AEOLUSII - Peter and Dianne

Untitled

2012-01-27T11:29:00.001Z

This is a video test.

Holiday end.

2010-08-14T07:27:00.000+01:00

Back in Uk after a bit of lumpy crosss channel passage, not helped by very big spring tides which means strong currents which makes seas more disturbed than normal. Going through Alderney race we had 13 knots across ground at one stage which meant we had 7 knots of tide with us! Not helped by rain squalls on english side with strong winds so by the end we had only a small amount of sail up. Anyway left St Peter Port at 0630 and picked up buoy of Yarmouth at 1930 so quite a quick crossing. Overall a very good holiday.

Homeward bound - pity

2010-08-12T17:36:00.000+01:00

First day in Treb excellent - swim etc - next day good walk in morning around fascinating coast - then lunch (last moules frites in France!) and rain started and lasted until about 8pm. Wed sailed to St Peter Port - reasonable - sunny with seas bit confused due to past weather. Arrived at 4.30, fueled up and went to outside berth - bit confusion as with very large spring tides low water was verrry low! We had 0.2m under keel at low water at 0300 & yes I did set my alarm and got up to check!! Oh the joys of sailing. Thursday brilliant sunny day, breakfast ashore - bit of shopping then one of our favorite walks to Fermain Bay - good swim - on arrival back dinghy was aground so had to have tea and wait for 1/2 hour ...better than wading through mud. Going ashore for dinner tonight - Dianne determined to have her lobster; then early start 0700 tomorrow friday back across channel as forecast for saturday is wind from North which would be from right ahead. Definitely homeward bound now.

Break in Trebeurden

2010-08-10T06:52:00.000+01:00

Sunday - left L'Aber at 1030 arrived Trebeurden at 1730 - sunshine all the way but again not too much wind. Still some largish swells until further East. Arriving at high water on glorious sunday afternoon busier than solent on a good weekend with so many boats messing around - managed to get a berth but very tight squeeze so moved to better one next morning when some other boats left. Decided to stay here a couple of days to give us a break from long passages and weather forecast for Tuesday not good - rain! Monday v nice day - shopping in morning - relaxed afternoon including beach & swim. Plan to go to Guernsey Wed then across channel Fri or Sat depending on best day wind wise. Been a great holiday.

Heading North

2010-08-07T15:56:00.000+01:00

Couple of long passages one from Loctudy (left 0700) to Camaret – 53 Nm – after Raz De Sein quite big swell with downwind sailing so lots of rolling – not very comfortable & glad to get in. Had fruit de mer in same restaurant as last time – superb & one of the best of the trip. Saturday left Camaret 0830 for 39 Nm to L’Aber-Wrac’h on North coast of Brittany via Chenal du Four. Couple of light rain squalls with gusts of wind – photo is Dianne at start of Chenal , which was calm until north part when big swell running again - but strong tides with us all the way so got here about 1.45 – tea, lunch, shower in that order. Still overcast but not raining so not too bad, but not as good as we have had it. Another long passage to Trebeurden tomorrow and might stay 2 nights or continue to Guernsey – depends how we feel.

Starting heading back

2010-08-05T18:09:00.000+01:00

4-5 th Aug
Strong wind and bit of wet stuff for short hop (12 Nm) to Loctudy and place really filled up in the evening but we managed to get finger pontoon. Evening watched all fishing boats come in - there are about 3-4 shops selling fish direct to pubic – loads and loads of people milling around and boats sell some of their catch, including crabs, direct to public on jetty & rest goes to main warehouse. We bought some langoustines for supper. Wind forecast for Thursday not ideal so decided to stay in Loctudy.
Thursday good day again, took ferry with our bikes across to Isle Tudy – excellent long and flat ride along coast and sand dunes – we cycled for an hour and still didn’t get to the end, mind you I seemed to develop a slow puncture and had to stop every 10 mins to blow tyre up. Guess I’ll have to change all inner tubes on return to UK. Back in little quaint town, decided to have long lunch French way –delicious crab, dessert and coffee – think we chose best place (just to right of Dianne) as it was full of French people eating every sort of fish and some of the best fruit de mer I have ever seen. Forecast for Friday much better so early start, 0700 for 55 Nm to Camaret. Heading home and have 4 long passages to get back to Guernsey where we hope to spend 2-3 days before heading across channel next weekend.

Concarneau

2010-08-03T16:56:00.000+01:00

2-3rd Aug.
Sunday in Port Louis very pleasant – couple of long bike rides with stop at beach for swim. One of our favorite stops. Monday left about 0930 for Concarneau – motored most of way as no wind at all, but had good sail for last 1 ½ hours arrived at 2pm. Marina is right next to old walled town, which C is famous for. Very crowded in the afternoon so didn’t stay long, but much quieter and enjoyable later after dinner ashore, when most of day tourists gone home. Wed bit overcast – shopping and good walk to yet another very nice beach – but no sun so no swim. Moving to Loctrudy tomorrow then long trip around SE corner of Brittany Thursday or Friday.

Vannes - Port Louis

2010-08-01T07:48:00.001+01:00

Fri 30th July – left Vannes at 0920 and through swing bridge at 0930 – it only opens on ½ hour for 2 hours around high water. Lots of boats waiting to go into Vannes so it looks as if it will be very crowded as it was already nearly full when we left. Had a tour around Morhibian on way out – fascinating place with so many islands and lovely sheltered anchorages that you could easily spend a week or so just pottering around from island to island – on to do list for another time. Exit exciting as very strong currents and we reached 10 knots more than once even though only had engine speed for 5 knots, lots of disturbed water. Added challenge as hard to follow rule of road with small motor boats fishing in main channel – some people trying to sail out and numerous Vedettes (tourist boats)/ferries not slowing down – everyman for himself! Again not much wind but very sunny sail across bay, everywhere you looked there were boats of some form or other including an enormous trimaran. Berthed Port Haliguen at 1.30 – large modern marina but not many facilities. After lunch and another move to a finger berth, had very good walk along coast past usual excellent S Brittany beaches, to tip of Quiberon peninsular, where there is a designated area of special interest – quite rugged and can imagine pretty dramatic in rough weather. Stopped for a swim on the way back – not too cold once in! A really spectacular sunset. Phew sounds a lot when you write it all down.
Sat 31 July – not that impressed with Pt Harlequin and decided to move on – misty and overcast so islands not favourite , hardly any wind so motor sailed 20Nm to Port Louis arriving 1.30pm, which is at entrance to Lorient. Very friendly marina staff who found us a nice quiet finger pontoon. Pt Louis is an interesting and rather quaint walled town with an impressive citadel, claimed to be the best maintained in France. Good museums inside one dedicated to French East India Company of the 1700s which traded with India and China – lots of artefacts. Also special exhibition showing how they recovered many artefacts from wrecks with some very good videos of diving operations. You can walk around ramparts but in places very narrow (2-3ft) with no railings and 20 ft off ground so interesting meeting someone coming the other way! Good beaches nearby. Delicious oyster and fish dinner ashore rounded off another quiet day!!- okay both in bed by 1030! Like it here so staying at least until Monday. PS trying different technique for photos by making into montage before uploading to see if it works.

Last day in Vannes

2010-07-29T21:23:00.000+01:00

Thursday 29th – thought I would make another blog entry as we are off tomorrow, not exactly sure where and might not have internet. Different day today, bit more culture this morning with museum visits. After lunch decided to go for bike ride as there is an excellent bike path all along river… but after 15 mins Dianne’s bike got a flat tyre, so it was a 30 min walk back to boat pushing bikes and then bit of repair job, including having to cycle across town to find a bike shop as needed new inner tube – including getting lost! – anyway success. Then harbour master asked us to move at 2000 as there was a very large old sailing vessel coming and they needed room to turn – on picture we would have been right astern of it a bit tight. Such is sailing life. Final picture is taken at 2200 from new berth. Another glorious day weather wise.

To Vannes

2010-07-28T15:25:00.000+01:00

Tuesday – Wednesday - change of plan – that’s one of the benefits of sailing – anyway decided Port Tudy bit busy in outer harbour with so many boats rafted together that not very relaxing therefore decided to move on further east. Weather started very nice but no wind, then suddenly came into a pea souper mist bank which lasted for about 1 ½ hours and during the most difficult part of trip - a narrow channel between rocks called Teignouse passage – it was a case of navigating by GPS and avoiding other yachts, fishing boats etc using radar with Dianne as lookout. But our radar is very good and even picks up buoys which showed that visibility was about 200 yards as we only just saw one of the buoys. Some of the French yachts who didn’t even have radar seemed to be going at speed regardless! Anyway sky eventually cleared and we ended up in Port du Crouesty, which is an enormous marina complex with 5 basins surrounded by shops, restaurants, bars etc – like port Solent but 50 times bigger and a price to match at 40 Euros for the night – highest so far. Had very pleasant meal ashore – moules followed by a very tasty steak.
Wednesday – early start 0730 to catch tide up to Vannes – through the Gofle Du Morbihan which is an inland sea with dozens of islands/large rocks, a fascinating trip (see photo of pilot book). Last part in narrow canal up to Vannes where we arrived at 0930 right in the middle of town – time for breakfast and shower before going ashore. A very interesting town with fortifications, lots of old streets and houses etc. Spent most of day just wandering around. But again struck lucky as this week is music festival so tonight we are off to a jazz concert – phew it’s all go – although I don’t suspect I’ll get much sympathy from back home. Thanks for comments Mum and Malcolm, how’s the car Malcolm had your first trip out yet? Staying here until at least Friday or maybe Saturday – who knows!

Bit of island hopping

2010-07-26T17:31:00.000+01:00

Saturday 24th – visit to super Marche – must remember like back home to avoid going to supermarkets on Saturday morning – enough said – do the French operate their shopping trolleys the same way they drive their cars or boats …could be! Much better after lunch, took a 45 min bus ride to Quimper, a fascinating place with beautiful cathedral and lots of old houses and streets. But even more interesting was that it was the start of the “The great Festival of Cornuaille” which is an important folk festival. So the whole place was buzzing and full of music and often with people dancing traditional Breton dance, some spontaneous others more formal in squares with bands & full sound systems in enclosures etc, would have been good to stay for the evening but last bus back was calling. Buses are interesting – seem to charge 2euros per trip regardless of length – last time it was 15 min this time 45 min same price; but good coaches and appear to run approx to time! Had crepes in the evening when we got back, overall a very enjoyable day. Forecast for Sunday dull and wet - pity as was planning to move on – wait and see how we feel in the morning!
Sunday 25th – bit damp – more like mist than rain. Anyway left and decided to go up the river Odet. It’s a very peaceful and pretty river which winds itself 12 Nm to Quimper, but we only went about 5 Nm – sections are quite narrow with steep sides and trees right down to water’s edge and the odd chateau hiding in the woods. A worthwhile trip, although I am not sure I would have wanted to pay the 25 Euros each the tourist boats were charging to go to Quimper and back. About 1130 sun came out and glorious for rest of day; we sailed 12 Nm across to Isles de Glenan, dodging rocks on the way, a small archipelago of islands and rocks with Caribbean looking beaches of pure white sand and crystal clear water, only difference is water temp is not Caribbean! Clearly very popular for day trips and overnights with lots of buoys in different anchorages, but we managed to pick up a buoy of Isle de St Nicolas, as we arrived at about 1.30 by which time some people were leaving, although later we had to move as we kept banging into an unoccupied buoy astern of us. Main island has one restaurant and 4 houses and takes 20 mins to walk completely around. Main activity is one of France’s largest sailing schools with all types of boats everywhere, so late afternoon was entertaining as wind picked up and some novice dingy sailors under instruction took ages and at least 20-30 attempts trying to pick up a buoy with guidance from the instructor in another dingy – lots of shouting (probably cursing!) and amusing close calls. They ended up with 3 of the crew trying to hold the buoy by the stern but with the main still up and full so they were effectively trying to hold the boat against sailing downwind, before the instructor came back and told them to take the main down. A fish supper, evening walk on beach and a fantastic sunset ended a very fine day.
Monday – left at 1000 for an absolutely brilliant sail 20nm to Port Tudy on Isle de Groix. Sunshine and wind 15 knots behind and had cruising chute up for first time this holiday – perfect conditions! Port Trudy small harbour and boats rafted up between buoys – 6 to a buoy and totally full. Ashore very touristy in laid back way. Perhaps go for coast walk tomorrow.

Short hop to Benodet

2010-07-24T06:38:00.000+01:00

Thursday - Loctudy very peaceful town which is combination of fishing port, holiday resort and dedicated marina. Around fishing port there are 3-4 dedicated fish shops selling direct to public with a bewildering choice of fish and shell fish; bought a ‘pile’ of langoustines and shrimps for supper – ½ price of shops in places we had visited elsewhere & they were absolutely delicious. After lunch took a little ferry to other side Isle Tudy which appears to be a dedicated holiday island – little square with restaurants and then a beautiful long sandy beach – we walked along paddling for over an hour and half and still didn’t reach the end. Lots of parties of school children having a whale of a time – must have been end of term so guess its going to get busier from this weekend. Life just appears slower here.
Friday – long trip all of 5 Nm to next estuary, Benodet – a delightful seaside town with good marina and long walks. Entrance is very busy with literally dozens of boats big and little messing around - including lots of sailing schools so suddenly you get a line of 6 small sailing cats, full of kids, all in a row sailing across - speed limit is 3 kts as it is so busy - but guess what french totally ignore! There for lunch followed by long walk along coast & beach, water still bit chilly so resisted temptation to swim – but building up to it! Glorious evening – we were going to go out for meal but so nice on boat watching world go by on river that decided to eat on board. Quite amusing at ½ tide as current flows at 3-4 knots through marina and watching people manoeuvring is interesting and just a bit hair raising when they get it wrong. Weather forecast to get even better over next few days, certainly better than last year. PS signal stength here poor so can't get it to upload any photos.

2010-07-22T06:50:00.001+01:00

Camaret interesting place – as well as art shops, cafes etc also an ending place for old fishing boats which again makes interesting place for tourists and artists and Dianne took lots of pictures looking for the perfect shot! In the afternoon went for a walk along spectacular cliffs, but then rain and mist came so were forced to return to town and sit and drink tea watching the world go by! Very nice and best meal of the trip ashore so far in nice little restaurant, which was full – always a good sign.
Wednesday last big passage for a while 55 Nm – left Camaret at 1030 – first 15 miles motor sailed into wind to reach Raz De Sein at slack water – another notorious point with strong currents and very rough in bad weather, but as you can see fine for us. After that we had best sail of holiday for a good 5-6 hours in 12-14 knots of wind on the beam, glorious sunshine and boat humming along at over 7knots – almost felt like the boat was enjoying it also, but actually being a heavier boat doesn’t like light winds but get above 10 knots and she really flies along. Last 5 miles into Loctudy bit of navigation exercise buoy hopping between rocks – always bit disconcerting to be 2 miles offshore in only 4m of water , anyway arrived Loctudy at 1930 – very peaceful marina and river – a beer, supper with wine in sunshine and after a long day sailing early to bed inevitable! Both very relaxed. Plan to explore around here today and stay pottering around south Brittany for at least next 2 weeks. Thanks for comments on blog. Hope you all well Love P&D.

2010-07-19T20:19:00.001+01:00

Sunday - left at 1000 for 50 Nm passage west; sun shining all the way. Started with gentle wind from SE making for a nice beam reach sail, then wind died and after ½ way went around to NW and then West which was right ahead -typical. Fascinating passage in narrow gap between Roscoff and Isle de Batz, made even more interesting by small boats buzzing everywhere with little regard for others! Last 12 miles less fun with swell still running from storms and wind over tide making it very lumpy indeed, but at least we were doing 7.5knots. Arrived L’Aberwrach at 5.30pm. Not much here other than Marina and a few rather tired looking restaurants but very pleasant trip up river. This is last port at the western end on N Brittany and is more of a staging post going around to S Brittany.
Monday – fuelled then left at 1000 for Chenal Du Four, which has a bad reputation for being rough but with no wind was easy just a swell running; at South end doing >10knots over the ground – sunny all the way, but not as fascinating as I expected – arrived Camaret at about 4.30 – RNSA friends here. Interesting town full of seaside cafes etc , but also lots of fascinating artisan shops and art galleries – Dianne in her element – probably stay until Wednesday. Plan for tomorrow shopping morning then long walk along coast. Very pleasant evening in sunshine which helps the gin and tonic go down. It’s a hard life!

A much better day

2010-07-17T20:53:00.000+01:00

What a difference 1 day can make – good weather back. Left Perros 0930 – very narrow exit with strong cross current and boat in front of us nearly hit side, so just had to go for it!. Headed west but still big swell from storm and wind directly from west which would have meant long bumpy passage, so decided to stop off at Trebeurden – a very popular holiday resort – good marina – excellent beaches and long walks. Sun is shining so after leisurely late lunch had walk and then read books under the bimini…no rain. Might head off again tomorrow – might not! Decisions decisions!

Thusday 15 July -in Perros still

2010-07-15T16:22:00.000+01:00

Hardly summer weather! Last couple of days wind been extremely strong with Gale 8 & 9 forecast – so not surprising stayed in Perros-Guirec – but still having very good time – yesterday Wed, went for long walk along coast, magnificent scenery and even managed to dodge showers. Mind you it really poured down again in the evening when we got back. Today Thursday took bus to Lannion – quaint town & it was market day – enormous market & actually quite fun meandering around as it occupies whole town, which has interesting old buildings – a mini Rouen. Met sailing friends Ian & Sue, who are in Trebeurden, had pleasant lunch of Moules with them – visited very interesting church & then back on bus to boat. Wind is howling at the moment but sun out – I reckon we will be here until Saturday, but somehow as we have longer doesn’t feel like weather is cheating us of holiday. PS forgot camera so picture is from phone hence not very good. Hope you all well back in UK. Thanks for comment Lou. xx Dad & Mum

Passage to Perros Guirec & anniversary 36 yrs!

2010-07-13T14:43:00.001+01:00

Mon 12th sailed from Guernsey leaving at 0900 to Perros-Guirec (50 ish Nm) arrived 1745 in time for lock opening. Mixed weather, wet leaving, good on passage then for last 1hr absolutely bucketed it down, but wind direction good and broad reaching most of way with engine in the middle when wind died! Tuesday anniversary late start, opened cards (thanks everyone), breakfast ashore then lovely walk along coast and interesting town – back on board at 3pm for decadent bottle of champagne & strawberry tartlets. Going ashore for dinner tonight – lots of choice of good restaurants – weather forecast next few days not so good so might stay until Friday – worst places to be stuck e.g. London! Very relaxed now.

2010-07-11T17:28:00.000+01:00

Sunday afternoon - sitting on deck in St Peter Port. We left Cowes friday and decided to come straight across to Alderney, after filling up with fuel. Motored all the way as no wind, so calm even managed to have supper on deck with table up arrived 2115 in Brye on a lovely evening. No buoys so picked up private one and moved to visitors buoy 0800 next morning. Glorious day in Alderney - sunny & very hot. Walk on beach then lazy afternoon followed by traditional fish and chips in Brye chippy! Left Alderney 0915 sunday for slow potter to St Peter Port arriving for late lunch then stroll round town - but everything closed - sunday opening not caught on in Guernsey! Probably going to south to France tomorrow, then slow down for a bit!

Summer holiday 2010 - start

2010-07-09T07:53:00.001+01:00

After a very busy and hot day storing ship on Thursday 8/07/10 we motor sailed across to Cowes for a very pleasant evening alongside w pontoon. A good nights sleep ready to really get into holiday mood! Weather so much better than last couple of years, will it last?

Starting our blog

2010-06-20T08:41:00.000+01:00

This is me trying to start up a blog ready for our sailing holidays and trip! This is AeolusII in Alderney on her maiden voyage in July 2008.