This year our summer holiday is less about destinations we've never been to before ... we opt for nice weather in southern Brittany together with the Indian Summer who left a week earlier.
We have a very fast way to go ... 52 hours after our departure from Bruinisse on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. we drop our anchor on Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. in the bay near Camaret next to the Indian Summer. We will have sailed 440 miles with a short night in Breskens and then sail on for two nights in calm weather with a clear starry sky and full moon at night and a nice sun during the day. After that we had a nice time together with a nice balance in doing things that everybody likes to do. Highlights are the old town of Corcarneau and anchoring in the beautiful archipelago of Iles les Glenans. For the rest the beautiful places we also saw last year.
After almost 2 weeks of working together like this, the sailing plans differ too much and we each go our own way. We would like to stay another week in southern Brittany in the nice weather and in two longer stages back home and the Indian Summer would prefer to round the west point with good wind and in several shorter stretches back home. No point and very good that everyone makes the choice that suits them best. We sail back south again, to the nice weather, to visit Quiberon and Vannes in the Gulf of Morbihan, places we haven't been before.
On the way back we sail in a long daytrip to Benodet, then treat ourselves to a nice anchor bay near Morgat and sail to Wight in 31 hours (215 nm) with strong south-west wind. There we meet the No Doubt and spend three days together. The girls are having a good time with Lieke, we are in nice places, and make nice walks. There are also two places we haven't been before; the Newton River and Folly's Inn on the Medina River.
We do the last part home in one 240 mile stage. We leave in the afternoon and the first night is quiet on the motorbike until Dover. The full day after we sail along the entire Belgian coast before the wind as far as Vlissingen. The last part on the engine in the dark through the Walcheren canal, the Veerse Meer and the Oosterschelde. Exactly 36 hours later at 2.45 a.m. Saturday morning we are back in Bru. We end with a cosy BBQ with the Indian Summer anchored on the Grevelingen.
A wonderful holiday with good weather and excellent sailing trips. Lots of sun and only one afternoon of rain. The way there mainly on the motorbike in light wind. In southern Brittany a number of nice shorter trips high on the wind. And back the first part a strong sailing trip with plenty of wind force 5-6 to Wight. Back home from Wight the first part in the night on the engine with little wind and the last part after crossing the shippinglane at Dover clover for the wind force 4-5. The SeaQuest sails and sails fantastic with the new autopilot that Toine has built in for the holidays. Much quieter and more natural through the waves than the other autopilot. Really a pleasure. The SSB radio built in by Toine also works well! The technology is this year better than ever ;-). On the other hand the gas supply is in a bad way. Twice we have to borrow gas from the Indian Summer and then from the No Doubt until we have our own stock back in order.
Our experiences from day to day.
We leave Saturday afternoon during a busy day in Bru because of the fishing days after we did some shopping at the AH in Oude-Tonge. It is quiet weather with little wind, so we sail a lot on the engine. With the question whether we should sail straight on or get a short night's sleep in Breskens. We choose the latter after having sailed against the current for a couple of hours. That's where the Salt lies too. We leave early again, before half past seven and tuff up along the Belgian coast to Brittany. With a nice sun and light wind against. Near the narrow part of Calais the wind gets a little bit stronger but we have a full current with us; a little annoying waves but we go fast. Before we know it the waiting schedule for the night starts and we cross the Seine Bay. Eline takes the first watch until 0.00 am all alone. Very well done! The night is going well. During my morning watch the sun rises, always nice to see. Daytime distance 154 miles.
Also on the second day we sail largely in the sun with almost no wind. During dinner the plates can just be on the table. We had good timing in Calais, but not for the Alderney Race. Let's go upstairs because we don't have full power against our will in that Race. Just above Alderney the waiting schedule starts again. Marinthe picks up the first watch until 23h this time. Also very well done! Then we turn around at Alderney towards the west point of Brittany and it looks like we can sail. After several sail changes we give up the courage but the engine comes back on. Until 4 o'clock and then there is finally enough wind to sail with half wind. Until 10 o'clock the next morning. Then the wind disappears again and the engine starts again. Day distance 152 miles.
The last day we tucked further along the north side of Brittany on a flat sea. Twice we see a group of dolphins. Again and again that is nice to see. The wind drops completely and with a flat sea we round the tip of northern Brittany Chanal du Four. We drink a glass of rosé on the good trip with nice music from the girls. At 7.30 pm we sail into the bay of Camaret and drop anchor next to the Indian Summer. First we drop anchor right next to it, but with some swell the pylons come against each other, so that's not very smart. Then we pick up the anchor again and find our own place ... but that doesn't work the last few meters. Completely stuck and no movement in. Stuck because a fender was in the way and the winch couldn't get out of the chain. Then the fuse jumped out. Toine had to open the whole anchor winch to be able to anchor again. We will eat out first and fix the fuse later on. It was great to arrive at a nice spot after three days of sailing and to have dinner out.
The next day we get up early to go through Raz du Seine with the right tide. We sail straight on to the south side of Brittany to Concarneau. A very nice place where we get a nice spot in the harbour next to each other after Harald first 'chased away' some other boats. Concarneau has a nice old part of town between high walls on a small peninsula close to the harbour. Surprisingly nice with shops and restaurants. We eat on the boat and then walk around a bit and buy a nice ice cream. And that four days after we left Bru. A real holiday feeling also because of the beautiful weather. Still a problem with the second gas bottle ... it is empty after 2 days of use and now we don't have any gas left. Luckily we can borrow from the Indian Summer and Toine buys a camping gas tank the next day.
That holiday feeling becomes even stronger when we sail the next day in the afternoon to Iles les Glenan in nice weather. That is an archipelago also called the French Scilly's and you can only enter at high tide. We scratch between the islands and find a good anchorage that will stay deep enough even at low tide. In the evening we take the Cobb and all the food to a deserted beach to eat. Very nice!
The holiday feeling gets even better when the next day, just after waking up for breakfast, we can jump into the water from your own boat for a refreshing morning dive. Breakfast is of course usually with tasty baguette with salty butter for me and cocktail sauce for Marinthe. We stay a day in this beautiful paradise. We swim, lie on the beach and walk briefly over St Nicholas. The only annoying thing is that Marinthe gets a sting under her foot while she is beaching in shallow water that really hurts. Luckily it soon goes over after keeping the foot in as hot water as possible for half an hour and a paracetamoll. In the evening the kids eat pancakes on the Indian Summer which they bake themselves. And the adults eat vegetable casseroles on the SeaQuest. Everyone happy and very cozy so.
The tide forced us to get up early again to sail a little further south. Some 40 miles against a very weak wind on the engine to the beautiful large anchor bay of Ile d'Houat. There are many other boats but there is enough space. The ladies and Charley go to the beach to sunbathe and do some shopping. In the evening we eat on our own boats and afterwards we always drink tea together. The kids enjoy themselves with each other and sometimes play the 'train' game or watch a movie. Marinthe enjoys herself with the 3-D puzzle of Manhattan she received for her report card.
On an island like Ile 'd Houat I always like to go for a walk. But does the rest of you want to? Sure ... we walk around a large part of the island for over two hours. Luckily with some clouds, otherwise it would be too hot. Once back at the boats the ladies go back to the beach. Eline and Marinthe pass 110 times with beachtennis. Are we staying another night or are we going on? We decide to go on to Courtesty ... an hour and a half sailing with half wind. Finally a nice piece of sailing! Courtesty is situated at the entrance of the Gulf of Morbihan and has a large marina. We get beautiful places next to each other at the beginning of the harbor. And a good place to take care of the boat as Harald says ... rinse with fresh water, clean, refill water tanks and recharge batteries. We also take care of ourselves with good food in a restaurant followed by a nice streetshow of a frenchman with some acts with fire.
The next day we take the time to do some shopping at the supermarket, right here close to the harbour. We also stroll around the market and I come home with fruit, placemats, shirt for Toine and nice shirts for the girls. The men are going to refuel as Madeleine and I explore the last part of the market. We want to get out of the harbour in time because of the draught, but that brings us with maximum current against the Gulf of Morbihan. What a force of nature ... swirling water and on some stretches 6 knots of current. Completely exciting when we see the genoa coming down at the Indian Summer and falling into the water. Luckily they can get it out of the water in time so nothing gets into the propeller. It does scare us, though. We sail to last year's anchorage and first we make sure that the genoa has been hoisted again at the Indian Summer. Then we continue to Ile de Arz because the anchorage is lower shore and doesn't feel right. At Ile de Arz it is fine to lie down. And how warm the water is .... great for swimming. We BBQ'en cozy together on the SeaQuest and so there is another nice day of holiday over.
The Summertjes are getting fresh baguettes for breakfast this time. Toine and I jump into the water for a refreshing morning dive before breakfast. Everybody wants to have a look at the village and go for a walk. It remains a beautiful and relaxed island. Back at the boat we go swimming again. Warmer than here the water is nowhere. In the afternoon the tide is with us and so it is good to sail out again in the direction of Belle Ille. Because we can only enter the island early in the morning, we anchor again in the large bay of Ile d'Hoaut for the night. Again a beautiful sailing trip of 1.5 hours high on the wind over the flat water of the Gulf of Quiberon.
We get up 'early' (half past 8) to sail the last 7 miles to Belle Ille. Then we are there around high tide to enter the small harbour of Le Palais behind a lock gate. We get a nice spot next to each other on the side of town. With the baker at 50 m distance, what more do you want. It is nice shopping in Le Palais. The girls buy a shirt, I buy a nice knitted sweater and a tablecloth for the table outside. Toine tries to fix the crane line and goes into the mast. Unfortunately that doesn't work. After dinner he tries again. This time with a cleaned bicycle chain which slides over the wheels into the mast with the crane line behind it. Good idea from Harald ... this way he succeeds. Now we are a complete sailing boat again according to Toine. The food was delicious with a roast chicken from the butcher. In the evening we all go for a walk through the fort. Until late in the evening we have live jazz music next to us on the jetty.
We hire two Mehari's to drive around the island. What a ramshackle things, but a lot of fun to drive and unbelievable what they can handle ... real toys for boys. On a quiet road the kids are allowed to ride in it as well. We drive via Sauzon to the northwest side of the island. Beautiful rugged coasts. At noon a delicious lunch in the middle of the island. Once back in Le Palais it is a bit rainy. We eat on the boat and go to bed early.
The next morning Donald, Marinthe and I will run on Donald's initiative. Very good idea! The rest of the morning we mess around a bit (cleaning, washing) until half past one we can go through the lock again, heading for Ile de Groix. A 20-mile voyage that we sailed high with a weak wind. Regularly but around 4.5 knots speed, but just great sailing and we have the time. The Indian Summer has arrived a little earlier and has arranged a nice place in the outer harbour to buoys, 10 meters away from the ferry. We get fresh oysters for the drinks. Lovely! And later delicious fries for dinner.
What are they going to do on Ile de Groix? Does everyone feel like cycling? It's a cycling island par excellence and last year we rented a scooter just because of Toine's gout toe. Yes everyone wants to ride a bike and in the end that's quite tiring but also super fun. We cycle around a large part of the island, partly on unpaved paths and sometimes quite steep up and down. With two moments of bad luck because of flat tires at Harald and Donald's, but that is neatly solved by the landlord. We have lunch in Le Bourg with baguettes and galettes. In the afternoon we bring the bikes back and sail out of the harbour for a while.
anchor at the beautiful beach for swimming.
It's cold, but good for the tired muscles.
At 16.00 hours anchor again for a 10 mile trip to Doelan. Nice sailing high on the wind. Unfortunately our boats are too big for this port and we are forced to continue for a while. Good idea of Madeleine to sail on to the big anchor bay of La Forret. That is an extra 20 miles on the engine against the weak wind. No problem, it's a calm sea and then we immediately have time for dinner. Around 9 p.m. we drop anchor. A little chat on the Indian Summer and early to bed. It is a very productive day!
We're a little bit away from the harbour but with our dinghy we have no problem to go to shore to get some bread. I do that together with Madeleine and in the end we stay away for almost two hours. First we go into the harbour (we took a French sailor as a hitchhiker), then we walk through the woods to the village. There is a very nice little square at the end of the deep sea cove and there is a market. We buy baguettes at the bakery and fruit, vegetables and meat at the market. Fully loaded we return after this nice morning activity.
After breakfast on both boats the question is 'what will be our next destination'. The Indian Summer would like to go to Bénodet and we would like to anchor one more night at Iles les Glenans. We decide to split up with the idea of meeting again tomorrow in Bénodet. We sail to the islands at our leisure ... we have to look for a good anchorage because of a temporary stronger wind. We find a good spot in the back of the Chambre. At 10 p.m. it is low tide. More than an hour before we see our neighbour's boat lying askew ... is that alright? We keep 20 cm space under the keel, so no problem. We watch a movie together and afterwards we look outside and see an enormous clear starry sky with lots of stars. Rarely seen so beautifully.
When we wake up the next morning we read an app from the Indian Summer that they left early to round the west point before there will be a strong westerly wind for the next few days, to be able to sail home in daytrips the following days with westerly wind. We cannot leave in time because we have to wait for high tide. But we also don't want to 'head home' now that we're only halfway through our holiday. So we choose to sail back south again to Quiberon. There it will be fine weather for the next few days and we still have time. On the way back we will meet the Indian Summer again. And very good that everyone makes their own choices that feel best. It will be a wonderful sailing trip of 47 miles with plenty of wind, power 3-4 and a nice sunshine. Around half past nine we arrive in Port Haliguen, a nice marina.
We have an active day at Quiberon. First we have a quiet breakfast with fresh baguette. That's delicious. Then with the walking shoes on first the town through to the rugged west coast. Then up the coast until we arrive in the village of St Pierre. Nice rough coast, but a bit monotonous in the end. Can we take the bus back? No, it doesn't run during the summer months. Luckily there is a train. We haven't been able to buy a ticket, but we can go along without being checked. By now it's almost 15 o'clock and we're very hungry. Nice that a creperie is open 'all day'. Are we still going to Ile d'Yeu? It's another 50 miles and there's no place for our big boat, only in the fishing harbour in the morning. That's too much hassle, so we choose Vannes at the end of the Gulf of Morbihan.
We'll take it easy the next morning. We can only enter the wave in the afternoon and only at the end of the afternoon the last part to Vannes. For the first time it rains all afternoon. Entering the wave with maximum current is a spectacle. On some parts it is narrow with other boats and then 6 knots of current.
Because we are a bit early for the last stretch to Vannes we anchor for over an hour. The first time we anchored in the wrong place with a lot of current where the anchor does not pick up. The second time it went well. Sailing into Vannes is a lot of fun. It gets narrower and narrower and the end is a harbour in the middle of the old town with good moorings. Next to a large Dutch motorboat with a couple who also used to have a sailing boat.
Vannes is a very beautiful city. Very old with houses of partly wood and the whole city centre is well preserved. Nice to walk around here for a day and also enjoy a delicious lunch and dinner in cozy restaurants. The beautiful footpath along the water invites the girls to run in the morning. Have a great day in Vannes!
We leave at half past 9 with high tide and current along the entire wave for the 65 miles to Bénodet. Not so much current just after the turnaround. But that does give us the current up to and including the rounding of the Quiberon peninsula. The first part on the engine with weak wind. We also thought it would be the whole part on the engine. But once around the tip we can sail high on the wind just below Ile de Groix. The wind still turns a bit in the afternoon so we can keep up the high sails until just before the entrance of Bénodet. At 6.30 pm we moor at the jetty of the marina. We have dinner on the boat and after that we make a nice evening walk to the beach and the boulevard during sunset.
The next day we get up early (6.30 am) to be at Raz du Sein around the turnaround and then with the current. At least you don't want the current against that. In this beautiful weather we want to anchor at Morgat for another afternoon and night before we start the trip back home tomorrow via Wight. We find a beautiful anchor bay at the southwest point of the bay of Morgat. Really a gift to be able to lie there for a while with nice sunny weather and little wind.
Eline snorkels the whole bay and Marinthe is allowed to go into the mast for the first time and takes nice pictures. That with a BBQ for dinner makes it complete.
We leave at 4 o'clock to take in the tide at Chenal du Four and the curve of the tip of northern Brittany. It is still completely dark then. The first part on the engine with little wind. At 110 the wind picks up a bit and we set the sails in clover mode. Toine has already set the tree and bulletali the night before. In the afternoon, with the tide against us, we add the engine. That is no longer necessary from 6 pm onwards. The wind picks up more and more to force 5-6. With a big seaway it is a tough sailing trip that provides little sleep but bacon sailing. The SeaQuest listens perfectly through the water with a super working autopilot.
It goes very fast and around half past 10 the next morning we sail up the Needles de Solent with a current. We reach speeds of 11.5 knots. The No Doubt has already arranged a place next to them in Yarmouth. And also fresh coffee and bread with a fried egg. That's going well in there. We are quite tired after two nights with little sleep, but then it is best to keep busy. That's all right. We do some shopping in the town and take a nice walk along the estuary of Yarmouth. In the evening we eat spaghetti at the No Doubt. Another spectacle close to our boats because a motorboat just outside the harbour is on fire.
First the crew is taken off board by the harbour master with his boat. Then the rescue boat sails out and later the fire brigade. But then the fire was already extinguished.
The next day we sailed 5 miles up the Newton River. Pretty tight, but fine to anchor and with a very nice view on the Solent and the Newton Estuary. Jolanda also loves hiking just like me, so that's great! In the afternoon we take the dinghy to the shore at high tide. We go for a walk in a beautiful area with some forest and an old village and bird-watching places. The boats are attached to each other. That goes well all afternoon, but then the wind starts blowing a bit harder and we seem to scratch towards a shallow area.
But let's lay loose for a while and then go back to the No Doubt for BBQ with the Cobb, just on the table. Very handy and learned something again! We sit outside chatting for a long time and the girls have a lot of fun inside.
Our last day on Wight we move up a bit. We sail through a number of competition fields of the Cowes-week. Then along the busy Cowes we go up the Medina River to jetties for the Folley Inn. A nice spot and also close to the only place on Wight where we can get campinggaz .... the tank was empty again this morning ;-). There Toine and I go with the dinghy. Once back the parents go for a walk and the girls stay on the boat to watch the Olympics. We can receive them well via the BBC. After the walk we sit down on the terrace of Folly's Inn for a drink in the sun. The girls come too and after the drink we immediately move on to dinner. Tasty British ... food ordered and paid at the bar and then it is brought to your table a little later.
We decide to have breakfast there the next morning. So said, so done... a real English breakfast on which we spend most of the day. We rummage around a bit on the boat and then it's time to leave with the right tide for the last part back home. The No Doubt has another week of holiday and stays a while longer. We drop them off with their dinghy in Cowes and say goodbye. We sail with
flow along the Solent with the sails again in clover mode. That goes fine until in the evening the wind subsides and we continue tufting on the engine. That with a calm sea and little shipping around us is a guarantee for a good night's sleep.
In the early morning we sail past Dover and then cross the shippinglane. Exactly right timed with the current flowing through the whole of Calais. Also nice and busy with ferries between Calais and Dover. Once on the other side the engine is switched off again and we sail right before the wind along the Belgian coast. First with wind force 3-4 and later in the afternoon 4-5. It is just as exciting whether we reach the pier of Zeebrugge without having to jibe and we succeed. The last part to Vlissingen we have the steam with us again.
We arrive there at 8 pm and decide to continue sailing through the Walcheren canal as long as we feel like it. In the end we choose to sail on to Bruinisse. Lovely quiet without other boats and a clear starry sky. That saves waiting time at the locks and then we don't have to sail tomorrow. The Veerse Meer and the Oosterschelde are well lit with red and green barrels. But most of all we sail on the map. The girls help us look around and moor at the locks. At 2.45 am we are back at our own place in Bru. Tired and satisfied we crawl into our bed.
We sleep well and in that time the Indian Summer sails back from Zierikzee. The whole day is all about cleaning up and washing, especially Marinthe's clothes because he's going to sailing camp tomorrow. At the end of the afternoon we sail to the Hals and anchor together with the Indian Summer and the Vila Mare. Nice and cozy so we can end the holiday together.