Les Sables D`Olonne - Vendee and Ellen Mcarthur country
Gaudeo
John and Prue Quayle / John Quayle
Sun 10 Jun 2007 17:56
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10 June -Harbour at
Les Sables D`Olonne - Ellen Macarthur country. Sadly she is not in town though I have been wandering the streets in
hope!
Threat of thunderstorms and rain hastened our
departure from Ile de Noirmoutier yesterday for a bit of town life. A
beautiful offshore breeze disappeared in the afternoon so much of the
40 miles was by engine in sultry extreme humid heat related to the shallow low
pressure over Biscay. Masses of extremely irritating small flies
descended even though we were 6-8 miles out at sea, the like of which I
have not previously experienced. Presumably they have been carried up
by high pressure from Africa and dumped in this low pressure area but
shall need to check this out later.The deck, cockpit and inside
were covered in small black corpses, the result of our crazed
swotting, and a major clear up was necessary after arrival in
port.
A few miles away from Les Sables we
passed within a boat`s length of 3 pilot whales which are
not a common sight in these parts by all accounts; regrettably by the
time the camera was activated they were some distance away so the photos
are poor - as usual.
The large marina is packed
with yachts which well outnumber motor boats, in contrast to Pwllheli,
yet given that it is the weekend there is surprisingly little activity. It would
seem that everything is on hold until August. On the long sandy beach
in front of the town however, there was all manner of action, in
particular several teams playing Frisbee - 5 a side and a bit
like netball but more energetic and exciting. I wonder where it
stands in Olympic sport status? Watching life go by from one of the
many good harbourside restaurants seemed energetic enough for us
today.
PS. Son in law, Lawrence Bernstein, who has a
handle on all issues related to sport would never miss an
opportunity to tease like this, and has written: I hear that .... you are actually carrying
out a secret pilgrimage to the haunts of Ms Macarthur. I wonder whether
she has many other stalkers?!.......
...........Your reference to Frisbee has led to a bit of research at this
end. Apparently, ‘ultimate Frisbee’ is not under consideration for Olympic
status – one reason being that it has no governing body and matches do not have
an umpire or referee. It has developed its own rules that are adhered to
religiously by the players, but it remains entirely unregulated. So there
you go … great ammunition if one of your crew is finding it hard to get to
sleep. |