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Ile d'Yeu - Belle Ile - Concarneau

4.6. Yesterday we rented bicycles and biked around the island. The day was sunny and the landscape beautiful. Today we plan to sail to Belle Ile. We started before 9 and had a perfect sailing weather for 45 miles, after that wind went down to 2-4 m/s and we motored the last 7 miles. The sea was so calm that we stopped the boat altogether when we had dinner. We anchored in a nice bay on the southwest coast of Belle Ile, Port Kerel with several French boats.

5.6. The night went smoothly and in the morning we had a nice strong wind which carried us for the first 11 miles but, again, it just died. The sea was dead calm for hours and after 48 miles we arrived at Concarneau Marina. The office had closed at 1800. Inside the office building were public toilets and a shower which worked with a 2€ coin. The shower was prison design. Only one British and one Dutch boat here, other boats are local.

6.6. The first warm morning for a long time. Two previous days were sunny but not that warm. We went to the office and told them that we had just arrived and paid for one night. Inside the office were the real marina showers but they’re only accessible during office hours. We visited the local old town which is actually a city inside a fortress, much like St. Malo but in a very smaller scale. The old town was filled with souvenir shops and restaurants. During the next few days we plan to get closer to Raz de Sein which is a hazardous route around the Pte du Raz wit very strong tidal currents. For the last night before going in to the Raz de Sein we probably anchor outside Audierne and proceed to Camaret Sur Mer to wait for a good opportunity to pass yet another tidal channel, Chenal du Four. More likely we make a detour and pass Ile Ouessant from the outside.

lle d'Yeu

4.6. Yesterday we rented bicycles and biked around the island. The day was sunny and the landscape beautiful. Today we plan to sail to Belle Ile.

Ile d'Yeu

2.6. Ile d’Yeu, France. We left Gijon the day before yesterday. Soon after we left the harbor we set sails and had a strong NW wind for the next 40 hours before it started to turn to the north. We sailed straight 200 miles before we were forced to start the engine and turn against the waves and motor the rest of the way. On the second day of the trip we were followed by dolphins for hours. The sky was gray almost the whole trip, only on the second night the sky was clear. In the end we slowed down to get here a couple of hours after low tide and in daylight because we were warned about numerous nets very close to the entrance. The trip was 242 miles. Here the harbor was quite full because of a local sailing regatta but we found a place and the lady at the office was friendly and spoke good English. Bureaucracy was minimal! After a couple of hours dozens of boats left the harbor. This marina is quite busy with sailing boats coming and going. Quite a few British sailing boats here, too. I wonder if there are any Brits back home because they are all sailing somewhere. Now we recuperate for maybe two days before we continue.

 

Biscay

We leave Gijon now for Biscay.

Gijon

29.5. Gijon. Another windy and rainy day. One British boat came in last night after a rough trip. Now there are four British and two French boats here with us. We just visited one of the British boats for afternoon tea and got some very good recommendations for our next stops and routes. It still looks like we are going to set sails Friday morning.

30.5. Gijon. Not so much rain today. We walked to Carrefour and got some new sheets for our new smaller blanket that we use during longer trips when we take turns sleeping in the front cabin. We also found a new anti slip carpet for saloon. The old one came apart. Today we fill the diesel and water tanks and buy food for crossing the Biscay.

Gijon

28.5. Gijon. The plans have changed. We found out that the next harbor, Ribadesella, isn’t actually a decent marina but just a basin with fixed piers without any facilities so we decided to stay here. The big low came in last night and the strong wind is going to last until Thursday night. We plan to leave Gijon Friday morning and cross the Biscay. The destination depends on the winds. Yesterday we took a taxi to a huge hardware store and bought plywood and other stuff for the new shelves in the saloon cupboard. Not many boats here, there’s only a couple English and French boats in marina. It has been raining most of the night and it doesn’t look much better now. We received a message from Tigs the previous night, they had reached Ile Oussant to the west from Brest.