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Trip to France with prices and comments:-

Boat is ashore in Universal, after a difficult passage to the yard, picked up a very large polythene bag around the prop, it took 40 mins to get it off even when ashore, so think of the time and effort when in the water. I will be ashore until mid March to get ready for our departure in June.	My VDO fuel gauge sensor failed so had to short out with solder the broken wire in the coil winding to get it working again.
	Applying a coat of polish with a slow speed mop and a portable generator, takes the hard work out of it.
Clean the wood up with sugar soap and apply a coat of Semco teak sealer that will protect it all season without it going grey. Give the Red stripe a coat of acrylic that fills in the microscopically pitted areas, works wonders. Purchased 2 folding bikes ready to go, and made 2 carrying bags for them with the machine below.
	Back in the water 19th March, very windy lift in, but safely along side the pontoon again. The next 2 weeks will see her rigged ready for the new season, and fitting of my hard work on the newly acquired sewing machine, like wheel cover, binnacle cover, cockpit cover, re-panelled spray hood and re-seamed boom cover.  It certainly has paid for itself. I am now making more intricate canvas parts like throw line holder, and cockpit rail bag Below is the cockpit cover modified to be able to roll up the back and take off the zipped sides in very hot weather, the windows large to allow as much light in as possible.

	13Th June, Leaving Needles channel. The day after I retired, on our way to Cherbourg to collect the wine for the start of hopefully a nice trip.
	A little friend arrives to take a lift with us, not sure we took him/her the right way though, it only left us when the main sail was dropped on entry to Cherbourg marina.

Cherbourg. 21 euros per night

Arrived after a good crossing 9 hours from the needles, just made the marina bar to get a bottle of wine for dinner that night.

Next morning we stocked the boat with 10 litre boxes of wine and crates of beer from the wine shop in the marina, we use them because they deliver to the boat, so you do not have to carry loads yourself, good prices as well, 10 ltrs of reasonable wine for 21 euros and beer for 6 euros per 24 bottles. When we get the chance we always pick a finger berth that points east as the sun comes into the cockpit late in the evening during dinner and after, make a great end to the day. Up to the supermarket by the fish dock to stock up on the things we need for the trip that you can not get in the UK. The next task was to get a French sim card for the extra phone I took, this makes it very much cheaper to use instead of our UK o2 phone, it cost 60 euros to register with orange including a 40 euro credit for the phone, by texting this will last us quite some time. The tide has been worked out to get me to Cap La Hague at high water, (not to some peoples liking) we leave the marina 2 hrs before HW Cherbourg and stick close to the shore all the way to Omonville this has worked well for us in the past and we see no reason to change that, the Cap was kind to us again so we were happy.

St Peter Port 96 UK pounds for 8 days

Arrived June 16th Tried to get to the fuel berth but not enough water so Habour Master said go to the over night pontoon and wait for the water in 2 hours. After we returned from the fuel we were told to go to the front of the waiting pontoon which has about 20 boats on it waiting to go in by now, we were not popular. We booked in for a week as we wanted to "chill out for a bit" however by the time we were due to go the weather had changed for the worse and we had a gale for 2 days. It was good to be in Guernsey again especially on the finger pontoons and not in the jungle of the inline pontoons. We like the walks around the headlands and the shops, so, were well "chilled" before we left. 

One day just as the tide was going down on the sill and Condor ferry was arriving, there was a mighty crash and a boat that was drying out had fallen over, it appeared that the wash from the ferry was just enough to make it unstable and the keel slipped into the wall, that was the end, over she went. We left St Peter Port on the 25th June in sunshine but wind on the nose again.

Tre'guier 16 Euros per night

Arrived at 1930 hours that included the 6 miles up river to the town itself, just managed to get a finger pontoon so happy to stay for a while. It cost 16 euros a night and the facilities were very good and a pleasant Habour Master. The river is nice but not as pretty as the Dart.  Fuel sensor was playing up again so went to work on it only to find that the thread of the bolt for the wire connection had broken, so soldered it back on, now working. Tre'guier is a nice small town that you walk up the hill to the square that contains the church, and a collection of shops and eating houses, all very neat and tidy. Next day was wash day so up to the laundry shop in the lower part of town, did all the washing and dried most of it for 3.70 euros washing machine and 3 euros drying machine, so a good days work accomplished. We left Tre'guier marina 2 hours before high water Tre'guier (14.30) slow trip down the river off to Trebeurden.

 Tre'beurden. 27 Euros per night (summer rates)

Arrived at 19.30 on the 29th June. We picked up a buoy in the bay as the marina was closed (low water), it was a beautiful sunset and still evening. Gwennol arrived next to us on a buoy plus 2 other boats. Gwennol is another Warsash sailing club member so it was good to meet up with them. By midnight we were rolling all over the place, this was high water, we had not read anything about this in the books or pilots, so be warned. We did get to sleep eventually and it did calm down some hours later, in the morning we looked out to see how the others had got on and all had gone into the marina during the night high water, and left us there. Tre'beurden is a new marina and the facilities are good, but it is expensive in the high season 27 euros a night. We found the local internet facility, it was at the top of the town past the super U supermarket to the roundabout then turn left to a school, its in there. We walked over to the island in the bay at low water and found it well worth the effort, you get to it through the end of the marina, there is a path that goes around the large clump of rock. (all Pink) We stayed in Tre'beurden for some time as the wind got up again and we had several days of  westerly winds and another gale.

L'aber-wrac'h 18 Euros per night

Left Tre'beurden at 0730 pushed an hours tide, it did not make too much difference, wind too close again to sail so had to motor, arrived 15.00 and picked up a white buoy just off the club. We knew we were going to be off in the morning so did not go ashore. It was nice and peaceful just what we needed after a very windy stay in Treb. That evening a number of "old Gaffers" came in on their way around to Brest for the festival.  The local oysters are cultivated and shipped all over France from here. Did my calculation again for the Chenal Du Four. I like to be there at high water so best conditions are available to us. 3 other boats left just afterwards so had the same idea.

Chenal Du Four

Set off 1 and1/2 hours before HW so hit the top of the Chenal at slack water, as you can see, awesome sight of the light house and you have the feeling that there was another condition under the surface, but for us this day, not bad. Well until we got half way down and the fog descended on us, as you can see from the photo the bank of fog in front soon obliterated all other things, however only for a short time, glad I fitted my siren, used for the first time in anger. When we came out of the bottom of the channel the sun was shining and all was well with the world. Next stop Camaret.

Camaret 21 Euros per night

Arrived in the afternoon the first boat of the day from the north so thought we would look at the old marina as the next gale warning was only a day away and its more protected in there. we squeezed into a slot to find in was not a visitors berth so moved on to the back pontoon nearest the Habour wall, this proved to be a blessing in disguise as the gale came and certainly made its mark, 24 hours of torrential rain and pontoon breakages, all the time we were being blown off so all I had to do was put extra lines out, how lucky is that. When visiting the office to pay I noticed that they had internet access so asked and was told it operated in the evening and was free, so managed to get a good set of weather reports from WWW. ecmwf.int that is just in case you do not know about this site. Found the local Super U and restocked our fridge and purchased some local pork ribs already cooked on the hot counter, they were beautiful, well worth the monies. Out for lunch the next day and had mussels, by the evening I was very ill so that put a damper on the celebrations. Look at the picture top left below and you can see the strong wind 2 days later when we walked around the towns tourist spots, on the 3rd day the conditions were back to being good but not hot.

Raz Du Sein

Glad to be past this point

Another awesome sight and another feeling that you are not in control of things, we got through the Raz no problem but you felt that you were the outsider in these parts. The water is turbulent and the tide runs at 4 kts, we found that we were covering the ground at 11 kts. When you reach the end of the run by the 2 light houses the water becomes more choppy but only for a short time before you turn left down across the bay for 2 hours then turn left for Loctudy. Its a long way from turning left to when you arrive as you have to go around the bottom of the point and then back up on yourself. The navigation needs attention once you have rounded the point off (Pte de Penmarc'h) as there are numerous cardinals all the way around into Loctudy. 

Loctudy 21 Euros per night

Arrived after a long day sail and some careful navigation coming through the channel (Pointe de Langoz) this shortens the journey time by about an hour and a half. It all seems to be covered with cardinal buoys and I found my Tsunami chart system so helpful in that I was able to blow up the charts to a small scale just to get the clutter out of the way. Once you round back on yourself, on the last reach, the wind increased to 25 kts and we were cracking along at the very time I wanted to slow down, however I spotted a large boat ahead who was making the same "point" so felt better, a mile off you can make out the entrance by the large black and white marker rock (Roches de Perdix) and we were soon in the entrance and looking for the marina pontoons which are on the left as you enter the marina. As you go down the fingers beware that they get narrower as you proceed down the row, to the point that 2 boats of 30' will not get in. Loctudy has a great fish market ( not cheap though ) on the quay of the old port, that's the fishing port and the boats are all moored along the quay there. We walked into town the next day found the supermarket about 1 mile up the main road all what you would expect, also some nice walks on the beaches. The marina has cycles that you can use for free at the office.

La Foret 21 Euros per night

Just around the next point is La Foret so we decided to have a short day sail to there and do some fishing on the way as we had not done any to date as we were going too fast, you need to be 2 to 3 kts. We left Loctudy on the 13th July (1 month into our trip) and started fishing as we ghosted down towards the point. After the usual grief from Linda about not catching anything I pulled in the biggest Mackerel you have seen, it did both of us for dinner that night. Not a lot of water here as we lined up the entrance, we would not get in at low water so noted this when we wanted to leave. once on the fuel berth, I went up the office and was totally taken aback as to what a  very nice place this is, I recommend it to you all and would not go to Loctudy or Concarneau in the future. The H master sorted a slot out for us and said pay when you are leaving, and gave us the number to the usual facilities. The place was very up together and there are lots of "Brits" who keep their boats there.

Next day we walked up to the village and had coffee noticed that the town square was being laid out for Bastille day, we were up for that so ourselves and two other couples we met had a table and BBQ in the square with music and fireworks a good night was had by all. By the time we were ready to move on I felt a little sad it was such a nice place.

Lorient 21 Euros per night

Left La Foret on the 16th at 0700 and made Lorient at 14.00hrs. We decided to go for the old commercial port not the newer Kern'evel marina. So we passed the island to the right and made our way up to the basin, no problem, tied up along side right next to the cafe and the HM office. Settled down for the night with a band playing in cafe but no problem nice music. Next day walked up to the market to restock and phone home, then we walked to the submarine pens that are at the Habour entrance, looked around the sights and admired the volume of concrete used to build these things, and just how many people were conscripted to the work all done within 4 years. got back at 16.00 and looked at the weather forecast, not good so left by 17.00 on our way to Port Haliguen arriving at 22.15hrs.

Port Haliguen 21 Euros per night

Arrived 17th at 22.15pm found a pontoon and settled down to dinner and a nights sleep. Next day I went around on my bike to look the place over and find the super market, which was a mile up the main road. Although the port is on the point it is only a mile from the town of Quiberon so we had all the shops we wanted close by. Linda and I walked to the supermarket and looked around the town, had lunch in the cafe back at Port Haliguen and made our way back to the boat. We decided to move into the bay the next night and anchor around the back of the marina breakwater. We anchored in the bay and had dinner it was very scenic and tranquil, although the wind did not go away altogether, went to bed with the wind still evident and wondered if we would have to move during the night. About 3.00am I was awakened by a strange noise that was outside of  the boat and in the water, first it was close to the fore cabin then it moved down the side and back up the other side. All this time I was trying to think what it was and getting concerned, then all of a sudden I recognized the sounds, it was a dolphin breathing out and in as it went around the boat. The other new thing I saw was the fishing methods used, not seen this since India, The boat anchored close to the rocks and put the net down then cast lots of fish bait on top of the net after 10 minutes he pulled the net up and made a good catch each time.

La Roche-Bernard ( A beautiful part of the world )

Left Port "Hooligan" at 0800 at the top of the tide just to give me water over the bank we anchored behind, We started off motoring at 2 knots fishing as I need to waste about 4 hours of tide to get me into the river at La Roche Bernard. After about 1/2 an hour we sailed at 2 kts and the fishing lines were out, soon had 2 mackerel for dinner but the weed was making fishing difficult due to the Para vane catching in the weed. The wind popped up and we raised the cruising shute, off we went at 6.5 kts all the way to the river 25 miles a great sail. we arrived too early really and did not have much water under the keel, at one point it went down to 2.1 mts and I draw 1.9 mts so a little concerned. However we got "paddies luck" with us and we motored over the sill  into the river. Once in there was plenty of water and we motored on up to the barrage and the lock to get into the river Villaine. As we got there the gates closed and we had to tie up on the waiting bouy for 15 minutes, by the time the lock became ready again 3 other boats had arrived, and we all entered the lock at 16.45. At 17.30 we were still in the lock and there was chaos now all around us with boats arriving and being pushed into the lock. It was 18.07 when we left the lock and very glad to do so, 32 boats had been jammed into every square inch of free water. Having got free of the lock we motored up the river and began to take in the beauty of the surroundings. When we arrived at the marina we entered an empty pontoon and went to the office, luckily we could stay in the one for 3 nights so gave me time to sort things out with the office.

Soon we had found our friends who were already staying there and enjoyed the reception and hospitality, we went out to the local Routier and for 10 euros we had a 4 course meal with a litre of wine, excellent night was had by all. All this was saddened a little because our friends from home had a problem that meant Paul had to fly home and leave his boat and car in different places as his mother was taken into hospital, we clubbed together and arranged for his car and his boat to be reunited. We took Penny and David down to La Rochelle to pick up the boat and we arranged to drive Paul's car home the next Friday, so luckily things worked out OK.

Alford and Eunice (above), Penny and David to the right, between them arranged transport and Delivery of the boat from La Rochelle, it was useful to have friends available to take on this task. We will be leaving for home with Paul's car on Friday July 30th.

Back in France, in the old port of La Roche-Bernard we spent a week just looking around the area now we had our own car with us, this made life easier when ashore just to nip up to the local supermarket or the next village. The old port is very nice but can be hot if there is little or no wind.
After a week we left La Roche-Bernard to go up river as far as we could, restricted by the bridge at Redon which is 25 miles from the sea. The river was beautiful and tranquil, with lots of wild life from herons to otters to birds of prey. There are a number of places you can moor up to that are free and you can anchor along the way if solitude is required. Right, buoys at Nivillac, left below, Chateau on the bank just above Nivillac. Below right, meet up with David and Penny again at Foleux

Right, Linda and boat on slow tick over taking in the scenery.  Below left one of the "Free" pontoon moorings that a village has put in with showers and electrics.  Below right, as far as we can go, the bridge at Redon

We returned to La Roche-Bernard for the last 3 days of our 2004 sailing, the boat has been laid up for the winter in the marina, our 2004 trip has taken us just under 700 miles and 23 ports or anchorages, next year we will move on down the coast taking in all of the ports we can get into, and the islands.

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