Roscoff to L'Aber Wrac'h

In order to make the most of a fair tide we left the marina at Roscoff at 9 am and we raised the mainsail before entering the Chenal de Isle de Batz, an intricate channel festooned with cardinal marks showing the presence of myriad rocks. The way through is reasonably straightforward but looks complicated on a chart consisting of five doglegs.

Soon we were out of the channel and unrolled the reefed Genoa as the wind seemed to have got up a bit, blowing a good force 4. Soon we were being overhauled by a bigger yacht, a German Nicholson 37

He also had the first reef in the main and as we were becoming a little overpowered in the gusts, I did the same, the wind by now was a solid and constant force 5.

The boat was sailing very well and averaging over 8 knots, however it was a bit uncomfortable and both Lynne and I had harness lines attached on the cockpit for the first time in a year!

We were in company with several other yachts and we were tacking to windward for the last 10 miles or so to the 

Libenter buoy making the entrance to L'Aber Wrac'h.

 It was a glorious sail but I'm afraid Lynne felt it was a bit hairy! However it didn't stop her leaping around on deck getting fenders ready as we made our way up the marked channel to the marina.

We had arrived in front of many other boats from Roscoff that we recognised as they came in from seaward. We had thus secured a good berth whereas they were forced to raft up outside the visitors pontoon. We also aw our friends from Dale Jimmy and Shari on board Aquila.

We later went to a local bar and had a few beers, catching up on where they had been and what adventures they had experienced. 

The following day we took a walk to the next village in order to find a supermarket. Unfortunately we had forgotten about French opening times and the supermarket was closed from 12-3 . This was a good chance to have a coffe in a local bar tabac and watch the world go by.

We also had a chance to look in the local church, which was spectacular inside , a real surprise.

After we had purchased essential supplies we diverted slightly on the return trip to visit an old semaphore station that was being used as an art gallery.

 The views from the balcony were fantastic.

The forecast is for windy conditions for the next couple of days so we are staying put until Thurs when we shall sail through the Chanel du four towards Brest.