Mon 5th - Windy old weather
The Voyages of Richard and Amanda
Mon 5 Jul 2010 19:48
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POS: 48:00.46N 004:32.98W
Port-La-Foret gets top marks for a lovely marina.
It has all the facilities needed, a chandlers, several restaurants somewhere to
get bread and milk, free wi-fi and a lovely location; definately a place to
visit again when we come back. Quite sorry to leave but feel we need to
move on.
This morning's forecast wasn't any different to the
last few days and no different to the next 2-3. It starts with fairly light
winds then sea breezes of West or Northwest 4-5. Last night and this morning
were overcast and it actually rained in the night all due to a cold front
working its way over Brittany, the chart showed it moving off around midday and
thats what happened. The pressure is still high (1032mb) so the weather should
be fair for the next few days.
We left about 8.30am to get to Audierne a small
port just under 10 miles from the Raz de Sein. The total distance was about 30
miles by the shortest route, and we actually managed to do the first 19 miles
directly on track, then the sea breezes started up. The wind increased to 18-21
knots from the direction we wanted to go, and this time instead of being
protected by coastline, there was nothing between us and America except several
thousand miles of ocean. This meant that the sea built up quite quickly and
turned pretty rough. There was a large swell of about 6 feet and quite steep,
plus the waves created by the wind which were added to the swell making it
especially choppy. The fact that we knew that we were on the edge of the ocean
added to the sense of awe. You find yourself being so impressed by the sea, its
size and beauty, that you forget to be scared of it.
After doing one tack out to sea we tacked back
towards the shore, dodging the fishing boats as we went. In the end we had to
tack about 4 times to get close enough to motor the last bit. All this tacking
meant that the 30mile journey actually involved us sailing nearer to 50 miles.
Still it turned into a beautiful sunny day, and if it wasn't for the sea being
so rough it would have been perfect (slightly less wind would have
suited Amanda as well)
This whole area is obviously very rich in sea food.
Apart from the trawlers and lobster pots, we saw one flock of gannets
circling over an area of sea taking it in turns to dive in to catch fish. Then a
school of dolphins came round the boat. They didn't stay long but it was enough
to lift our spirits. We saw dolphins several times after this and usually they
were accompanied by diving gannets.
We arrived at St Evette, just outside Audierne at
7.30pm. There are supposed to be 30 visitors buoys in the harbour, but most of
the easily accessible ones were taken and the harbour is quite sheltered so we
decided to anchor, so at the moment we are anchored just off a long sandy beach
in about 6.5m of water. It is still pretty windy, but that is expected to die
down later tonight. It is a bit wierd being here, the last time I visited it was
20 years ago in Campari our Hillyard 18 tonner as we set off on our family
voyage around the Atlantic. Bits of it I remember but I have to say there is an
awful lot that I don't recall.
Our evening meal is chicken in white wine sauce,
new potatoes and carrots followed by chocolate pudding and custard for desert
plus a glass of wine to wash it down. A perfect end to a satisfying and
exciting day.
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