Sundowner II log – 2004 Update Number 2

Sunday 11th July to Saturday 24th July

Well, we are finally with electric on a pontoon after a couple of weeks of moorings, rivers and anchors which we have had to do for the sake of our finances - especially after a visit from the Ginger Tosser in Paimpol, where we had already left once and gone up the river Trieux - this was quite an event in itself as we poodled along ready for a relaxing little river journey. After testing our navigational skills using the short cut from Paimpol we entered the head of the channel when the skies filled in,land disappeared and the wind began gusting up to 30 knots - a steady 25 knots. For 2 hours we just headed into the wind and we were stationary between the cardinal markers for rocks on 3 sides. If it had got a hold of us we would have just headed out for open sea but luckily Sundowner had just enough ooomf to keep us in position. We then had a beautiful trip up the river where we found a nice mooring at the Chateau de Roche-Jagu. It was so different to normal, and isolated but we did make friends with a black headed gull and a one legged sea gull who returned every meal time along with their mates. It was so amazingly dark at night and Dennis spooked Sandra by relaying the story of the unsolved murder at the Chateau! (discovered a few days later this murder was at a different chateau further down the river)

Next day we visited the Chateau which was really cheap at 3 Euros - the normal cost being 2 but they had an art exhibition which was very very good. The buildings and gardens were superb. We then motored up the river to the lock at Pontrieux, rowed further up the river and then walked up to the quay and immediately recognised Pete and Sally's Guernsey boat where we enjoyed an hour talking and drinking wine. We had to leave rather quickly as the water level was dropping rapidly, we arrived back at Sundowner, switched the engine on and motored back down the river which by now was very shallow - as confirmed by the guy on the French yacht coming the other way signalling to us how low it was. We arrived back at the Chateau mooring once again the only boat for the night where we and our dingy partly dried on the mud bank due to a change in wind direction.

The following day another pleasant trip along the river, we had to abandon our plans to sail around the Ile de Brehat as there was no wind so returned to our anchorage in the Anse de Paimpol to wait for the tide. We had moved up to Paimpol and tied alongside the wall waiting for the lock when amazingly who should turn the corner in a big 74ft motor boat - the Ginger Tosser! We went through the lock at the same time and then had 3 excellent days together. Along with the hangovers Jason also supplied 1100 tea bags, 1 huge jar of Marmite and 2 cases of Cider - glad customs weren't watching as he unloaded them from the 74 and we proceeded to carry them along the pontoon. He also had a pint of Beamish on Dennis on the last night.(clothes still to be washed!)

We left with the intention of sailing for at least a couple of days to get some sea miles under our keel but once again wrong wind over tide and so we pulled into Perros-Guirec for the night where it was very sunny, peaceful and beautiful. We set sail with a decent start the next day and even though the wind was on our nose again we managed to sail for 7 hours and did 7 successful tacks into the wind, finally picking up a buoy off the Ile de Batz just opposite Roscoff. We would have loved to have stayed longer and explore the island but the wind was still dodgy making anchorages unsafe. So another full day was spend motoring to L'Aberwrac'h, with strong tides the entrance was a little tricky not helped by an oversized and over-egoed large catamaran who seemed to want all of the sea and was surprised when, on a collision course, little Sundowner stood her ground and he passed by her stern - we weren't impressed nor intimidated. We picked up a mooring (that we had to pay for) and had a beer or 2 to clebrate Charlene's 18th Birthday and the fact that the sun comes up every morning and goes down at night.

The following morning walking shoes on in search of alternator belts, walked to the nearest town and found that Msr. Laot is 'Ferme' on Mondays - which by now we should have known, Mondays and the normal lunch hour of 12 - 2 are no go. After some fun docking at the fuel quay we dieseled up and motored further up the river to Port du Paluden where we spent an hour practising our dumbell mooring skills - you need a long rope! Another beautiful evening eating dinner in the cockpit - it was so chilled Dennis tried to drink the supply of cider that Jason brought from Guernsey. Again, with the darkness the stars filled the sky. Walking shoes on again the next morning for the even longer walk to Msr. Laot - a kind local gave us a lift which meant that we were too early and Msr. Laot was still at lunch! Some time later we eventually agreed that Mdme. Laot would kindly deliver the belts to us at the riverbank at 5 o'clock as he had to source them. We walked to the next town of Lanellis (don't let anyone kid you, kilometers may be shorter than miles but they're still quite long) for grocery supplies, took a short cut and missed the supermarket - must add that it had been raining all day, wet lockers may be good for coats but not when they are left there. With perfect timing we arrived at the same moment as Mdme. Laot and the belts which conveniently was the same place as the rowing club where they supply beer and showers. We were also supplied, by a very kind local man, with a recipe and bag of 'fruits de la mer' which we presume the barmaid enjoyed later. We eventually found the supermarket the next day and the following morning said goodbye to Je Du, the extraordinary black river dog who collected our fees every morning, we left Paluden which had been an ideal place to sit out the southerly winds and spring tide.

With a reasonable forcast we set off to round the corner and pass through the Chenal Du Four, we were in two minds whether to visit the island of Ushant but as it happens a couple of hours into our journey the fog came in which, along with southerly winds, is most unusual for this region. With the use of radar and computer we managed to turn into the Rade du Brest where we saw our first land of the day. The fog was so thick we only saw one marker in the Chenal which according to all the books should only be negotiated in good visibility. We anchored in the busy bay of Anse de Berthaume and were in good company with two classic boats behind us.

We retired early for our 3.30 am departure, which we needed in order to arrive at the notorious Raz de Sein at the correct moment, this has to be timed within 30 minutes - not easy on an 8 1/2 hour passage. A few scary moments in the dark as we left and,yet again, no wind except for a brief spell of about an hour as we approached Audierne. We caught the Raz on a good day, no fog and at the right time, and we are definately noticing the Atlantic swell now that we are in the Bay of Biscay. We followed the fishing boats up the channel to the town and marina and were greeted by a wonderful town and people, it's exceptionally friendly so we're staying for 2 nights and are now laying on the beach which we haven't done in earnest for 4 years.