As weather deteriorated after the rigging team left us, we decided to go right into The centre of Nantes to meet our next crew. Sailing up the Loire looked infinitely preferable to weathering storms at sea. Mind you, venturing out of Pornichet to cover the 10 miles round the corner and into the Loire estuary was not (as we say) plain sailing! Currents run strong on the estuary and when force 6 wind is blowing against the tide, the seas heap up in an alarming way. Nevertheless we made it up to St Nazaire and through the lock into the basin to spend the night in safety. You can see concrete submarine pens here, left over from the war.
This place is also famous as the scene of a courageous action by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines in WWII when the destroyer HMS Campbeltown was rammed into the lock gates and detonated to prevent the use of the submarine pens. Otherwise, St Nazaire does not have much to recommend it, being very noisy, industrial and dirty.
It's important to have the tide with you when you sail up or down the Loire, which is tidal all the way up to Nantes, some 30 miles. If you don't, you are likely to be pushed backwards with up to 6 knots of tide against you. This meant catching the 04:00 opening of the lock to escape from the St Nazaire basin and heading out in the dark and almost immediately under the magnificent Bridge over the Atlantic, 55m high. But we were repaid with a beautiful dawn just as we reached the more rural stretch of the river. Fishermen were out early with their nets trawling across the river. There was also the curious sight of a drowned house, of which we know not what to make!
Six hours later we arrived at the Pont Anne de Bretagne, about 10 minutes walk from the historic centre of Nantes. This photo of Follyfin is looking up river towards the low bridge - as far as masted vessels can travel up the Loire.
On Thursday 8 May we met Sue, a neighbour from Cawton, off the airport shuttle. A quick trip on the tram back to the boat and we were off down river with the tide. Anchoring overnight at Cordemais, about halfway down, we were then poised to emerge from the river the following day, go round the southern point of the estuary and enter Pornic marina. This was a full day's sail which our crew member withstood very well, only suffering a slight touch of queasiness despite the rough conditions out at sea. It finished with a gentle broad reach for the final 10 miles along the coast - the calm before the storm as it turned out. Pornic is an attractive seaside resort with a very southern feel - elegant holiday villas, numerous pine trees and grape vines. There is a charming river walk from the marina round to the old town.
Pornic also claims to be the site of the original 10th century Bluebeard's castle, apparently built by Alain Barbe-Torte, Duke of Brittany, as a fortification to protect the town.
With gale force winds at sea and heavy rain showers, the crew of Follyfin was confined to land for the weekend, making the most of exploring the shops, creperies and cafés.
On Monday the weather improved enough for us to go out for a day sail across the bay for a lunch at anchor and back. Conditions were just right to show our visiting crew what sailing is all about, and she seemed to enjoy it!
A fabulous sunset heralded good weather for the following day, unfortunately too late for Sue to enjoy it with us as she had to catch the early bus back to Nantes for her flight home on Tuesday 13th May.
After seeing her off, we attended to some chores - well the washing and cleaning has to be done some time - before setting off on what should have been a straightforward 10 mile trip to our next port of call, L'Herbaudiere on Ile de Noirmoutier, but which turned out to be the hairiest of sails so far in 2014. You can see our track here And the stats are below. Needless to say, we were glad to be moored up after that rough ride.
By yesterday morning, 14 May, the wind had subsided and we had a very leisurely sail down to the Ile d'Yeu. Lovely light tail wind allowed us to fly the new Gennaker sail again, a real treat. So calm was it that we decided to anchor overnight in a delightful bay on the south 'Cote Sauvage' of the island. But wind had turned by this morning so we have retreated into the marina on the north side at Port-Joinville, intending to stay a few days to explore this rather beautiful little island. The next post will report what we find!
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