Not so much "farewell", more "au revoir"

Well we're off home today, leaving Follyfin high and dry at Arzal.

She was lifted out of the water on Monday afternoon, and 'propped'. Here she will stay whilst we return to Yorkshire for about 6 weeks before returning for late summer sailing in September.

Since Monday, she has been undergoing essential maintenance and cleaning whilst her crew have been living aboard. The wonderful spell of weather, providing temperatures of over 30 degrees every day, has encouraged the workers to make full use of the cool of the early morning and late evening. Mad dogs etc.! Now fully in favour of late lunch and siesta ... dining on deck around 21:00. The view is not that great but a short walk takes us down to the river edge.

Now looking forward to a short 'holiday' at home; it won't be too relaxing though as we expect several visitors and have two weddings to attend (one in Scotland and the other in Germany), not to mention helping daughter and future son-in-law move their 'stuff' down from Yorkshire to their new house in London. Should be fun!

Blog postings to resume early in September ...

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Oysters and Bastille celebrations

Although hot weather and fair winds were set for several days, the need to re-victual necessitated our departure from the islands. There was still time to fit in a visit to one more new location: Penerf, otherwise known (by us) as the Crustacean Capital of Brittany. Situated about 2 miles up a river with drying mudflats on both sides, this area is ideal for the cultivation of oysters. Here it's possible to purchase a plate of six no. 3's (the tastiest and most popular size we are reliably informed), a glass of Muscadet, bread and butter for only 6€ - and all consumed whilst sitting at a makeshift table overlooking the river.

Before, and after, with Follyfin in the background.

Fortunately tourism has not caught up with this wonderful place yet: there are only two visitor's moorings and Follyfin was only the 4th British boat to visit this season; a total of 11 visited last season. Needless to say we also took advantage of the plentiful supply of other Crustacea on offer.

The locals never miss an opportunity to catch sardines from the slipway as the tide comes in,

Hollyhocks were quite splendid too.

Then it was time to turn into the Vilaine river again, since we knew that the Bastille Day celebrations would not only make all marinas very crowded and expensive but also they signal the start of the official French holiday season. Besides, the Vilaine river is so tranquil, and we don't like crowds.

Not normally that is, but Bastille Day is special and here at Rieux (where we have been before - see earlier post "Summer has arrived"), they celebrate it in style, last night in fact; two days early but Friday night ... well, all kinds of people turned up and lots of them, there were helpings of moules (mussels) frites all round, chichis (appeared to be dough extruded from machine into sausage shape, cut off in ~10cm lengths, deep fried then rolled in sugar or nutella ... popular with the kids) and a very well stocked bar. At 21:30 a five-piece band struck up playing chants de marins (sea shanties Breton style) and some energetic communal dancing ensued.

Breton dancing ( click here to watch a short clip ) is something like Scottish dancing, very bouncy but without the reels. Some of the steps are quite intricate and difficult to follow but others were simple enough for the crew of Follyfin to join in. At 23:00 prompt the place went dark and everyone turned to look across the river to the opposite bank where we were treated to one of the most magnificent firework displays I have ever seen, lasting fully 20 minutes. [Note to self: ensure presence in France for Bastille Celebrations whenever possible!]

On Monday Follyfin will be lifted out of the water at Arzal and we fly back from Nantes to Manchester on Thursday. We are looking forward to returning home for a few weeks, letting the intense heat abate and the holiday crowds disperse before sailing on south from here in September. Just hoping that summer will continue for us in Yorkshire.

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View from the beach: the French on holiday

Le Weekend en France au bord de la mer ...

Sunday morning and everyone is here. Last evening we counted over 100 boats, large and small, anchored off this beautiful beach on the SE corner of the island of Houat (pronounced like 'that' but with 'w' instead of the 'th') a few miles SE of the much larger Belle Isle. So this morning we decided to beach Follyfin, get away from them all for a few hours and do some essential maintenance requiring us to be on dry land.

Shortly after my last post, the weather deteriorated. I spoke too soon. This didn't dampen our enthusiasm for the great little town of La Roche Bernard, still on the Vilaine, where fresh moules were enjoyed for lunch before setting off on Shanks's pony to investigate winter berthing opportunities. Spares were duly collected in Arzal on Wednesday and further research on winter berthing proved fruitful: this is where we will winter Follyfin this year, sheltered behind the substantial Arzal barrage and out of the water. With a high pressure forecast for the weekend, we headed out to sea again on Thursday, south along the coast towards the attractive fishing town of Piriac-sur-mer. The entrance to the large marina stuck on the outside of the town is tricky, not accessible in all weathers nor at all tides. But we made it and were rewarded with dinner Chez Grand-Mere, a small restaurant off the beaten track stumbled upon whilst exploring the town. Now in the Loire region, the wine had to be savoured also. The sunset over the tidal entrance made up for the very public public toilet spotted on the sea-front.

Early Friday Follyfin pointed south-west towards Houat, despite overcast skies and light winds contradicting weather forecasters (so what's new?). This slow sail afforded a fruitful fishing opportunity: 3 mackerel, small, medium and large so that was supper sorted. Right on cue, the sun came out and has been shining ever since. At last I have managed to swim in the sea - better late than never!

Houat is gorgeous with an other-worldly feeling, no cars but lots of fishing boats and unusual flora. Unfortunately we didn't have it to ourselves for long ... Friday night and anyone and everyone with a boat that floats arrived to join us.

So Saturday morning we moved round to the other side of the island, hoping for some seclusion. Hadn't reckoned with the French Weekend though (mental note for next time: keep to mid-week, not in July). Sunset was good though!

Have decided to stay for another day and enjoy some more sand, sun, sea-bathing.

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Summer has arrived!

The Vilaine river has certainly lived up to expectations. Beautiful scenery and wonderful weather!

All very tranquil, and no tidal gates, changing depths or weather forecast to worry about. One is able to drop the anchor almost anywhere as long as one is clear of the channel. It is very reminiscent of earlier narrow boat holidays on English canals. So far we have had 3 nights at anchor and 3 berthed on a pontoon handily positioned next to a very small and friendly camp site where full facilities are provided. However, true to form, there have been a couple of engineering problems to sort out: a leaking exhaust pipe

and a broken drive pin on the bow thruster - probably sheared when a foreign body strayed too near the propeller just prior to entering the huge lock that protects the entrance to this river from the sea. The Engineer had to summon up all his courage to check the propeller was still in tact ... unfortunately it's not visible unless the whole boat is lifted out of the water. Lucky it was a very hot day!

The new drive pin for the bow thruster was ordered yesterday. We are now enjoying a few more days relaxing in this gorgeous weather on the river whilst waiting for it to arrive. Oh it's a hard life!

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