It has been 5 years since we have been to Southern Brittany, so we think it would be fun to go there again. Partly because friends boats also go that way. The challenge is to be able to get there the first week in a summer vacation with a relatively short time frame.
Because of the unstable summer weather with relatively many and deep depressions through the channel and even in southern Brittany, the whole vacation is quite determined by the weather. Much more than usual. We are not the only ones affected; all over Europe the weather is more extreme than usual. Then in our case, we prefer a bit more rain and wind and cooler temperatures instead of heat waves, fires, floods and large hailstones that destroy a lot.
Between all the depressions, the way there and back in several big steps with the two of us is quite manageable. In Southern Brittany itself we spend two weeks, 10 of which are spent with our daughters (they come there and back relaxed by train). We are more limited by the weather and will visit fewer places. At Toine's work, things are tense, and part of that is ongoing. That also makes the vacation a little different than usual. We also had the misfortune that the genoa continued to delaminate during the vacation and eventually became unusable with a large hole in it. That's a bit early after 8 years, so it really sucks ☹️. Also, the wind gauge sometimes works but most of the time it does not. This is irritating but not really annoying because the wind direction still works and we can estimate the wind strength by feeling.
The outward journey succeeds hop-step jump in 8 days from Bruinisse to Benodet. With two windy days in Dunkirk, a day at Alderney and a night stop at a nice anchorage south of Camaret.
On Thursday evening, after returning from work, we sail from Bruinisse straight to Breskens. This way we can go to Dunkirk the next day before the first depression passes over the weekend. All the locks and bridges cooperate to the maximum. It is intensive navigation in the dark on the Westerschelde (long live the thermal camera 😎). At 3 o'clock we dock in Breskens. After some hours of sleep, we leave at 11 o'clock with the tide to Dunkirk. The first part is motor sailing but after Zeebrugge the engine can be turned off and it is even very sporty sailing, high on the wind with bft 5-6. We get a good spot in the harbor, which is nice, because we know that we will be windward for two days before we can continue. We spend the time well doing odd jobs on the boat (Toine), taking a nice walk (Mira), reading and watching movies and letting go of work (Mira). We also book train tickets for the girls for the outward journey, as we now know we can be in Lorient in just over a week.
At 5 a.m. on Monday morning, we set off again. We know it is against the wind for the first few hours, but otherwise getting to Brittany within a week is not possible. The boat is doing well, it is chopping along at 5-6 bft headwind against a tidal sea with currents through the straits of Calais. During the afternoon the wind should really ease. Once past Cap Gris-Nez, the current is against us and the waves and wind do not really lessen. We don't feel like doing that and turn off to Boulogne for a 6-hour tide stop. In the evening we go on again, the current is with us again, the wind is less but there are still a lot of waves. Not until 2 a.m. does the sea really calm down. In the middle of the night we meet the Mariste who are on their way home; we have a nice chat on the VHF radio 😃. The next day we chug along quietly on the engine over a flat sea with Alderney as our goal. At exactly the right spots we have a strong current, so we arrive around 18:00. Just in time to have dinner with the NoDoubt (who are already there). Very cozy 😊.
They go on to England the next day and we take a nice 15 km walk all around Alderney. In lovely sunny weather. One of the highlights of our vacation. We are anchored there and how handy are the davits with the dinghy. We are super happy with that 😃. Even while sailing in a sea with waves, the dinghy hangs quietly and very stable in the davits behind the boat.
In the middle of the night at 0.00 a.m. when there is no more headwind we continue to Brittany. The first few hours we can sail with the current. Then the engine comes on. Regularly we see little dolphins 🐬. It was a sunny day and a calm sea, so we arrived in the anchor bay south of Camaret just before dark. A beautiful place to lie and have a good night. We stay an extra tide which allows us to get up quietly and continue at the end of the morning for the last part of the outward journey through Raz du Seine to Benodet. We can enjoy sailing with the gennaker and later with more wind with main and genoa. Mission outbound is successful 👍😃. We have a nice dinner on a terrace in the sun and go to bed early, after a nice chat with the Vryheit and Summerbreeze (also HRC connection members).
We spend the weekend at anchor on the Odet River due to a depression. This is fine for us to unwind and there is also a Formula 1 race. Once again we are happy with the davits and dinghy; this makes it very easy to drop me off on land for a walk while Toine watches the qualification. On Sunday, it rains all day and we stay inside.
Monday we continue to Lorient to meet the Calanche and the day after to pick up Eline and Marinthe from the train. There was still a big swell with little wind, but fortunately enough to sail. We were warmly welcomed by Claude and Jeanette and had drinks and dinner together. How lucky we were with the weather the next day ☀️☺️. After having done some work in the morning (the men), we go for a bike ride of 21 km. Selected on Komoot and that works out better than expected. Definitely a highlight of this vacation. After cycling we have a drink at the Calanche with delicious snacks from the market. The encounter was short-lived. Due to the weird and uncertain weather, the Calanche is already heading north. We pick up the girls from the train and have an incredibly delicious dinner beforehand at a Caribbean joint near the station. Those are those nice chance finds.
The girls are in London the weekend before this with Sam and Jonas and have a very prosperous train trip from London to Lorient. Very nice to see each other again for a bit longer 😊🥰. So far this year we have only been with the four of us for 1 weekend. The first stop will be Île de Groix; the island here off the coast, only a short hour's boat ride away. That works out well with all the work meetings Toine has. We are in the familiar spot right in front of the lifeboat. This always remains a nice island. I do some shopping and together with Marinthe we get fresh oysters for drinks. In the evening we eat a delicious piece of meat from the BBQ (which we only use twice in total due to the weather; the first and the last evening with the girls). We stay for the day and rain is forecast. Perhaps just drizzle? Eline and I take our chances and go for a walk around the western half of the island. In the beginning it drizzles lightly and is quite doable. But once on the other side of the island it starts to rain harder and harder. There are no places to shelter and we are wet anyway so we walk on. When the water starts running from our wet pants into our shoes and we are soaking in our shoes we decide to take the shortest way home. I have never gotten this wet while hiking 💦🌧️. It takes two days before the shoes are finally completely dry again. It continues to rain for the rest of the day, and we go out only to have dinner at a cozy little restaurant at the head of the harbor.
The next day the sun shines again and it's time to continue toward Quiberon. After a few hours of sailing, we found a nice spacious anchor bay south of the town. Nice to be able to lie alone for a while without any immediate neighbors. In the evening, we watch a very nice movie (The Imitation Game) on Marinthe's recommendation. Good choice!
We agreed with Indian Summer to anchor at Île-d'Houat, an hour's sail from our anchorage. Immediately it is not a very good anchorage, full of boats and big rollers into the bay. Last night we were in a much better position, but we'll wait and see. The children play games with each other on the Indian Summer and the adults chat on the SeaQuest. Just as we want to have a drink on the Indian Summer at the end of the afternoon, the wind suddenly picks up enormously. Boats around us are scratching their anchors toward our boat. This is not pleasant and we decide to leave for yesterday's anchor bay. There we have a pleasant evening with tasty meat skewers from Indian Summer and fries from our air fryer.
Another major depression is approaching in the coming week. What shall we do? The Summers decide to head back north. Unfortunately, that meeting is also short-lived due to the weather. It gives us more peace of mind to go to Vannes. But can the girls sail back with us (and be home in time for Marinthe's move to Adam) or do we have to book train tickets and will they still be there? That uncertainty causes anxiety. I always prefer to look further ahead and Toine doesn't want to decide too early because the weather can still change. In the end we find a good middle ground by agreeing that we will decide in 3-4 days and let it rest until then.
It is then another beautiful sunny (sunny) day and we sail into the Gulf of Morbihan to Île d'Arz to anchor there for a few hours before it is high tide to sail to Vannes. Eline and I take a nice walk all around the island (again, thanks to the davits that we can get to shore so easily) and Toine and Marinthe watch F1. Then at high tide we sail the last narrow stretch towards Vannes. Always a nice little town to be in.
Because of the bad weather, we will stay down for 4 nights. It is going to blow hard in the next few days. This will also affect our friends who are already in northern Brittany. This depression deepens further and becomes storm Hans, which ravages Scandinavia tremendously later in the week. The cockpit tent goes up (is very unusual for us in the summer) and this gives a little more living space. The first day I take a nice 14 km walk in the morning while it is still dry. The second day we (the girls and I) go shopping. We take our time and all three of us buy nice clothes. We also book the train ticket for the girls back home from Lorient; they are going back a few days earlier than we had in mind. But this suits the weather best and gives everyone a lot of rest. That evening we take the bus to the cinema for the movie Oppenheimer and return by Uber. What a beautiful and very impressive movie!
The last day it rains regularly but not so hard and not all the time. But it does blow very hard. Eline and I take a nice walk in between the showers and Toine joins us for the first bit. In the evening we go out for dinner in a fantastic little restaurant to celebrate Marinthe's graduation. We look back on the past 3 years together; a very beautiful and special evening 😊🥰.
On Thursday it is time to leave so we can be in Lorient by the end of the day on Friday where the girls will take the train on Saturday morning. In the rain (with cockpit tent on) we sail out of Vannes into the Gulf of Morbihan and find an anchorage. It continues to rain all day and everyone does something for themselves. In the evening, we watch a movie together. On Friday the sun shines again, and we sail out of the gulf toward the southern tip of Quiberon; high sailing with a nice speed and current along. In the passage it flows 2-3 knots and there are big waves. Sporty sailing. Once we tacked, it looked like we could make Lorient while sailing. Great! We do put in a reef to make it more comfortable. The genoa begins to delaminate at the top; one of the three layers is already hanging loose on a large area. In Lorient we have a very nice last evening with the four of us, with delicious fried duck on the BBQ.
Saturday morning we take the girls by bus to the train station in the rain. It is a huge long train and they are all the way in the last car. On the way back we stop by a big supermarket. The rest of the day we mess around on the boat washing and cleaning. The wind is still too strong to continue. Fortunately, we can do that the next day. The start of the way back.
The return trip is going well. Very nice that it is a big weather hole with no stress from passing depressions. From Lorient we sail in 6 hours to a beautiful anchorage near Île les Glenan, cruising close to the wind. As a result, the genoa breaks down completely; we no longer dare to use it. Now through is still wind against, so we leave the next morning with very little wind on the engine in the fog. Once at the western tip of Brittany it opens up and it is nice and sunny. On a flat sea we motored through Raz du Seine and Île le Four with the current following us. This is how we sailed into the night on our way to Studland Bay on the southern English coast. In the morning the wind picks up and we can sail right before the wind with a large fixed by the walder and the cutter on the boom. In the afternoon the wind gets stronger and stronger (we estimate between 20 and 30 knots); with currents we go like fire. We clock up a maximum speed of 12.8 knots; sporty sailing with a big sea swell ⛵️👌. When the current is against us around 6 p.m., we turn into the sheltered Studland Bay. How wonderfully quiet it is there. Nice to be able to spend the night here instead of sailing through.
The Summers are at Cowes and heading to Eastbourne. We decide to cozy up with them. It's a day of engines in the sunshine on a flat sea. Toine has an exciting steering group and, thanks to our good 4G antenna, can just do it on the road. Once in Eastbourne we have a nice dinner out to Thai and straight to bed afterwards.
At 7 a.m. we proceed again to Nieuwpoort. Today is another long day of motors on a flat sea. With this weather there are massive boats with refugees crossing over to England. We hear on the radio a rescue operation because there are "multiple people" in the water. The Summertjes see a boat with as many as 50 people. What a grim sight, how good we have it compared to them. Later we read in the news that 750 migrants crossed that day. We also see some canal swimmers swimming across the canal accompanied by a small boat. At 9 p.m. we arrive in Nieuwpoort and have a cup of tea with the Summertjes.
The tide again forces us to get up early and at 7 o'clock we sail out of Nieuwpoort to Cadzand. It's only 4 hours of sailing. That's fine, because it's a beautiful sunny day and I'm ready for another walk ☀️🚶♀️. In the evening, we go out for dinner together in beach club Pirates. A nice ending to the vacation.
In our normal holiday-pattern we always sail from Wight to Holland in one go with one night sailing through. Good to experience how it can be done in day trips and it is very pleasant to do this with the Summertjes. When sailing through the night the time at sea is instinctively shorter, and that is our preference ☺️.
We are back in Bru. We are happy to be 'home' again. 'Home' seems to be a relative term for us because even on vacation we are on the boat just as we are 'home' in Bru. Yet it feels different and that comes from being on the boat and feeling where you are is ALWAYS in conjunction with where the boat is. And that's pretty special ☺️.
Accommodations:
Port: 14
Anchor: 9
Sea: 3
So relatively much anchored given the weather and we deliberately sought that out.