46:43.3N 2:20.4W

 

8 May Rosemary leaves to meet Ed, we press on

 

Depart Le Croisic 0645

Arrive Port Joinville, Ile d`Yeu 1600

Wind SW f5, easing f3/4 later, drizzle

 

Passage crew Rosemary put ashore. Fortunately an early train from the nearby station with connections to Rennes. Thanks for helping with all the early starts and long days – Jane not a natural early bird – prefers to stay in the fore cabin and do her sudoku, even when its really bumpy, without any sign of seasickness – unlike me! We needed an early start to have enough keel and rudder to manoeurer out of the marina before we dry out. Miserable day, but not as cold as it has been. Get out beyond the breakwater – fairly big seas so put in 3 reefs and motor as W as we can for nearly an hour – slow progress.Tack over onto stbd, let out some genny, free off a bit and we are sailing. Motor off, 5knts plus and just able to lay a course keeping outside all the W cardinals off Le Croisic and the other rocks and shallows on the way down. Sea kinder on this tack, and have some ebb to help us along too. Jane decides to go below and rest after the early start, and provide cups of tea, passage snacks and dry gloves when needed. Just as well its a long sail on stbd – I still have a painful right arm after pulling a hamstring (or whatever it is in the arm) screwing in a deckhead batten in Exmouth.

 

About half way down wind began to ease, so gradually released the genny to full out, but kept the 3 reefs in. Arrived, reported in and moved to a finger pontoon – we were warned lots of boats would be arriving in the next few days as it was some sort of a bank hol on the Wed.

 

9 May First visit to the launderette, so thermals no longer have that lived in wiff, and loads of Frenchys about – arriving by ferry and yacht. So many that we have to hover outside a seafront bar and pounce to get a couple of seats when vacated for early evening beer. Discover it is Armistice Day and Ascension – and all of France seems to take two days off. Odd as it started on Wed – do they all go back to work on Friday? Have to do superm shopping early, as they close 1230. Re-read the wind generator fitting instructions and decide all is as it should be.Take the restraining rope off – it spins, quickly, and we have amps. Think my earlier panic was because it wasn’t rotating fast enough. All is well.

 

10 May – forecast for Les Sables of WNWf5 (we can cope with that) but 2.5m NW swell and wind waves on top. George would not cope, and as its a long way to Ars and I didn’t fancy having to stop at La Sables or Bourgenay with seas rolling in decided to wait a day. Jan and Danuta (Astra) are on their way down from Vannes, but we are still in the lead.