After a night in Ars-en-Re, which we found to be expensive and disappointing, we are currently hiding in Minimes marina near La Rochelle whilst a nasty low pressure system goes through. Our anchor light failed the other night after a few days of not much wind or sun and we discovered the hard way that we had made a mistake in not replacing the bulb in the masthead all round white with LED bulb as it flattened the battery. Fortunately Minimes has more chandlers than I have ever seen before in a marina (mind you it has berths for 3000 boats) so we were able to get a charger (we had left ours behind as it was big, heavy and we had solar panels and a wind generator).
We are also back on WiFi after an age using a GSM phone as a modem so are hoping to find time to upload some pictures and, if I can get it working, the video of dolphins.
The only serious problem at the moment is that I have aggravated an old injury behind a shoulder blade and it gives me grief if I cycle or move heavy weights around.
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Monday, 1 August 2011
Mango around the ille de Re
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| Mango anchored of Rivedoux Plage Sud, ille de Re |
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| Mango in La Flotte harbour |
Still pottering
The weather just keeps getting warmer, It is 9pm and there is a warm
breeze blowing from the land. This morning we oiled one of the side
decks, redid the control lines on the wind vane steering and then went
swimming around the boat. After that it was lunch and then ashore to
buy some food for our evening meal and have an ice cream, or in my case
a sorbet - delicious.
The BBC says it will rain tomorrow, but that will just clean the boat
:-) We are hoping that a possible weather window will materialise at the
weekend as at present it is a bit unsettled in the Bay of Biscay with
thunder squalls and variable winds.
breeze blowing from the land. This morning we oiled one of the side
decks, redid the control lines on the wind vane steering and then went
swimming around the boat. After that it was lunch and then ashore to
buy some food for our evening meal and have an ice cream, or in my case
a sorbet - delicious.
The BBC says it will rain tomorrow, but that will just clean the boat
:-) We are hoping that a possible weather window will materialise at the
weekend as at present it is a bit unsettled in the Bay of Biscay with
thunder squalls and variable winds.
Sunday, 31 July 2011
Pottering around Ille de Re
We have spent the last few days pottering and will probably do another
week of pottering waiting for a good time for both us and the weather to
head across Biscay to Spain.
We initially spent a couple of nights anchored off the Rivedoux Plage
Sud where we managed to get the Bromptons ashore and back to the boat
without them getting wet in the light surf that appeared after we had
decided to take them ashore. We used the Bromptons to cycle round the
East end of the island and got as far west as St Martin de Re, which we
found a bit too touristy for our liking (and the boats very crammed in
to the harbour). The island is pretty flat but
with some lovely woodland and lots of good cycle paths which are
separate to the roads. Our friends Ian and Sarah who live in France
arrived to visit and so we arranged to go into La Flotte for a couple of
nights in order that they could get to the boat without getting wet and
it gave us a chance to reprovision, refuel and do a few jobs on the boat
sheltered from the chop caused by the sea breeze.
We found that we really like La Flotte: the harbour master was very
helpful, there was a generally relaxed atmosphere and the shop people
were very friendly, fantastic market every morning and supermarket
within easy reach. We also took the opportunity to view the anchorage
at low water and reckoned that if the wind is in the south (it has been
in the North so far) it would make a great place to dry out to do
maintenance as the bottom is firm sandy mud (judging from the people
wandering over it for Fruit de Mer) and if you go to to the east side
there did not appear to be any rocks sticking up.
Wandering around paid dividends: I found a chandlers near the landing
place we were using at Rivedoux Plage who were able to sell me the bits
I needed to wire in the 12v kettle and we found a cheap source of fuel
for our alcohol stove. We also decided to invest in a small 12v cooler
to keep cheese, meat, fish, etc. better.
In the last 2 days the summer has returned with temperatures in the mid
20s and cloudless skies. The days start with very little wind but a
seabreeze from the NW has filled in every afternoon at some point.
week of pottering waiting for a good time for both us and the weather to
head across Biscay to Spain.
We initially spent a couple of nights anchored off the Rivedoux Plage
Sud where we managed to get the Bromptons ashore and back to the boat
without them getting wet in the light surf that appeared after we had
decided to take them ashore. We used the Bromptons to cycle round the
East end of the island and got as far west as St Martin de Re, which we
found a bit too touristy for our liking (and the boats very crammed in
to the harbour). The island is pretty flat but
with some lovely woodland and lots of good cycle paths which are
separate to the roads. Our friends Ian and Sarah who live in France
arrived to visit and so we arranged to go into La Flotte for a couple of
nights in order that they could get to the boat without getting wet and
it gave us a chance to reprovision, refuel and do a few jobs on the boat
sheltered from the chop caused by the sea breeze.
We found that we really like La Flotte: the harbour master was very
helpful, there was a generally relaxed atmosphere and the shop people
were very friendly, fantastic market every morning and supermarket
within easy reach. We also took the opportunity to view the anchorage
at low water and reckoned that if the wind is in the south (it has been
in the North so far) it would make a great place to dry out to do
maintenance as the bottom is firm sandy mud (judging from the people
wandering over it for Fruit de Mer) and if you go to to the east side
there did not appear to be any rocks sticking up.
Wandering around paid dividends: I found a chandlers near the landing
place we were using at Rivedoux Plage who were able to sell me the bits
I needed to wire in the 12v kettle and we found a cheap source of fuel
for our alcohol stove. We also decided to invest in a small 12v cooler
to keep cheese, meat, fish, etc. better.
In the last 2 days the summer has returned with temperatures in the mid
20s and cloudless skies. The days start with very little wind but a
seabreeze from the NW has filled in every afternoon at some point.
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
On Isle de Re
Had a great sail to Ille de Re from L'ille d'Yeu yesterday. The wind was
from astern and after the early light rain cleared we put the cruising
chute up goosewinged and cracked along, eventually taking it down as the
wind picked up to a 5 as we were approaching Ille de Re. We arrived at
low water and so could not go into Ars-en-Re and kept going to La Flotte
but there was no space there so we spent the night on a visitor mooring
being rocked by the swell and today moved round to the other side of
the island to a more sheltered anchorage with this wind direction.
After going under the bridge between the island and the mainland we
passed a fishing boat going the other way with no one on the helm as all
the crew were processing the catch, at best they would have been
glancing up to check.
From the sea ille de Re is not a patch on L'ille d'Yeu, it will be
interesting to see what it is like on land when we go ashore tomorrow.
At the anchorage is a boat which we first saw in Sauzon, then bumped
into the crew at the Capitainerie in Yeu and again at the Launderette -
it is a small world for cruisers!
from astern and after the early light rain cleared we put the cruising
chute up goosewinged and cracked along, eventually taking it down as the
wind picked up to a 5 as we were approaching Ille de Re. We arrived at
low water and so could not go into Ars-en-Re and kept going to La Flotte
but there was no space there so we spent the night on a visitor mooring
being rocked by the swell and today moved round to the other side of
the island to a more sheltered anchorage with this wind direction.
After going under the bridge between the island and the mainland we
passed a fishing boat going the other way with no one on the helm as all
the crew were processing the catch, at best they would have been
glancing up to check.
From the sea ille de Re is not a patch on L'ille d'Yeu, it will be
interesting to see what it is like on land when we go ashore tomorrow.
At the anchorage is a boat which we first saw in Sauzon, then bumped
into the crew at the Capitainerie in Yeu and again at the Launderette -
it is a small world for cruisers!
Sunday, 24 July 2011
Last day on L'ille d'Yeu
Woke up to grey skies which turned into drizzle; however, when it stopped everything dried off very quickly so no problem. Yesterday was another sunny day, but with a stronger wind so we did a shorter ride round the middle of the island and visited the sites there including an old castle on the cliff edge.
The most common means of transport is the bicycle and there are stacks of them at the shops, beaches and anywhere else that people go. Bike trailers are also common with either shopping, children or one occasion a dinghy on them. The beaches are all fantastic.
On the way back we went passed one of the fishmongers on the island and were amazed at the range and quality of fish on display, so today we went back and got fresh tuna for our evening meal.
Today has been a catch up day. We found that if we rubbed the cover on the lazy forestay with beeswax then the storm jib hanks will slide up it OK. We also did the penultimate fitting of the trysail (I am going to have to work out a seperate halyard for it), so we can now deploy storm sails.
What you can see behind the trysail is the frames for our deck tent folded back with a canvas over them which we use as an awning.
Tomorrow we are aiming to leave for the Ille-de-Re. The anchorages and ports there are generally drying so we are going to have to do some tidal calculations rather than just roll up!
Today has been a catch up day. We found that if we rubbed the cover on the lazy forestay with beeswax then the storm jib hanks will slide up it OK. We also did the penultimate fitting of the trysail (I am going to have to work out a seperate halyard for it), so we can now deploy storm sails.
Tomorrow we are aiming to leave for the Ille-de-Re. The anchorages and ports there are generally drying so we are going to have to do some tidal calculations rather than just roll up!
Saturday, 23 July 2011
In sunshine on L'ille d'Yeu
We had a downwind sail in plenty of wind from Belle Isle to l'ille d'Yeu the day before yesterday and are now in Port Joinville marina. Yesterday the sun finally made an appearance and we cycled around the southern half of the island which is very picturesque, below is a photo of a tiny old harbour on the western side of the island. We noticed that the houses are generally one story and surrounded by windbreaks so we guess it is generally pretty windy. Today we had delicious crevettes for lunch and will catch up on a few jobs on the boat - nothing major, just making things work better.
Unfortunately we are in for a couple of days of rain showers after today and then it gets hot. We are starting to look for a weather window to cross Biscay and pending that will probably still head down to La Rochelle although here looks a good place to start across Biscay from.
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