Back in Brittany
Yellsound of Lerwick
stuart and linda byron
Fri 21 May 2010 19:31
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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
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