Sailing with Amy Clair

La Roche Bernard - such a pretty little town, full of character (and a rather sombre past in the french revolution!)   Amy Clair moored at the very end of the pontoon.  The old port area is very pretty and has some beautiful old sailing boats We were at first reluctant to swim but it was so hot and most of the local population seemed to be in the water - so we went it. It was lovely if a little disconcerting, having a slightly brown tinge. But just what we needed on this very hot day .

The last few nights (and the unbelievably cost effective offer we received from Arzal Marina ) made our minds up to give "Amy Clair" a new home for the next few months. It is a fabulous location to explore the whole of the West Coast of France and gives us confidence that we can leave the boat here when we are back in the UK.   It was a real "no brainer" ultimately. 

We read that you can anchor just about anywhere along the Vilaine so we motored up past Arzal, past La Roche Bernard and found a particularly quiet spot. So quiet that we wondered whether anchoring was actually allowed. Our anchor set first time and the wind blew quite strongly for a couple of hours. But the location was stunning and we decided to stay. By evening the wind had died and we were presented with a beautiful mirror flat river that reflected the early moon beautifully. We awoke to birdsong the next morning and did not see another boat from about 6.00pm in the evening until 08.00 the next day. Absolutely amazing 

Arrived on the Vilaine waiting pontoon to see the most beautiful sunset , a very good start

It's now Saturday 23rd June (I think) and we're about to set off for Arzal tomorrow, assuming weather etc is as expected. The last couple days have been a rewarding recharge of batteries - ours and the boat in the delightful Locmiquelic marina. We had planned to explore Ile de Groix but plans changed due to the moring issues. There are 4 marinas in Lorient harbour and I think we chose the nicest, with a beautiful view across to St Michel island and the entrance to the harbour. Days have been filled with scenic bike rides to Port Louis (and it's ancient Citadel) and the wildlife sanctuary,picnics and lovely meal out and we EVEN made it to the beach! (afraid not quite warm enough for swimming)

  It all started so well. We arrived on a gloriously sunny day. Unusual mooring arrangements in the small and popular harbour. Fore and aft buoys which requires a level of boat handling dexterity. Liz helmed , did a great job and we moored with no fuss. A couple of  boats arrived after us and the antics were great entertainment. But I shouldn't laugh, mooring boats is a great way of making a real £$%& of yourself and we have all done it at some point.  The arrival of the ferry was concerning. It's a big beast and had very little room to turn , but did so without causing us any hassle.  It's a pretty place in the sunshine and you can see the tightly packed boats.The old fishing boat looks nice , but caused trouble in the night. At about 02.30 we awoke to hear worrying noises. I came on deck and found that the wind had picked up a lot and the  trawler and a large boat which had rafted against it were in danger of smashing into our boat ! I awoke thei...

At last, we are sitting in the cockpit, sundowner in hand enjoying some gorgeous early evening sun with a beautiful view over Concarneau mediaeval fortified town "Ville Close", after the last few days of reduced temperatures and some persistent miserable rain. Motored here on Monday as very little wind and decided to stay 2 nights as we had a nice pontoon berth and didn't fancy more grey skied motoring. It's a lovely old town and the marina is right in the shadow of the old town - lovely memories of our family holiday camping somewhere near here many years ago!

 Benodet   Pont L'Abbe. We decided to rent bikes for the day. A nice ride but the rain persisted ! We really like Sainte Marine. Such a pretty place. We had a meal with Cruising Association friends , Paul and Vida Lewis and it was by far the best meal we have had in France so far.

Another very pretty Port in Brittany. Sainte Marine (opposite its big brother Benodet) but what flag is this ? Seems that it is the flag of the 6 Celtish nations ; Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Mann,Cornwall and Brittany. You learn something everyday . 

 It's a pretty place with bikes free to use. Very handy for exploring and going to the local supermarket to top up the wine stocks. This is our first marina stop since we arrived in France and we have taken the opportunity to top up everything. It's been very social too , meeting up with other Cruising Association members and having meals together in the local village.

I have to admit that we rounded "the Raz" with a feeling of some relief. It has a fearsome reputation (see youtube !!) and needs careful planning and navigation. The day dawned misty with visibility less than a mile. Should we leave Morgat ? We wanted to continue south and were concerned that if we left it another couple of days the neaps would become springs and the tide around the raz would become that much stronger - but we cant really see very far. We waited as long as we could and then left , hoping that the 3 hours it takes to reach the raz would give time for the fog to lift. Unfortunately as we progressed it just got worse. We saw one other boat but then when we looked again it  disappeared into the mist. We looked on AIS and the boat was called "Jubilare" and seemed to be approaching the Raz with some confidence so we decided to continue. Nearing the point of no return when the current would make going back impossible we committed and happily the fog lift...

What continues to surprise us is just how late it is before it gets dark at this time of year. At 10.pm it like the middle of the day and it still pretty light at 11.00pm - very odd but nice 

It's a really pretty , small, seaside town which feels a bit more "chic" than Camaret. It has a beautiful sandy beach

 Arriving in Camaret felt special, even the weather obliged by giving us a taste of what we hoped would follow.  It's a pretty place to spend a couple of days but we were soon keen to move on. Interesting that the French Triumph Sportcar Club was holding a rally in Camaret and we spotted these beauties.

Our next challenge was navigating the somewhat notorious Chenal du Four. Timing is key combined a well defined passage plan. We aimed to be at The Four Light at high water Brest and then to navigate down the Chenal with a very strong current pushing us along between the rocks . Once committed it would be difficult for a sailing boat (even motoring) to escape these tides. Passage through takes a little over two hours but the time (and indeed the scenery ) seemed to fly by. The low sea mist added to the drama but we eventually arrived in Camaret with very large grins having made our longest double handed passage the day before and today conquering the "Four" . 

We made an early start from the Helford at 3.30am. It was beautiful but very very dark. The moon was completely obscured by clouds and Liz did a great job navigating us through the moorings without mishap. Our worry after that was lobster pots(of which there are many) . We had tried to plot a course through them the afternoon before but you never can be sure that you have found them all. Paul and Varda Lewis in their beautiful Rustler 42 joined us for a cruise in company across the channel which went very well. After a couple of hours motoring the NW winds kicked in and we had 7 hours of broad reaching at around 7knts - that's what I call champagne sailing ! We were also blessed with a large (15 'ish) strong pod of very playful dolphins who escorted us for about ten minutes . Anyone seeing them dashing along our sides and playing in the bow wave could not avoid the conclusion that they were having a great time. Arrived in L'aber W at around 6.30pm . It was a slightly daunti...

A warm day in Fowey and a rather late boozy session in the cockpit meant a bit of a sore head in the morning  

Had a very tranquil and enjoyable overnight in St Mawes. Another really pretty spot. But when we came to lifting the anchor we found it was attached to about 4 feet of cast iron ships ladder which it found on the bottom. Hmmmm... happily with ingenuity and the help of two blokes from the water taxi we managed to clear it. Phew I thought we might need to get a diver to sort it out

Final preparations in Falmouth. Spent the day checking that we have everything we need for our crossing over to France during this week. Looking good for Wednesday but we are checking the weather each day . Ended up anchored in St Mawes watching another great sunset. 

A lovely day sailing in Falmouth Bay ended up the Truro river and was rewarded with a fantastic sunset. Sunday arrived with a bright blue sky and it was all too soon that Abbi needed to get on the train back to London. We would have loved it if she could have stayed longer and joined us for the sail to Brittany. Her next visit will be in September - courtesy of easyjet ! 

What a wonderful spot to spend an evening with Sian and Andrew enjoying watching the sun go down