PASSAGE TO BOURGENAY
Aquila
Alan and Sarah Bennett
Fri 20 Jun 2014 06:16
Thursday 19 June. Our three nights at St Martin de Re were both tranquil, and amusing – particularly at the time of ‘morning and evening rush hour’, when almost the entire pack of visiting boats – including ourselves at times – undertook a reshuffle. Inevitably, it was the ones closest to the jetties that wanted out. With no tidal stream to have to consider, and reasonable shelter from the prevailing NE4 wind, most of these reshuffles went smoothly, although one always had to be on the lookout for those that really do not have much of a clue about boat handling. This morning it was our turn to cause mayhem!
Having successfully extracted ourselves when the lock gates opened 0800, we then enjoyed a 20nm sail in bright sunshine although with a somewhat cool NE4. An initial slab in the main and 4 rolls in the genoa made the motion easy and kept a good speed on. As the sun climbed in the sky the wind eased, the reefs were shaken out and both skipper and mate adopted relaxed modes (phots). By 1130 we were nosing into Port Bourgenay – yet another marina development from seemingly nothing. One wonders how these are all funded; maybe EU grants? Whatever, it is a charming place (phot) and we will probably stay 2-3 nights – seeing as there are several inviting restaurants on the waterfront!
Will blog again from next port of call – probably Les Sables-d’Olonne.
