Heat and Home

Sorry all - blog is WAY behind but I promise I will finish it at home.  We are packing the boat to leave.  Huge heat here as everywhere.  Meanwhile - if you want to check out our trip photos https://plus.google.com/photos/101071641620402583976/albums/5881415925577166305?banner=pwa
Au revoir.

Heat and Home

Sorry all - blog is WAY behind but I promise I will finish it at home.  We are packing the boat to leave.  Huge heat here as everywhere.  Meanwhile - if you want to check out our trip photos https://plus.google.com/photos/101071641620402583976/albums/5881415925577166305?banner=pwa
Au revoir.

Beach & Boat Holidays

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Ars-en-Re

10 July 2013

We are still here in Ile de Re – the weather is fabulous – a proper summer at last!  We have spent the last two early evenings at the beach – nice swimming at high water when the sea has warmed up over the sand.  Gentle surf and we had a tiny beach to ourselves.  We cycle with rented bikes, around 6 kms – not so far, although all the cycle tracks on Re seem to go uphill!  On the way back we went into the village of Saint Clement des Baleines to checkout a restaurant and almost literally ran into a bus load of string players there to give a concert in the church.  So we ate and then went to the concert – some good guitar playing followed by a string quartet, and still light when we pedaled back to the boat after 10pm.

 

Ars-en-Re basin de la Cree

Bird Reserve

Sea lettuce on Grande Jonc beach

The day before, we went to a beach at Les Portes and cycled back via the bird reserve.   There’s a video clip from the GoPro on a headband on the bike but it’s very wobbly.  I’ll put it in to give an idea of the landscape.  The best beaches are at the NW end of the island - accessed via the Phare de Baleines and the village of Les Portes de Re.

Can't upload video directly so please check out YouTube link below.

  http://youtu.be/8VKW9WQK_Mo

Re is much more wealthy island than Oleron, an up-market island served by an airport (La Rochelle – Re), with a lot of large private houses, sheltered by high gates.  A few British cars – the first ones we’ve really seen on this trip.  There are traces of the original population but holiday rentals dominate.  There are also wealthy French who have had holiday homes here for a long time.  Originally the island would have been all about fishing and shellfish.  There are huge areas of stony beach used for ‘peche a pied’ – gathering shellfish at low tide.  Very little fishing now – a few boats at St Martin.

Now we are asking ourselves ‘where next?’ as the North East winds persist under the influence of the same area of high pressure that is giving the UK its summer weather.  Could be Les Sables, maybe Ile de Yeu if there’s not too much North in the wind.  Meanwhile a few maintenance & housekeeping jobs on the boat – the VHF doesn’t seem to be receiving very well, so need to check the aerial connections. 

There’s always a bit of tension between sailing and holidaying – sometimes the two go together well, and sometimes we can’t decide whether to stay or go!  How long is too long?  When can we leave?  Where will the wind take us?

Watch this space!

Tips and Tricks:  Many of the boaters and holidaymakers here have bad sunburn!  Apart from covering up as much as possible we are using Eucerin factor 30 on cloudy days and Roc high protection on sunny ones, so far with good results and no burns.  Eucerin used to be available only in the USA but now you can buy it by mail in the UK.  I use factor 15 in the winter.  The Roc can be hard to find – I bought ours on the Internet.

Beach & Boat Holidays

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Ars-en-Re

10 July 2013

We are still here in Ile de Re – the weather is fabulous – a proper summer at last!  We have spent the last two early evenings at the beach – nice swimming at high water when the sea has warmed up over the sand.  Gentle surf and we had a tiny beach to ourselves.  We cycle with rented bikes, around 6 kms – not so far, although all the cycle tracks on Re seem to go uphill!  On the way back we went into the village of Saint Clement des Baleines to checkout a restaurant and almost literally ran into a bus load of string players there to give a concert in the church.  So we ate and then went to the concert – some good guitar playing followed by a string quartet, and still light when we pedaled back to the boat after 10pm.

 

Ars-en-Re basin de la Cree

Bird Reserve

Sea lettuce on Grande Jonc beach

The day before, we went to a beach at Les Portes and cycled back via the bird reserve.   There’s a video clip from the GoPro on a headband on the bike but it’s very wobbly.  I’ll put it in to give an idea of the landscape.  The best beaches are at the NW end of the island - accessed via the Phare de Baleines and the village of Les Portes de Re.

Can't upload video directly so please check out YouTube link below.

  http://youtu.be/8VKW9WQK_Mo

Re is much more wealthy island than Oleron, an up-market island served by an airport (La Rochelle – Re), with a lot of large private houses, sheltered by high gates.  A few British cars – the first ones we’ve really seen on this trip.  There are traces of the original population but holiday rentals dominate.  There are also wealthy French who have had holiday homes here for a long time.  Originally the island would have been all about fishing and shellfish.  There are huge areas of stony beach used for ‘peche a pied’ – gathering shellfish at low tide.  Very little fishing now – a few boats at St Martin.

Now we are asking ourselves ‘where next?’ as the North East winds persist under the influence of the same area of high pressure that is giving the UK its summer weather.  Could be Les Sables, maybe Ile de Yeu if there’s not too much North in the wind.  Meanwhile a few maintenance & housekeeping jobs on the boat – the VHF doesn’t seem to be receiving very well, so need to check the aerial connections. 

There’s always a bit of tension between sailing and holidaying – sometimes the two go together well, and sometimes we can’t decide whether to stay or go!  How long is too long?  When can we leave?  Where will the wind take us?

Watch this space!

Tips and Tricks:  Many of the boaters and holidaymakers here have bad sunburn!  Apart from covering up as much as possible we are using Eucerin factor 30 on cloudy days and Roc high protection on sunny ones, so far with good results and no burns.  Eucerin used to be available only in the USA but now you can buy it by mail in the UK.  I use factor 15 in the winter.  The Roc can be hard to find – I bought ours on the Internet.

The Pertus Breton

La Rochelle to Ars-en-Re 

Ile de Re

Monday, 8 July 13

La Rochelle now behind us.  We saw 3 films at the Festival – one a silent called TABU –  partly written by Robert Flaherty (Nanook of the North) and set in the South Pacific – Bora Bora.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022458/

It was accompanied by a player using a martenot and some other instruments.  The next film was a documentary about the martinot – so interesting – possibly the first electronic instrument with its own sound, launched in the 1930s by its maker and used in film scores, as well as specially composed music. 

https://www.facebook.com/wavemakers.lechantdesondes

On the last evening there was an outdoor showing of FINAL CUT, LADIES & GEMTLEMEN – a clever compilation of shots from features.  A bit of a one-trick pony, but fun for an outdoor screening.

The weather is still consistent, with clear days and NE winds.  Yesterday we left at around 0945 on a falling tide.  Plenty of water in the old harbour channel and a good hour or so of tacking to get under the Re Bridge under sail.  F4 but with a fresh feel so put a reef in the main to balance the working jib.  What to do when the boat just wants to carry on, but you want to stop and have lunch?  Heaving too still left us with 2.5 knots, although it was quite comfortable.  Opted to keep sailing on a reach with another reach back – an opportunity to test the wind-vane steering – which mysteriously held on one tack, but not the other!  Sometimes boats don’t seem logical.  Maybe an effect of the wind / tide. 

We bore down on our waypoint – checked and re-checked since our destination – Ars-en-re is pretty much surrounded by drying areas.  One problem with waypoints is that they are usually areas of open water – and as Lesley Phillips says in the Navy Lark, one bit looks just like another!  Waypoint alarm is set at 0.2 miles so continuing to the exact spot depends on observing the GPS…  anyway, it became clear that we weren’t quite where we should be – less depth than we should be seeing.  Al muttered about about turning back to La Rochelle…  I pretended not to hear and asked him to have a look at the get-you-out -of-trouble cockpit plotter.  Safe water and the channel appeared to be on the starboard side and we soon had a friendly green buoy in sight.  Must be Boucheron.  On we went, on the bearing as specified in the pilot book until we reached another green, clearly marked ‘BOUCHERON’.  This is a consequence of being too mean to update the charts!  (I know, free updates on the Internet, but there are slews of these, mostly not relevant.)  Like most entrances things became fairly obvious as you approach and apart from the leading marks that are completely invisible, the pilot book instructions work.

The sea feather working in a F4 - working jib & one reef in the main

 COMING SOON: Ile de Re

The Pertus Breton

La Rochelle to Ars-en-Re 

Ile de Re

Monday, 8 July 13

La Rochelle now behind us.  We saw 3 films at the Festival – one a silent called TABU –  partly written by Robert Flaherty (Nanook of the North) and set in the South Pacific – Bora Bora.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022458/

It was accompanied by a player using a martenot and some other instruments.  The next film was a documentary about the martinot – so interesting – possibly the first electronic instrument with its own sound, launched in the 1930s by its maker and used in film scores, as well as specially composed music. 

https://www.facebook.com/wavemakers.lechantdesondes

On the last evening there was an outdoor showing of FINAL CUT, LADIES & GEMTLEMEN – a clever compilation of shots from features.  A bit of a one-trick pony, but fun for an outdoor screening.

The weather is still consistent, with clear days and NE winds.  Yesterday we left at around 0945 on a falling tide.  Plenty of water in the old harbour channel and a good hour or so of tacking to get under the Re Bridge under sail.  F4 but with a fresh feel so put a reef in the main to balance the working jib.  What to do when the boat just wants to carry on, but you want to stop and have lunch?  Heaving too still left us with 2.5 knots, although it was quite comfortable.  Opted to keep sailing on a reach with another reach back – an opportunity to test the wind-vane steering – which mysteriously held on one tack, but not the other!  Sometimes boats don’t seem logical.  Maybe an effect of the wind / tide. 

We bore down on our waypoint – checked and re-checked since our destination – Ars-en-re is pretty much surrounded by drying areas.  One problem with waypoints is that they are usually areas of open water – and as Lesley Phillips says in the Navy Lark, one bit looks just like another!  Waypoint alarm is set at 0.2 miles so continuing to the exact spot depends on observing the GPS…  anyway, it became clear that we weren’t quite where we should be – less depth than we should be seeing.  Al muttered about about turning back to La Rochelle…  I pretended not to hear and asked him to have a look at the get-you-out -of-trouble cockpit plotter.  Safe water and the channel appeared to be on the starboard side and we soon had a friendly green buoy in sight.  Must be Boucheron.  On we went, on the bearing as specified in the pilot book until we reached another green, clearly marked ‘BOUCHERON’.  This is a consequence of being too mean to update the charts!  (I know, free updates on the Internet, but there are slews of these, mostly not relevant.)  Like most entrances things became fairly obvious as you approach and apart from the leading marks that are completely invisible, the pilot book instructions work.

The sea feather working in a F4 - working jib & one reef in the main

 COMING SOON: Ile de Re

Boyardville, Ile d’Oleron - Land and Seascape

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Thursday, July 4, 2013

 Just a short blog this morning.  The weather in Biscay is continuing to frustrate us – now more for the return journey than the outward.  The weather pattern in Biscay is for N winds until around the end of June, followed by Westerlies that can give a reach back to the French coast.  This just doesn't seem to be happening this year!  Having said that, we are also considering the shorter passage to Santander, given the possibilities of strong ENE poking around Finisterre and reaching its fingers towards Cabo Penas (next to Gijon).  We had a chat with a fisherman selling on the quay here – he is complaining about a lack of stability in the weather systems in recent years.  We bought 2 small bass for supper.

 

Yesterday was pretty drizzly – summer comes one day and goes the next!  In the afternoon we went for a walk through a nature reserve – important for migratory birds and full of flowers, snails, a r****t and some small oyster farms.  Not too many birds at the moment but one or two egrets.  And tiny crabs scuttling into the water as we walked along the waterline.  The land/seascape here can be beautiful.

Yesterday we saw large crabs in the harbour having a huge social life, patrolling, chasing, fighting, mating – never seen so much activity in crustaceans before (are crabs crustaceans??).

Immediate plan is to have an afternoon sail back to La Rochelle, test the steering gear on the way, and go into the old harbour with its Bateau Bleu and tasty grilled squid & sardines.

Tips & Tricks: Keep everything in the boat easily accessible so you don't need to dive head-first into lockers!

Thanks to readers & followers..

Coming soon - first footage from GoPro

Boyardville, Ile d’Oleron - Land and Seascape

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Thursday, July 4, 2013

 Just a short blog this morning.  The weather in Biscay is continuing to frustrate us – now more for the return journey than the outward.  The weather pattern in Biscay is for N winds until around the end of June, followed by Westerlies that can give a reach back to the French coast.  This just doesn't seem to be happening this year!  Having said that, we are also considering the shorter passage to Santander, given the possibilities of strong ENE poking around Finisterre and reaching its fingers towards Cabo Penas (next to Gijon).  We had a chat with a fisherman selling on the quay here – he is complaining about a lack of stability in the weather systems in recent years.  We bought 2 small bass for supper.

 

Yesterday was pretty drizzly – summer comes one day and goes the next!  In the afternoon we went for a walk through a nature reserve – important for migratory birds and full of flowers, snails, a r****t and some small oyster farms.  Not too many birds at the moment but one or two egrets.  And tiny crabs scuttling into the water as we walked along the waterline.  The land/seascape here can be beautiful.

Yesterday we saw large crabs in the harbour having a huge social life, patrolling, chasing, fighting, mating – never seen so much activity in crustaceans before (are crabs crustaceans??).

Immediate plan is to have an afternoon sail back to La Rochelle, test the steering gear on the way, and go into the old harbour with its Bateau Bleu and tasty grilled squid & sardines.

Tips & Tricks: Keep everything in the boat easily accessible so you don't need to dive head-first into lockers!

Thanks to readers & followers..

Coming soon - first footage from GoPro

Falling Tide, Rising Tide

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02/07/2013 9:14 PM

Boyardville

Hmm.  Where to start?  Two days ago we left St Denis d’Oleron and made for the North Western end of the island, still possibly going to Spain.  We took the view that we would poke our noses out into the Bay of Biscay and see how we felt about it. 

    The adventure began in the marina when our exit resembled an episode of the Navy Lark, with poor Snork Maiden cast as the long-suffering HMS Troutbridge.  On the trip from La Rochelle to Oleron, we had a problem with the wind vane steering – the rudder when released should fly out at 90º to the stern, enabling it to be captured and brought back on board.  It didn’t, so we fiddled around a bit with a chap next door who was a kind engineer with an easily accessible dinghy (I had just tied ours down, as if for an Atlantic crossing).  We slacked the offending nut and bolt & thought all would be good.  Ray (from our ‘home’ club of Starcross) was a chatty sort and yipped away as we made ready to leave.  This is not an excuse, but in my haste to cast off and make a speedy exit, neither of us – Al nor me – thought it necessary to have a good look around to see who or what was coming in.  St. Denis is a small marina with quite restricted space and one boat going out at the same time as five boats coming in was quite a spectacular display.  Al says I stayed cool and it was a miracle that we didn’t actually hit anything. Should have been running the GoPro.

We got past the last lighthouse at the end of the island, took a look at the wind speed and decided that it was too light to get us to the Spanish coast before the dreaded Westerly set in.  Then we switched off the engine, rolled around a bit and had lunch.  Looking at the chart there seemed to be a promising anchorage on the South side of Re.  As we approached we could see the shallow anchorage on the chart plotter, but apart from a single navigational mark on one side of the bay, it was flat, featureless and deserted.  Nervous about finding the right spot, we decided to head for La Rochelle – again.  A pretty good sail with the Genoa and full main, wind on the quarter.  Winds were light, no more than 10-12 knots, and we made a quiet entry alongside a Bavaria 42 in Minimes Marina.   

Sailing toward La Rochelle Minimes

A quiet night followed by another adjustment on the wind vane and a morning of sunshine and no wind.  We just had time to motor the 12 Miles over to Boyardville, back on Ile d'Oleron.  That took us past Fort Boyard – still grinding out the series.  A dark-hulled launch keeps gawkers away, while contestants abseil down a wire, drop into the water, get into a boat and back to the fort to shouts of encouragement from the rest. 

Friendly channel marker

Boyardville has a narrow channel, and a tidal gate on the marina.  We made it in about half-an-hour after high water, with depth to spare.   Boyardville is mainly a day resort – quite down-market in its way - but surrounded by pine forest, sand dunes and marais – drained marshes.  We rented bikes this afternoon and explored all three environments.  Lots of birds, butterflies and mid-summer flowers; haymaking on the narrow field strips between the marshes. 

On the beach at Boyardville

On the beach at Boyardville

Weather has swung back to winter – rain and squalls!  There’s a SW forecast for tonight, and our boat neighbour is heading out at 4 am towards Yeu.  The wind will swing to the NW sometime tomorrow afternoon, so it’s not a straightforward trip.  We briefly considered doing the same, before deciding to head for an episode of the Navy Lark, a risotto supper, a cosy bunk and maybe a damp return to La Rochelle tomorrow afternoon at high water.  A night at the movies looks quite attractive at the moment, and we still have to test whether the wind-vane adjustment worked.  Then – who knows?  Winds look set NE again, so Northern Spain still beckons.  Time is getting short but maybe 2-3 days sailing in search of a tapas is really what we need!

TIPS & TRICKS - recently scanning yachting mags, here's one we like:  in a thunderstorm, get people and animals away from the mast, above & below decks, especially if mast is deck stepped - maybe in the cockpit next to the bulkhead would be a good place AND put all portable electronics in the oven - it might just protect your handheld GPS, EPIRB, mobile phones from damage.  Not sure about the compass - but if you have room...  

Marais rushes

Haymaking

Marais landscape

Sunset in Boyardville

Falling Tide, Rising Tide

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02/07/2013 9:14 PM

Boyardville

Hmm.  Where to start?  Two days ago we left St Denis d’Oleron and made for the North Western end of the island, still possibly going to Spain.  We took the view that we would poke our noses out into the Bay of Biscay and see how we felt about it. 

    The adventure began in the marina when our exit resembled an episode of the Navy Lark, with poor Snork Maiden cast as the long-suffering HMS Troutbridge.  On the trip from La Rochelle to Oleron, we had a problem with the wind vane steering – the rudder when released should fly out at 90º to the stern, enabling it to be captured and brought back on board.  It didn’t, so we fiddled around a bit with a chap next door who was a kind engineer with an easily accessible dinghy (I had just tied ours down, as if for an Atlantic crossing).  We slacked the offending nut and bolt & thought all would be good.  Ray (from our ‘home’ club of Starcross) was a chatty sort and yipped away as we made ready to leave.  This is not an excuse, but in my haste to cast off and make a speedy exit, neither of us – Al nor me – thought it necessary to have a good look around to see who or what was coming in.  St. Denis is a small marina with quite restricted space and one boat going out at the same time as five boats coming in was quite a spectacular display.  Al says I stayed cool and it was a miracle that we didn’t actually hit anything. Should have been running the GoPro.

We got past the last lighthouse at the end of the island, took a look at the wind speed and decided that it was too light to get us to the Spanish coast before the dreaded Westerly set in.  Then we switched off the engine, rolled around a bit and had lunch.  Looking at the chart there seemed to be a promising anchorage on the South side of Re.  As we approached we could see the shallow anchorage on the chart plotter, but apart from a single navigational mark on one side of the bay, it was flat, featureless and deserted.  Nervous about finding the right spot, we decided to head for La Rochelle – again.  A pretty good sail with the Genoa and full main, wind on the quarter.  Winds were light, no more than 10-12 knots, and we made a quiet entry alongside a Bavaria 42 in Minimes Marina.   

Sailing toward La Rochelle Minimes

A quiet night followed by another adjustment on the wind vane and a morning of sunshine and no wind.  We just had time to motor the 12 Miles over to Boyardville, back on Ile d'Oleron.  That took us past Fort Boyard – still grinding out the series.  A dark-hulled launch keeps gawkers away, while contestants abseil down a wire, drop into the water, get into a boat and back to the fort to shouts of encouragement from the rest. 

Friendly channel marker

Boyardville has a narrow channel, and a tidal gate on the marina.  We made it in about half-an-hour after high water, with depth to spare.   Boyardville is mainly a day resort – quite down-market in its way - but surrounded by pine forest, sand dunes and marais – drained marshes.  We rented bikes this afternoon and explored all three environments.  Lots of birds, butterflies and mid-summer flowers; haymaking on the narrow field strips between the marshes. 

On the beach at Boyardville

On the beach at Boyardville

Weather has swung back to winter – rain and squalls!  There’s a SW forecast for tonight, and our boat neighbour is heading out at 4 am towards Yeu.  The wind will swing to the NW sometime tomorrow afternoon, so it’s not a straightforward trip.  We briefly considered doing the same, before deciding to head for an episode of the Navy Lark, a risotto supper, a cosy bunk and maybe a damp return to La Rochelle tomorrow afternoon at high water.  A night at the movies looks quite attractive at the moment, and we still have to test whether the wind-vane adjustment worked.  Then – who knows?  Winds look set NE again, so Northern Spain still beckons.  Time is getting short but maybe 2-3 days sailing in search of a tapas is really what we need!

TIPS & TRICKS - recently scanning yachting mags, here's one we like:  in a thunderstorm, get people and animals away from the mast, above & below decks, especially if mast is deck stepped - maybe in the cockpit next to the bulkhead would be a good place AND put all portable electronics in the oven - it might just protect your handheld GPS, EPIRB, mobile phones from damage.  Not sure about the compass - but if you have room...  

Marais rushes

Haymaking

Marais landscape

Sunset in Boyardville