PASSAGE TO PORT JOINVILLE, ISLED'YEU
Aquila
Alan and Sarah Bennett
Sat 21 Jun 2014 15:08
Saturday 21 June. We enjoyed two peaceful nights in Port Bourgenay; while it is all man-made (1985), it has its own charm. Yesterday we got underway and travelled a mile or so down the coast to anchor off the entrance to La Payré river. Actually, river is a bit of a grand word for this bit of water – it’s more of a creek. As is the norm in this part of the world, the gently shelving seabed meant anchoring some way off. We got as close as we could, calculating we could stay where we had chosen until 1430 when the falling tide would mean we either scarpered, or dried out! An enjoyable lunch and vista (phot), but the water was surprisingly cold (and choppy, despite the shelter provided): 14.4˚C. Worse than Studland Bay! So we decided to forego the swim.
Today a glorious sail to Port Joinville, on Isle d’Yeu; Aquila was last here with her ‘delivery crew’. Conditions were perfect: calm seas, a F2-3 soldier’s wind, and bright sunshine again. The cutter rig was set (phots), and with George strutting his stuff (phot) the 33 miles were soon clocked up at an average speed of c.6.8kts. Numerous boats were sailing the same way, but we overhauled them all - making for a very contented skipper (phot)!
The marina in Port Joinville is a lot more crowded than 4 weeks ago – in fact it’s almost full. We’ll probably spend 2-3 nights here, before retracing our steps SE to Les Sables d’Olonne to RV with Nick and Judy Coggins. We can’t afford to miss them, as they have our dog Folly as hostage!
