Le Palais on Belle-Ile
The Voyages of Richard and Amanda
Fri 2 Jul 2010 16:39
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POS: 47:20.87N 003:09.087W
The forecast was for NE 2-3 becoming S3 then West
which would be a great wind for us to make Belle-Ile. In fact the wind direction
was exactly as forecast the only problem was it never got above 5 knots from the
S. Basically we would have arrived at Belle Ile, but it would have taken two
days to do the 47miles. So we had to motor all the way. I don't like motoring
because I don't really trust the engine so all the time I'm listening to all the
little noises that might indicate a problem, or imagining it is slowing down
imperceptibly,in the end it ran beautifully for 12 hours and we arrived at
Le Palais, the main port on the island at about 7.30pm.
Mooring in Le Palais is with bow to a buoy and
stern tied to a chain on the quay. We were just wondering how we were going to
carry out this manouver when a small RIB with a man from the Capitainerie
(harbour office) turned up, pointed us to a buoy and shouted to reverse up to it
and he would take our ropes. By now you will know that I'm somewhat of an expert
at reversing up to a mooring and it actually went very well, he put the bow rope
through the loop and handed the spare end to Amanda, then motored off to take my
stern rope through the chain hanging on the quay, bringing it back to me to tie
off. Job done !!!
The town here is spectacular, it is quite a small
harbour overlooked by a really impressive citadel dating from 1700's. (Captured
by the British in 1761 and swapped for Minorca in 1763). Despite being small,
fairly large car ferries come charging in at speed every half hour from the
mainland, and there are the usual number of french fishermen dashing about all
over the place. Eventually it all quitened down about 10pm and we were able to
get a good nights sleep.
There were three other British boats in the
harbour, probably the most we had seen at any one time since leaving the Solent.
One of them had a RAF ensign and Amanda who always seems to see someone she
knows at every port we go to was sure that the owner was someone who she saw
occaisonally when she used to travel to London, and who had popped in to Force 4
when she worked there. "Oh no", says I, "what are the chances of meeting up like
that?" Needless to say I had to eat humble pie in the morning as it turns out
Amanda was right!!!
Today (Fri) we rowed to shore to do a bit of
exploring with a visit to the Citadel, which is a really awe inspiring place. It
is privately owned, part has been turned into a hotel and there is also a museum
of town and a maritime museum. Going round somewhere like that just makes you
appreciate how lucky we are to have all the conveniences of modern life. The
powder storage room had fascinating acoustics, there was a domed roof that
focussed all the sound back to the centre, so when you stood there your voice
was amplified and echoey, but anyone else listening from the edge of the room
just heard you as normal, with just a slight echo.
Like all the French towns in this region it is
incredible picturesque, with the usual white rendered walls and painted
shutters. I guess the main trade revolves around tourism as there are the usual
restuarants and boutiques offering all sorts of bargains at incredibly high
prices.
The weather is still hot, but it has gone overcast
and we have had some light drizzle. I'm not sure what the wind will be doing but
I think it is mainly N or NW, not ideal but we shall see. Next stop Ile de Groix
about 20 miles away, possibly anchoring as the marina is quite small and can get
busy at weekends.
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