps: it was blue skies and clear air and we could see across the
valleys to where the foothills got bigger and the mountain ranges
started, real picture postcard stuff.
The biggest problem for us has been meeting the big barges, usually live
aboards but sometimes hotel barges, which seem more common on this
stretch of the canal. Although we have right of way (we are going
downstream) we usually opt to kill our speed and dive to the bank rather
than risk too close an encounter as these things weigh 60 tons or more.
Because of their size these barges also have to go slowly and occupy all
of a lock so if you get behind one you are badly slowed, this happened
to us as we left Homps and lost us nearly half a day we reckon.
Unfortunately I got a mild upset stomach whilst we were in Homps and so
we have decided to go via Agde rather than via Narbonne to the sea as
that way we do not have to do any locks for 54 km and avoid the worry of
the very low bridge at Narbonne and getting across the Aude. The
downside of going via Agde is that it means at least 1 extra day in the
canal before we get into the Med.
We had a walk around La Somail and it is as attractive as we remembered
it, though with an even bigger fleet of hire boats so it is best visited
mid week when they are all else where.
Tonight we are in Poilhes having stopped early for the day, another
small, old, attractive town on a hill side with basic shops and a
peaceful atmosphere rather spoilt by the very noisy female ducks who
have being a recurring feature of our stops since Castlenaudray.

some more pics

Port Saveur

Dutch barge in triple lock

Bottom of triple lock

Mango in top of triple lock

Typical canal du midi bridge

Trees on Midi

 

More trees on Midi

In Homps

Moored in Homps right outside the restraunt we went ot the previous 2 tinmes we were here so we had to go again!
Were comparing getting in to locks on the Garonbne and Midi canals today and reckon that althought the midi locks have a narrower entrance and are oval they are probably easier as they do not have sluices letting water out at 90 degrees to the current just before the entrance and thereby knocking you off course at the last moment.
A windy day today which made getting into the locks interesting!  several times we were going forward with the engine in reverse.

Passed Trebes

Got through the staircase of locks at Trebes this afternoon and decided
to stop for the night. Slower day today as we had to wait at several
locks and were travelling with other boats.
The weather remains hot and sunny, but the wind is back though nowhere
near as bad as when we were in Castelnaudary so it has not held us up.

latest progress

We stayed in Castelnaudary until the 10th when the wind moderated (30+
kmh with big gusts) as it would have made getting in and out of locks
very tricky. Castelnaudary was for us a bit bland as pretty much every
thing is covered in sand coloured stucco and the museum was closed (it
is only open from July to the 18th Sept).
One night we were woken up by loud splashes which turned out to be coypu
doing belly flops off the bank into the canal, which reminded me that
just before Castelnaudray we passed a bloke walking two rottweilers
which were taking it in turns to do belly flops into the canal - quite a
sight!
We have got so conditioned to the facilities in ports not being
available when the Capitainerie is shut that we did not bother to go on
the main quay, only to find out that they have a card system to allow
access at all times so we missed out on WiFi as well as the other
facilities (we arrived on a Friday and the capitainerie was not open
over the weekend).
Today we finished 1 lock short of getting to Carcassone: we were 2
minutes off the lock when the lock keeper passed us in his car having
finished for the day; however, it is a quiet place to moor up and we
should get to Carcassone by 11am tomorrow if all goes well so we will
have most of the day to visit the bits we missed last time we were
here. The next stop after Carcassone is Trebes and between there and
Capestang we have some knowledge of the canal as in the past we have
done 2 holidays on hired motor boats there.
The canal has changed in 2 major ways: it is more windy and it is going
through vineyards. There is not much traffic on the canal, but it is
depressing to see how oblivious people are of how to drive on the river:
we regularly see people going passed moored boats and close to the bank
at full speed which causes boats to pull their moorings and speeds the
erosion of the banks.
We have a good system for getting in and out of locks now, the only
downside is that we are slow at entering, which got us a rebuke from
another boater who was rushing to get someplace, but it was
water of a ducks back to us as our priority is not to damage Mango. We
stopped for water after that lock and let him get ahead.

Reached Castlenaudry

Had a good day today, did 28 km and 9 locks of which 3 were doubles and
one was a triple. A Dutch barge had set of before us from our over
night stop of Gardouch which meant we lost first go at the first lock,
but we found that after that there was no hold up. This was in contrast
to the previous day when we ended up going through the locks with 2
novices in a large cabin cruiser, they took ages getting in and out of
the locks and in one lock lost control of their bow line and would have
swung round on to us if the lock had been 3 inches wider! The lock
keepers have been helpful and friendly which has also been a big help.
We are now going down the locks which is a big relief as the locks are
narrow to get in and out of (being oval they are actually quite wide
inside) and it is much easier going down than up, on our penultimate
'up' lock I got caught by a side current in the entrance which moved the
boat about 6-12 inches which was enough for us to go in to the lock
wall, fortunately without doing any major damage. Because the locks are
oval the trickiest manoeuvre now is when we are in a series of locks (a
staircase) as the person on the helm has to angle the boat across from
the entrance to the side of the lock and there is only about 6 inches
either side to play with.
We reached the summit of the canal by lunchtime and hoped to stop at
Port Lauragais for lunch and to see the Canal du Midi exhibition there,
unfortunately the exhibition closes for winter and we'd missed it by 3
days.
Yesterday morning we had some cloud and this evening it has clouded over
again and we had a brief shower, other than that it has been wall to
wall blue skies and temperatures in the 20s or low 30's.

Some general canal photos

Waiting pontoon for a lock, they are not all as good!

Trees at the begging of october

Waiting for the lock to fill, bucket has the laundry in to soak!

Agen and Moissac

Garrone from the aqueduct at Agen

Agen Aqueduct over the Garrone

 

Helen steering Mango over the Garrone

Agen public moorings, we decided to give it a miss!

Channel in to Moissac, pleased nothing was coming the other way!

The port at Moissac

The abbey church at Moissac, the tympaneum is very impressive

Cloisters in the abbey church at Moissac

Towing, Marmande and Mas d'Agenais Pictures

Towing the hardway, 2 lines keep her parallel to the bank

Towing the easy way

Street in Marmande old quarter with Bromptons

Marmande, patterns of bricks filling in between the wood

Bridge at Mas d'Agenais

In Toulouse

Got through the locks in Toulouse this morning and are now moored safely
in the City and hope to get a WiFi connection to upload pics.
Transiting the locks was very scarey as they are fully automatic, no
green button to press to say you are ready, and were a different layout
to the ones we have used to date so we were desperately tying on warps
as the gates closed. The mitigation was that the water was let in
gently so it was OK, but we did not know that at the time! Three people
would make transiting the next canals easier as you have to let someone
off to open the gates whereas on the locks we have done to date you
twist a pole hanging from a switch as you pass it on the water.
We have until the end of the month to get through the canals, if we
don't we are stuck were ever we end up until next March!

In Toulouse at the end of the Canal Lateral de Garonne

Got to Toulouse today and moored in the Port de l'Embouchure which is a
basin where the canals joined each other. The basin is surrounded by
busy roads and it is the first time we have been subject to traffic
fumes for a long time.
We have had consistently hot and sunny days since leaving Pont de Sables
with what we suspect is a thermally driven wind getting up during the
course of the day, though only one day has it been strong.
We have enjoyed short stops at several towns on the way but the best was
Moissac which has a fascinating church and interesting architecture as
well as a market and good shops (though the market was way short of the
standard set by Rochefort).
Getting here has not been as relaxing as we had hoped as the combination
of our width plus strong side currents from the sluices near each lock
entrance has made getting into the locks a fraught procedure but exiting
has been easier; as a result we are a bit concerned about how we will
get on with the Canal du Midi locks which are 40cm narrower (5.6m as
opposed to 6m). The frequency of locks and narrow bridges means that we
have not had much time to do jobs unless they are quick to complete or
can be left off when a bridge or lock hoves into view.
The other downside I have found is that you are travelling slowly
through very similar countryside most of the time with little to catch
your eye, which gets very monotonous unless you focus on the detail of
what is happening on the canal banks and in the canal.

Back on the move

Saturday was a cool (18 degrees) and wet day so not much got done once
we were back in Pont de Sables. In contrast Sunday dawned with mist
which burnt off by mid morning to give clear skies and by the afternoon
the temperature was 29 degrees. We took advantage of the fine weather to
cycle to Marmande and then in the afternoon we cycled to Mas d'Agenais
making use of the cool shade along the tow path.
Marmande looked like the main town of the area with lots of shops. The
town is situated on a bend of the Garonne and looked to have been a
major port on the river. We enjoyed going round it as it had retained a
lot of its early architecture and was very picturesque. The cycle ride
to Marmande was a bit tedious as we were just pedalling along a cycle
way parallel to the main road, but again it was a good cycle way deviod
of the glass and potholes that characterise most English cycle ways,
when they exist.
Mas d'Agenais is a much smaller town but equally picturesque and worth
the visit. We bumped into a Australian couple who we had met on
Saturday when we were towing Mango and they pulled in to Caumont in
their camper van just after we had stopped their for lunch. In some
ways it was a mistake leaving Caumont as it had free water and
electricity, but we were better off being convenient for the mechanic
and also there were showers and toilets at Pont de Sables (not many of
the stops on the canal have had toilets to date).
Whilst we were in Pont de Sables we met a couple who had just left the
Med and we got from them a second hand chart and pilot which cover the
Gulf du Lion and give us enough info to allow us to work out what we
will do when we get to the other end of the canal. In exchange we pass
on what we had found out in our pottering around the the Ile de Re, Ile
de Oleron, Charente and Gironde.
The good news on Monday morning was that the problem on the engine was
the carburettor gaskets, was easily fixed and the spare parts would
arrive on Tuesday morning which they duly did and we had a fully
functioning engine back in the boat by lunch time and we were off again
under clear skies and in a warm breeze.
Got to Buzet by evening and managed to find somewhere to tie up for the
night.

engine update

The engineer came and it is a workshop job as it is either the coil or
computer. As we were tied to the bank half way between stops and
opposite the road we decided to move Mango back to the stop where the
engineers workshop is. We found that as the tow path here is in very
good condition and cleared of bushes it is relatively easy (and faster
than paddling) to move Mango by one of us pulling her along using long
bow and stern warps. We lucked out though as a British canal boat who
was going in the same direction offered us a tow to our objective which
have the time it would have taken, especially as there were a couple of
sections where we would have had to paddle.

Into the canals

We left Begles 22nd September on the flood and got up to Castets in good
time to lock in to the start of the canals, in this case the Garonne
lateral canal.
The trip up to the lock was uneventful as it was sunny with little wind
and we had planned to travel on neap tides, with spring tides it can be
a different story with tricky currents to contend with. Spring tides
would also have made being tied up in Begles or on the Bordeaux pontoons
stressful as the current on flood and ebb would be very strong
(4-6 knots at least I expect as we were seeing 2-3 knots). There can
also be a lot of floating debris here, we saw branches and tree trunks
and as we travelled upstream we passed a team of workers clearing the
banks with a chain saw.
The locks on the canal are about 2-3 feet wider than we are so it is a
tight squeeze which makes it slow to get in, mind you it does mean that
we don't swing around much when the lock is filling! We have worked out
a good system for doing the locks (which are DIY so one of us has to be
off the boat whilst the lock is filling) with the ropes led back to the
cockpit for the person in the boat to control via the winches.
A French couple watched us lock through the first 2 locks and began
asking us questions about Mango, it turned out they and their son each
have a Tiki 21. The eclusier (lock keeper) was highly amused by our
additional fenders, empty 5 litre containers.
The night of the 22nd was spent in front of our 4th lock as we did not
get to it before the 7pm lock closing time.
Today, 23rd, we got into the lock shortly after 9am on another warm day
with clear blue skies. We were doing well until about 1630 when after
lifting the engine to clear weed from the leg we could not get it too
restart, even after checking fuel and spark and allowing the engine to
cool down. Helen used the Brompton to go to the next and previous stops
where there were hire boat companies and was lucky enough to find an
engineer who knows Yamaha outboards and we are hoping he will be able
to come and look at it tomorrow. So the early stop and a stroll around
the historic town of Mas d'Agenais has been cancelled.
The canal is very pleasant to travel along as it is tree lined and in
beautiful countryside, the only downside was the noise of the outboard
and this afternoon's failure has further engrained my general view that
sails are better than engines.

Some recent pictures

ile d'Oleron and Cassirion light

Wave in the way

Crutches ready for mast to come down

Mast down 

Ready to Leave Pauillac

Ready to leave Pauillac 2

Vitrezay at low water

Vitrezay at high water

Fishing nets at Conac

Heading for the Canal

Yesterday we moved from Bordeaux to Begles as planned as there is a big
supermarket here as well as a fuel dock so we could get stocked up to go
through the canals. Our second night in Bordeaux was marred by 2 youths
coming on to the boat at around 2230, we think that they thought there
was no one on board as when we shouted at them they ran away. We will
let the Bordeaux authorities know, but until they improve the security
on the dock we would now only use it as a day time stop.

Begles is just upstream from Bordeaux and there is a bus service to
Bordeaux so it is well placed for visiting Bordeaux as well as
reprovisioning. The only downside is that, like Pauillac, the pontoons
are in the stream but unlike Pauillac you moor on the outside so the
boat is vulnerable to any debris floating on the river. The currents on
the river are strong mid tide and the tidal difference between places is
becoming significant: we left Bordeaux on the tail of the ebb and an
hour later when we got to Begles marina there was at least 2 knots of
flood running!

Today we are heading upstream to Castets where we lock in to the Garonne
lateral canal and get out of the currents. We will allow 30 days to get
through the canal but hope to do it quicker than that.

Arrived in Bordeaux

19th September. Another wet trip, this time under power as the mast is
down, took us to Bordeaux today. The current was much stronger than we
expected from the tidal diamonds in the chart of the Gironde and Garonne
(in places about 4 knots instead of the expected 2 or so as this was a
smallish neap tide) so it took us much less time than we expected and we
were in good time for lunch.
We moored to the Ponton de l'honor which is a new pontoon on the left
bank downstream of the pont de pierre and is very handy for the centre
of the town. The harbour master in Pauillac had made a reservation for
us but actually there was no other boats on the pontoon other than an
excursion boats until 2 boats travelling downstream arrived on the ebb.
As it was very wet we did not take any pictures, but the scenery we
passed on the way was a mixture of very rural (complete with fishing
huts), large docks, power stations and other industrial sites and the
odd chateau and ruin. The Vauban fort at Port Medoc was just a green
mound and we were too far away to see what Blaye was like.
This afternoon we had a walk round the centre of Bordeaux and got some
information from the tourist office on things we can go and see
tomorrow. Our first impressions of Bordeaux were very favourable,
though we noticed that it does not have the architectural variety of,
say, London and I suspect that a lot of it was built in a relatively
short space of time or the builders were constrained to match the
original style; we may find out tomorrow!

Pauillac and Mast Lowering

Sunday 18th September, pics to follow when we have a better connection.

We are now in Puaillac after a very wet sail
followed by cooler weather with rain showers, a bit like an English
summer. The cooler weather has been a blessing as it was a blazing hot
29 the day before we left Vitrezay and we have had 2 days of intensive
work getting the mast down and Mango ready for the canals which would
have been a struggle in that much heat.

The pilot books warn to be aware of the currents in the marina and they
are not wrong as we suspect that they swirl a bit; however, as long as
you do not come in at mid tide, especially on springs, and you have a
maneuverable boat it is something to take care of not rather than be
frightened off. The harbour staff are very friendly and did a very
competent job of lowering Mango's mast (we have not found anywhere
suitable to dry out to do it ourselves) using a small crane with the
bonus of a free bottle of wine which we drank that evening when
everything was finally done.

We did well in using Pauillac for demasting as not only did we get the
free bottle of wine but all the wood we needed was available on the dock
left over from boats who had had their masts put back up. We needed some
screws and other bits to make the mast crutches and the tourist office
told us where the local independent hardware shop was (the nearest DIY
stores are 10km away) which was a step back in time: wooden shelving
everywhere and loads of stuff round the back, but you had to know what
to ask for. We also managed to find some scrap iron rod that will done
for mooring stakes when we are on the canals.

Pauillac has a very smart frontage from its heyday as a wine port and
the emphasis at the tourist office is on wine tasting and selling so it
is not hard to guess how important wine is to the local economy
(there is even a giant wine bottle on at the entrance to the marina).  However,
 Wine is now complemented by hitech industry as down stream from the port is an
oil refinery and a port for offloading and loading airbus components.

Depending on the weather we may do a short cycle tour around the
countryside before heading off to Bordeaux on Monday or Tuesday.

Visiting Port de Vitrezay

We are enjoying a couple of days in the tranquil inlet that is the Port
de Vitrezay. More pics when we have a better internet connection

Vitrezay visitors pontoon looking towards the entrance and the Gironde

It is another place that is well managed by
Charente-Maritime with a restored wetland habitat, the local square
fishing nets for hire, a visitors centre and what looks like a nice
restaurant (unfortunately shut during our stay) in addition to good port
services. The only thing missing was WiFi, which we could probably have
got in the restaurant if it was open, which means that you will have to
wait to see the pictures. The major upside is that it is a free stop, we
were put on to it by a visitor to Royan who keeps his boat here. It is a
very rural area on the Gironde flood plain. We cycled inland to the
hills where there is a small town, chateaus, vineyards and not a lot else.
Our next stop will be Pauillac where we may drop the mast if the
facilities are suitable.

Getting weather information via SSB radio

Whilst anchored in Boyardville we had no internet access so we played around with the equipment we had brought for getting weather faxes transmitted on the SSB frequencies.  We were successful, but the images were not very good, probably down to the aerial being an ordinary telescopic one extended by a loing piece of wire hung on a shroud and blowing around in the wind.

Equipment we used laid out on the chart table

In action in the cockpit

We also found that it is critical to keep the aerial away from all electrionic devices, in particular computers. The set up also requires patience as you have to ensure that it is all turned on at the right time and careful manual tuning was needed at the start of and during the broadcast.  We are hoping that if we get a good quality external SSB aerial to plug in to the radio it will improve the picture quality sufficiently otherwise it will be a matter of abandoning it or getting a replacement radio with better tuning facilities.

Cycle out to Bonne Anse

After a rather frustrating Saturday morning and early afternoon when
everything seemed to take longer than expected, not helped by having to
empty the port forward locker when we found that some water had got into
it, we were finally ready to go for the ride we had planned to Bonne
Anse for the afternoon.

Bonne Anse is the lagoon at the entrance to the Gironde behind Point de
Coubre. It is a drying lagoon with a harbour which we thought might
make a pleasant alternative to the marinas further down the channel.
Once again we experienced the wonderful cycle paths of the Poitou -
Charente region: clearly marked, segregated from cars and pedestrians
and clear of glass and debris. The route we followed initially took us
through the towns along the coast and then into the woodland that runs
between the beaches and marshes leading up to Bonne Anse harbour.

The beaches are delightful but busy, and I would think heaving in
August. Bonne Anse itself lived up to our hopes, shallow water almost
fully enclosed by sandy bars and islets which looked particularly
picturesque in the late afternoon sunshine. Unfortunately the harbour
does not appear to take visitors so we would have the option of either
anchoring in the lagoon and drying out or anchoring near the entrance
and being ready to move if the weather changed. We treated ourselves to
an ice cream on the way back which rounded of a really good excursion
which would only have been improved if we had had time to stop for a
swim. If the weather permits we will sail up and have a look at Bonne
Anse on the ebb (it is not a good idea to attempt it at night so it was
not an option when we came in).

Today, Sunday 11th Sept, it is blowing old boots with some rain and a
big swell, as forecast, so we have stayed put and are hoping it will be
fit to move on tomorrow. As always our consolation is that the weather
is much worse in the UK.

The only downsides we have found to Royan are the loud live music at
night (at weekends at least), no WiFi in the marina and the long walk to
the sanitary block.

The french sailors have been very friendly and interested in Mango. We
have as a result picked up some tips on where to call in on our way up
the Gironde.

In the Gironde estuary

After several days of watching the forecasts whilst anchored off
Boyardville (an anchorage we have come to really appreciate) we decided
to head for the Gironde on Thursday 8th Sept as the swell was forecast
to be under 2m and it looked like some nasty weather was heading across
the Atlantic for Friday/Saturday.
The forecast 3-4 with occasional rain turned into a overcast skies with
steady drizzle at the outset, a nasty 2m swell and a force 5 which
slowly moderated. However, we were still sailing in shorts (albeit with
waterproof jackets) as the water and air temperature is such that
getting wet is not the nasty shock it is in the Channel and we would
steam under full waterproofs.
We got to the Gironde entrance early and so hove to to await low water.
The passage in was in the dark but it is very well lit and as the wind
had eased the seas were OK; however, the wind was dead astern so we
ended up motoring which meant a slow journey to Royan where we are now.
Of course today started grey but has turned into a beautiful sunny day
with a light breeze and clear blue skies.
Looking back at the weather information we had we made the correct
decision, we suspect that the cold front which was passing went lower
than expected. We have also come to the conclusion that it is very hard
to predict the weather down here, or at least the way we are using to
interpreting weather information does not work as well.
Royan is an attractive well to do holiday town with lovely beaches. We
will be here a couple of days and are debating whether to spend a bit
more time exploring the Gironde estuary or to hot foot it for Bordeaux
and the canal.

Boyardville

We initially anchored in Boyardville because it was going to be a long
and wet beat to Saint Denis, the optimum place on ile d'Oleron to wait
for good weather to sail down to the Gironde estuary. Once anchored
there we realised that it was miuch more protected than we thought,
especially on higher low waters of neap tides which allowed us to get
closer in to the beach.
The beach is the first we have come across where we would be happy to
dry out. As it is September the beach is not as busy which also helps.
There is a longish walk in to the town which is small with limited
facilities, but there is a very pleasant restraunt / cafe on the beach
and behind the beach is a lot of pleasant woodlands with paths and the
municipal camp site.

Boyardville beach looking towards harbour entrance

What makes the biggest difference here is the weather: blue skies,
strong sun, warm water and wind means that buildings that would look
dreary in Britain (stained by rain and algae) look at worst OK here.
Our only problem whilst on the anchor was getting weather predictions as
we could not get a decent mobile phone connection. What we found is
that it is essential to carry something like an iPhone around with you
as there are cafes and restaurants (such as the one on the beach) which
have Wifi but do not advertise the fact. Going in to the marina at
Boyardville was not really an option as it is small, full and access
restricted to close to high water and we would be wanting to leave
closer to low water.

Left Rochefort

We left Rochefort on Saturday 3rd Sept hoping for good weather to get us in to the Gironde. Below are some pictures we took on the way

One of L'Hermione's boats passing the Cordierie Royale

Waiting pontoon in front of the end of the Cordiere Royale

 
Unfortunately, a low pressure system is going through which has meant strong winds and a biggish swell; so, as we have not been in to the Gironde before we decided to anchor off Boyardville (Fort Boyard is in sight) and awaiting more settled weather.
The coast of ile d'Oleron on this, the Northern, side is sandy with lots of trees so looks very appealing. It does have the inevitable mussel and oyster farms, including two in the channel, which means one has to be
circumspect about going close inshore. There is also the inevitable sailing school, which has provided us with some entertainment.
Today is Monday and we are monitoring the weather forecast to see if
tomorrow will be settled enough for us to leave.