43:31.54N 01:30.42W at Anglet marina Bayonne
Spellbinder
Mon 9 Jul 2007 20:53
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Not the week we had hoped for, courtesy of the
continuing disturbed weather.
Tim Wright duly arrived on Sunday1st July, bearing
welcome gifts of gin and oxford marmalade,but not good weather.
Decided to stay ay St Martin and explore Ile de Re
by bicycle on Monday 2nd.Most enjoyable trip, including an exellent lunch of
oysters and clams at a "producteur", then onwards to Ars en Re and to the tip of
the island and the Phare de Baleines.Altogether 30 miles.
Still poor forecast on Tuesday, force7 with gusts
to 8, so an easy decision to spend another day at St Martin.Bus to the nearby
village of La Flotte for a good lunch on the quay,followed by a walk to a ruined
Cistercian Abbey and on to Fort de la Pree,which contained a very good
exhibition on the history of the area.
Weather still adverse on Wenesday, decided to move
to the outside of the raft of yachts in the hope of departing early on Thursday.
By this time a real community was developing amongst the British yachts bottled
up by the weather, and all hands turned to on all the boats to shuffle us round.
On completion our neighbour provided coffee and cake for all the participants.
Not to be outdone,we invited all present for drinks that evening,and reckoned we
had 20 onboard. Dinner ashore, with Tim's friend Nigel who had driven across
from near Angouleme.
Finally made the breakout from St Martin on
Thursday morning, with all the remaining Brits giving us a fine send off, they
were all waiting for better conditions to start heading back north. We sailed
down to Fort Boyard, off Ile d'Oleron, where we picked up a visitors mooring and
had lunch. Then Tim and Martin ashore in the dinghy to recce Boyardville,while
Henry boat sat.After tea, sailed up to the north end of Oleron, and in to St
Dennis.
Having reluctantly decided that the weather,and in
particular the swell, made an entrance to the Gironde on Friday
impossible,settled for a day in St Dennis.Breakfast ashore in a little hotel
next to the market place, shopping in the market, and an afternoon stroll across
the harbour entrance at low tide. Back to the hotel for a very good
dinner.
On Saturday morning Tim caught the ferry back to La
Rochelle for an evening flight home, and Henry and Martin set sail south in much
improved weather. Initially under motor, with a very light and variable wind,
we eventually hoisted sail around 1530 off the channel buoy for the
Gironde.Continued south in a north west force 2 to 3 , which slowly
developd into a northerly force 4. After dinner reduced sail to only the
genoa with 6 rolls, to slow us down overnight and give us the option of entering
Arcachon in the morning.An easy night, with only occasional fishing boats, but
some very dramatic thunderstorms and displays of lightning.
Off Arcachon before 0800 on Sunday morning,and
decided to press on to Bayonne, rather than attempt the difficult entrance
through shifting sandbanks to Arcachon in rather poor visibility although we had
plotted the latest bouy positions obtained from a Frenchman. Back under full
sail in a northerly force 4 we continued rapidly south across the Landes firing
ranges. Fortunatey no firings on Sundays! Visibility poor in the continuing
thunder patches, which finally cleared
through mid morning to give us a good sail down to the entrance to Bayonne.
Secured at Anglet marina at 1830,having covered 150 miles in 32
hours.
Domestic day on Monday, laundry etc, and planning
for the next leg along the north coast of Spain. Decided to spend the week here,
visiting Bayonne and Biarritz by local bus,and possibly St Jean Pied de Port by
train, while awaiting he arrival of Keith and Sheila Read next Friday
13th.
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