Three Bennetts - Skipper's sister Sally, his brother Andrew and Andrew's wife Carolyn arrived on schedule in Vannes. Skipper and mate met them at the station. After light lunch on deck, Follyfin nosed her way out through the bridge at the first opportunity. One night in the Golfe de Morbihan and then we were off, anxious to utilise the perfect sailing conditions at sea and demonstrate Follyfin's powers at their best. On day 3 we headed up the river to Penerf, home of the oysters and Muscadet sampled earlier this season. All enjoyed an excellent dinner out at Le Cafe Pecheur.
All the dishes were deliciously wonderful and beautifully presented.
An added bonus was live entertainment from a colourful Breton trio in town for a special festival, who seemed to think we understood what they were singing about ... not easy with the Breton accent.
On the penultimate day of our crew's stay, the Skipper demonstrated how to run aground ... and then to float off again, as we headed into the Vilaine estuary at low tide. All was well and by late afternoon we were safely berthed in the marina at La Roche Bernard (LRB), where we enjoyed another delightful meal out. Early the following morning, the river looked particularly attractive, as a local fisherman also thought.
Having dropped our crew in Redon at the upper limit of the Vilaine river, where they had left their car 5 days earlier, we headed down river again, eager to make the passage to Belle Ile where we had arranged a rendez-vous with Fiona's brother and family. So we set off early on Monday 9th September, despite driving rain and a somewhat daunting forecast (head wind, 1.5-2 metre swell and rough sea). But a rendez-vous that day was not to be: 12 hours and 64 miles later we found ourselves exhausted and in a quite different refuge port - Port Haliguen. However, by Tuesday morning, the weather had improved considerably and we had a wonderful sail down to Belle Ile, 12 miles in just over 2 hours, making landfall at Le Palais, the 'capital' of the island.
It really is a very picturesque port and seaside town, overlooked and dominated by the Citadelle which was 'updated' by Vauban in the 17th century to resist British and Dutch attacks. It is massive and apparently did was required of it - certainly this Englishman was unable to scale the ramparts.
Le Palais itself is charming, as is the rest of the island, and especially the inner harbour - the 'Basin a Flot' - where Follyfin was berthed (not easily visible in the photo below as she is next to the shore inside the white hulled yacht rafted onto her, centre of picture).
It was great to spend some time with my brother Hugh.
Last year Follyfin entertained Flynn, the skipper's great-nephew, when berthed in Fishguard. At less than a year old, he was/is Follyfin's youngest visitor to date.
This year, whilst in Le Palais, we were privileged to entertain Follyfin's oldest visitor to date, the 90-year old mother of my sister-in-law Azar. In the photo below she is pictured between Azar and Azar's oldest daughter Nathalie - three generations!
Now, over the last few days, the weather has slowly but surely been turning towards a rather wintery feel. This post is sent from Port du Crouesty where we have come in today, both for shelter and to see about an intermittent fault with the engine - hopefully nothing too serious. On Tuesday we are expecting a new crew to join us in Vannes. Hoping the weather improves soon as they are novice sailors and with us for 5 days. Still, the Golfe de Morbihan is nice and sheltered so we should be able to get a little sailing in calmish water, and then venture out to sea as the winds die down.
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