Canal preparations in Rochefort

We are back in Rochefort to get some new glasses for Robert, check that we can actually fit through the canals and get some jobs done prior to going through the canals.  We now have a pilot for the Garonne, a better awning over the boat and hope to get the tiller pilot sorted out finally.  We also had the opportunity to visit friends in Cognac which was a very enjoyable side trip, especially as we discovered that you can get a very cheap rail ticket to travel any where in the region.
Below is a photo of the commercial ship that passed us just as we were about to leave the pontoon to go into the lock.

The wash was actually not as bad as we had got from passing pleasure motor boats!
The people we have met in Rochefort have been very helpful and friendly and everything is close to the harbour so it is proving, as we expected, a relaxing place to catch up and the market is fabulous.  Apparently the guided tour around the interior of the l'Hermione (the 1778 frigate) is very good so we will do that if we have time.

Dolphins video

My first attempt at editing and a very early attempt at using the video recorder.  I forgot to take the lens cap off before pressing record and so lost a lot of the action.

Photo uploads

We have uploaded some photos after reducing the size as we have limited bandwidth.  Below are some photos of La Rochelle. There are photos from the ile d'Aix and Charente in earlier posts, in case you have not seen them.

Berthed in Minimes marina, La Rochelle

La Rochelle from medieval light house

solar powered water taxi leaving La Rochelle harbour

View from Tour de la Chaine La Rochelle

Back at Rivedoux Plage Sud

We had a pleasant day on the boat yesterday, other than at the end when
we got stuck between the sea breeze and the land breeze and ended up
motoring as we could see boats sailing all around us but the wind was
not getting to us.
In contrast to our trip up the Charente we had no wind until we reached
the mouth of the esturary so had to motor most of the way. But the
promised clear skies materialised from the start and stayed with us till
the sun went down. We had hoped to have a couple of hours in Rochefort
before leaving, but were not quick enough to get the last space on the
waiting pontoon (next time we will go out the evening before) so missed
out on the tuesday market.
Unfortunately I lost my glasses the day before when I offered to catch a
mooring line for a British boat which had messed up coming in to the
pontoon and the crew through the heavy warp directly at me and it hit me
in the face; this is the first time I have lost glasses in about 30
years of being on the water (usually without them tied on). I did have
a spare pair but they took a bit of finding.
This morning we woke up to a thunder storm going along the island, but
fortunately missing us; this was forecast for tonight and tomorrow so we
are hoping that it has been and gone, but I am not optimistic.

 Today we are revising the regulations for the inland waterways so that
we can get the CEVNI certificate we need to do the Canal du Midi.
We had a welcome break from our revision when 'Grey Dove' a Heavenly Twins motored over to have a chat. They sailed here from Oban and are intending travelling through the Midi next year, so we had an interesting chat..

Exploring Rochefort

Yesterday went round the rope walk and a bit of the town.  Today visited the replica of the 1779 frigate L'Hermione that is being built here, saw a bit more of the town and visited Tonnay-Charente, the next town up the river, by bike. The frigate is quite a sight, it has been built as near as possible to the original as current maritime regulations allow.

Of the two towns I think Tonnay-Charente is the more appealing as Rochefort was built as a military town on a very rigid grid.  Both towns show signs of past prosperity from water born trade of which there is almost no sign now except the occaisional freighter going up to Rochefort.
The countryside is the best bit, although it is very flat it is a joy to watch it go buy from the boat or look at from the bank.
We had hoped to go shopping at the chandlers and a hardware store today as well as do some grocery shopping but in the end everything but the supermarket was shut as it is a bank holiday, but we did get a good quality water container at a great price and some delicious crevettes.
Tomorrow we are going to sail back to the ile de Re, but we have a lot to get done to get ready to go through the canals so we are thinking of coming back here for a week or so at some point.

In the Charente

We left La Rochelle on the 9th August and had a night in Rivedoux.  The following morning we were intending on sailing North towards L'ile d'Yeu; however, the wind died and the tide turned against us and so we ended up on the tiny island of L'ile d'Aix near the entrance to the Charente.  We had 2 pleasant days on a mooring off the island and walked on the island and then decided that we would visit Rochefort, so here we are.

View of interior to main fortification on ile d'Aix after entering through the dock gates

The sail from l'Ile d'Aix to Rochefort was great, high speed reach to the entrance to the river after which we reduced sail and gently meandered on the flood up to the waiting pontoon where we moored until the lock opened.

Fishing huts on the Charente

Mussel and oyster beds on ile d'Aix by the moorings, they cant be seen when the tide is in

Old and new bridges on the Charente near Rochefort

Latest from La Rochelle

We are still in La Rochelle (or to be exact the Minimes marina on the
outskirts). The wind has finally dropped off and the swell should be
going down; however, yet again the potential weather window looks to be
closing (our last weather window turned into a Force 8 gale which is why
we are still here) so we have decided to give up on crossing Biscay this
year as apart from anything else it is doubtful that we would be able to
spend much time in the Spanish Rias which is the main thing we wanted to do.
The weather has been so bad that there has a lot of visitors in the
marina so the WiFi connection has not been very good (it seems to
degenerate about the time most teenagers wake up ....) which has meant
we have not got many photos up yet.

The revised plan is to cruise the Vendee and Brittany for a few weeks
and then head back to the Gironde and cross to the Mediterranean via the
French canals. Hopefully the canals will be quieter in September and
October so it will be an easier passage. It should take us about 2
weeks to do the canals, but there are some nice places to visit on the
way so we will probably potter along. However, before we go we have to
sort out licences and things so we will need to get busy.

On Sunday we had a day out in La Rochelle which we really enjoyed,
especially as we found more delicious sorbets to eat. We were glad not
to have moored in the harbour as it was very noisy and busy all around
with the huge number of visitors. There are lovely colonnades to walk
down in the old town and the architecture is very pleasing, nothing
grandiose just easy on the eye.

Today we caught up with laundry, shopping, etc. Tomorrow we will be off
after I have gone up the mast to change the bulb in the mast head light
and the halyard for the mainsail.

Yesterdays excitement was a motor boat getting it wrong in the strong
winds and catching part of our rig in its anchor. This evening we
turned the boat round on the pontoon and discovered that at some point
this afternoon while we were away a boat had hit the bow hard enough to
take a deep chunk out of the hardwood there. Given the standard of
manoeuvring we have seen the risk of damage is real if you have been
given a berth next to the fuel dock, but as this is the 4th time this
year we have been damaged by another boat it can happen anywhere.

Being next to the fuel dock is, however, a good place to view others
behaviour. Most boats are not there very long, but a few 50 plus footers
have also come in and they not only use up all of the dock but they are
there for ages; the worst offender was an arrogant Englishman on a big
American flagged boat who appeared to object to the staff asking him to
move to make room for others to refuel at the same time and made clearly
audiable disparaging remarks as they left (we have found the staff to be
uniformly pleasant, competent and helpful).