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.
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| 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.
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| 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 |
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| 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...
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| Marais rushes |
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| Haymaking |
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| Marais landscape |
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| Sunset in Boyardville |
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