1st July

All at sea………….

We finally left the Gironde! It gave us a mighty kick up the pants as we left with very rough seas near the entrance! We, including the dog, just [JUST] managed to keep our breakfasts down! And so we entered Biscay.

It was over 50 miles to sail from Royan to the Ille d’Oleron – you have to go right round the outside of the island and then come back round the other side. Our first port of call was St Denis. This island is really a beach lover’s paradise, and as the beaches are doggy friendly, Dom is in paradise!!!

All the other ‘yotties’ are eagerly off, cycling round the island every day. But, as one of our bikes was stolen last year, we are forced to take a leisurely stroll to the nearest beach and spend a relaxing afternoon watching the world go by. Shame???? [Paul is truly devastated???]

The weather, like the rest of Europe, is far from settled. Warm, but not quite as warm as you’d expect; cloudy; windy; lots of showers – but preferable to the blistering, humid heat we had a few weeks ago. We still manage to eat all of our meals in the cockpit and live in shorts and tee shirts so we can’t complain!

There are lots of places to explore in this area including Rochefort and La Rochelle plus other island harbours, so………………..