Wednesday 26 – Friday 28 June
We enjoyed the evening’s entertainment of weaving through the famous sailing school’s dinghy fleet, before settling to anchor in crystal clear water behind Fort Cigogne, for a calm and peaceful night at anchor. The following morning we wove our way through the Western lumps of hard stuff to pick up the recommended exit Northwest towards Loctudy. On such hallowed ground it was a perfect sailing day: NE F4, first reef in the main, and staysail, for a beautiful close reach in warm sunshine. It was almost all over too soon, once we’d cleared our rudders of a huge harvest of weed, allowing us to steer much lighter. Spotting our friend on Windfall from Plymouth as we passed the marina, we tucked in behind Ile Tudy, where it was hot enough to swim around the boat before enjoying another calm and tranquil evening.
We left the boat to venture ashore by dinghy into the marina, where we trekked through the noonday heat to the local Carrefour supermarket, whereafter we felt need of the refreshment of lunch at a pavement seafood restaurant.
On Friday morning, which began in thick mist, we wove through the tightly packed moorings to berth alongside the visitor’s pontoon to take on water, for which we were charged a not unreasonable €3: it’s as well nobody ever asks how much we need, as 550 litres could be a lot more expensive.
We motored past the marinas either side of the river at Benodet, and made our way under the 30-metre high bridge to enjoy a river cruise between densely wooded banks, past attractive chateaux and groups of youngsters rock-jumping to cool down – or show off. While there was still room to turn safely, we retraced our path to a side branch of the river, to find a secluded anchorage with only kingfishers and silence for company.
