Back in Brittany

Yellsound of Lerwick
stuart and linda byron
Fri 21 May 2010 19:31
Hi everyone,
 
Can't believe we have been back in Brittany for the past three weeks after our winter breaks with Stevie in New york and helping Sam and Mike transit the Panama Canal. So after the disappointment of Stevie and Sabrina not being able to make their engagement party in Glasgow due to the Icelandic Volcano eruption, we celebrated niece Anna and Brians wedding in Airth Castle before returning to our winter berth in Port La Foret.
 
Yellsound wintered well and survived the storms unscathed which hit France whilst we were away in the States. However, Brittany was not much warmer than Glasgow with unseasonably low temperatures so we spent first ten days or so  in commissioning mode for Summer and using  the car to travel for some coastal walking.also great to get back to local markets and the patisserie not to mention the cotes de rhone at 2 euros a bottle! 
 
When the sun shone, it brought forth an epidemic of red ensigns on the visitors berths as the UK boats were being put back in the water from their wintering ashore. Also found out that Oystercatcher of Ardrishaig ( Blair and Susan  Fletcher from Ardrishaig)  was also in the Marina, so was fun to catch up with Blair in the week he was over to commission  Oystercatcher.
 
The end of last week saw us in the iles de Glenan, home of the largest sailing school in europe.  The iles have been described as the nearest thing to the Caribbean with sandy atolls in clear crisp blue seas.- natural heritage site and very beautiful- Still cold though and still early season so very easy to pick up a mooring or find a quiet anchorage. After leaving Glenan, we overnighted on the pontoon at Benodet to check out both the marina and the Saint Marine Marina on the west bank of the river Odet.
Warm summers day with many families on the long sandy beaches and in the pubs/cafes surrounding the harbour- much different from our first visit by car in November
 
From Benodet , up river to Quimper, except that the river dries out so a convenient anchorage has to be found out of the stream, as Vedettes and Commercial shipping still use the river.  For the past week, we have been anchored  in a delightful bay overlooking a chateau- well protected from all directions and completely sheltered-  Lochaline in Brittany-  Birdsong, smell of mown grass, gentle lapping of water, starry starry nights and daytime temperatures of 23 degrees remind us of the lazy hazy days of Summer as children in Hampshire.
 
However, life has not been without its problems or without humour-  Stuart in maintenance mode repairing Toilets, rigging,deck fittings, windlass etc all of which seem to have developed gremlins over the winter and linda in paint mode-  Our Dinghy adventures or mis-adventures continue-  After last years embarrassing moment of being aground in  the dinghy on the way up river at Loctudy and being overtaken by a walking sheepdog alongside us, we were taking no chances.   Quimper was we thought an hours dinghy ride up river so we planned to go an hour against the tide on low water with Chart saying we had a minimum of 3ft- no problem.  An hour later, still short of Quimper by 1/2  mile we hit bottom but on the shore across the Mud bank were steps and the parth to town. Great except the Mud was Glutinous in places and Stuart after sinking 6 inches on both wellies  toppled and ended up face down- covered in really smelly mud.  Linda was of course helpless with laughter.  The trip  was abandoned. Next day, away from Yellsound at  8.20 am  and on the flood tide, we were in Quimper in 40 minutes and into the local market halls for provisioning filling up with Langoustines and fresh produce.
 
Last summer, I think the Cobb barbeque was used twice, a feat we have now equalled this year and i suspect we will continue to use as the days become warmer as we move into Summer.
 
We have decided that this Summer is going to be here in Brittany and yellsound will winter here this year, so open invitation to you all to visit- flights to Brest/Vannes or  7 hours by car from Calais.-  Just let us know and we can arrange to meet you etc.
 
lastly, Sam and Mike are now in Marquesas after their passage from Panama and their trip can be viewed on www.blog.mailasail.com/quartermoon
 
Hope all is well with you all and hope to hear from you.
 
s and l