22nd January, 2025

Long gap between blogs!
Last year we just pottered around Brittany going south-east to all the old favourites as far as Rochefort and including:
        the submarine pens in Lorient, Quiberon, Vannes, Crouesty, Pornic, Sables D’Olone,
       St Giles Croix-de-vie, La Rochelle and Port Haliguen where we met up with Robert et al.

Emilia and Sophie came for a week. We have hitherto avoided the off shore islands of South Brittany because they are too crowded. On one occasion we were the 5th of 6 yachts rafted up; this was no fun because none of the French had taken lines ashore, so when the tide changed the whole raft swung back and forth with all the  Frenchmen screaming about their gelcoat!
This year however we were bold and took the girls to the Île de Ré off Lorient. This was a great success, despite waiting hours for high tide and even then having only 6 inches of water for nearly a mile or so. Towards the end of the summer Charlie joined us for a week in St Giles Croix-de-vie.

Weather was moderate throughout and no major breakages, although the new Eberspächer lasted only a week because he’d fitted it underneath a leak which promptly filled it with water. Insurance requires a rigging check this year which will doubtless be costly.

Clare took a tumble on a Danube river boat and bust (mainly) her pelvis which is being very slow to mend. She’s also won some L5 foot drop which may or may not need the TLC of a neurosurgeon. We’re hopeful to get back in April though.
We’re currently on a Tall Ship in the Leeward Islands but sadly C can’t easily hop on and off the tender so we can only view our old haunts from afar, the weather however is brilliant.