Aber-Wrach to Camaret-sur-Mer 35nm
Tuesday 21 July
We left Aber-Wrach around 10.30, with everyone else it would seem, we are all planning for the best time to go through the infamous Chenal du Four.
Fishing boats left with us – we hear that they don’t much like foreign yachts, as we witnessed later when one boat planted a lobster pot right in front of us and then proceeded to sow nets just where all the yachts were sailing through.
We took the outside line compared to the other boats and soon got Lily up – this is obviously a sign for the local dolphins…
First we had two smallish ones, staying with us for a long time playing at our bow, then the Mummy and Daddy arrived and maybe the other sibling as then we had 5 for a while.
Some hydro-communication must have been going on:
‘The party’s at La Bamba! Bring all your friends – it’s Pink party time!’
They came zooming into our wake, bow and alongside – so many I couldn’t count them! It was completely magical!
After they left, we headed towards the Chenal du Four. This is the inside passage, between the mainland and the Ile de Beniguet and you want to have the tide with you. We are off Springs now, so that’s about up to 3 knots today.
You also want flat seas, good visibility, a comfortable wind, an excellent crew and sunshine.
We had all of the above and showed off by gybing with Lily four times – the wind was dead behind – and you want to stay in the channel. No one else was gybing and some boats looked at us as if we’d lost our minds.. or maybe they were just jealous.
I was a bit greedy – I had hogged the helm most of the day, especially from when we entered the Chenal du Four and I want to say a big thank you to our super crew, – David and I would have furled Lily in to go through – more hands make for more happy manoeuvres!
It was a lot of fun!
Once we were through the wind freshened and we enjoyed a loose beat into the pretty bay to moor in the quite busy marina at Camaret-sur-Mer.
Obviously we had overtaken all the other boats…
A very nice couple, Antoine and Elisabeth came and showed us all the best ports in Brittany. They are heading to Falmouth.
Camaret-sur-Mer is a pretty town with a lovely sandy beach where David and I enjoyed a swim.
There’s also an important geological seam here where the Atlantic Ocean was born 250 million years ago – this is apparently where the first cracks happened!
These rocks are dramatically named La Mort Anglais as they are named after the 1694 naval battle where a large Anglo-Dutch fleet, attacking Brest, was destroyed by a much smaller French fleet, led by the ingenious Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban – a famous French naval battle that we obviously have never heard of!
Above is Vauban Tower – built in 1696 – part of the Tour Dorée naval defences built by Vauban.
Fishing hulks abandoned after EU fishing quotas (apparently) are rotting artistically on the shore. This area used to be famous for sardines – maybe that’s what all the dolphins are eating!
À la prochaine.