august
6th August
August already?? My, how time flies!!!
Well, we seem to avoided the worst of the weather – but it hasn’t been exactly good in Biscay! We were woken early (well, early for us!!) one morning by the harbour master knocking on the boat. We had to move quickly to a more secure berth as force 10 gales were imminent!! It certainly howled a hooley, but force 10? Probably not!
We have seen thunder storms like never before; had rain at some time most days; very strong winds and horrible rolling rough seas…………..but it’s not been terrible and we certainly have no complaints! And, since August began, it’s been our ideal weather – lots of sunshine, warm but not too hot, good sailing winds.
So, after a slow start, we are now in Brittany! We have come inland again for a few days on the River Vilaine. This is such a pretty river – we came through the locks at the barrage so we are on fresh water again and Paul’s fishing rods are once more revved up and ready for action!!!
Last week we stayed in a fascinating port of Le Croisic – this is a very lively fishing port. One of the things that makes it special is that after entering the river, it then opens out into a huge bay which completely dries to yellow sand at low water. There is a tiny marina, most of which also dries. A strange choice? We went there because before leaving work we bought boat legs!! For two years we have carried them but lacking the courage to try them out we hadn’t even fitted them! So, being once more in tidal waters we decided to have a go. We started off lying against a quay side with one leg supporting the boat on the other side – this went well so we then dried out and stood on legs in the drying marina…all good!! At low water it was a wonderful place to explore by dinghy and foot – just like land farmers, there are ‘fields’ of mussels and oysters; the ‘farmers’ drive out in tractors to ‘harvest’ their ‘crops’!! Fascinating.
Bird life? Despite our efforts we have not yet seen a spoonbill! But we saw a stork sitting on it’s nest atop of a pole as we came down the Charente; we sat and enjoyed a fantastic air show by Black Winged Stilts and Avocets on the Ile d’Oleron; watched a Hoopoe feeding on newly cut grass; lost count of Egrets; sailed with Gannets diving in front of the boat and with Storm Petrels skimming through the waves around us…………but we haven’t seen a spoonbill!
August already?? My, how time flies!!!
Well, we seem to avoided the worst of the weather – but it hasn’t been exactly good in Biscay! We were woken early (well, early for us!!) one morning by the harbour master knocking on the boat. We had to move quickly to a more secure berth as force 10 gales were imminent!! It certainly howled a hooley, but force 10? Probably not!
We have seen thunder storms like never before; had rain at some time most days; very strong winds and horrible rolling rough seas…………..but it’s not been terrible and we certainly have no complaints! And, since August began, it’s been our ideal weather – lots of sunshine, warm but not too hot, good sailing winds.
So, after a slow start, we are now in Brittany! We have come inland again for a few days on the River Vilaine. This is such a pretty river – we came through the locks at the barrage so we are on fresh water again and Paul’s fishing rods are once more revved up and ready for action!!!
Last week we stayed in a fascinating port of Le Croisic – this is a very lively fishing port. One of the things that makes it special is that after entering the river, it then opens out into a huge bay which completely dries to yellow sand at low water. There is a tiny marina, most of which also dries. A strange choice? We went there because before leaving work we bought boat legs!! For two years we have carried them but lacking the courage to try them out we hadn’t even fitted them! So, being once more in tidal waters we decided to have a go. We started off lying against a quay side with one leg supporting the boat on the other side – this went well so we then dried out and stood on legs in the drying marina…all good!! At low water it was a wonderful place to explore by dinghy and foot – just like land farmers, there are ‘fields’ of mussels and oysters; the ‘farmers’ drive out in tractors to ‘harvest’ their ‘crops’!! Fascinating.
Bird life? Despite our efforts we have not yet seen a spoonbill! But we saw a stork sitting on it’s nest atop of a pole as we came down the Charente; we sat and enjoyed a fantastic air show by Black Winged Stilts and Avocets on the Ile d’Oleron; watched a Hoopoe feeding on newly cut grass; lost count of Egrets; sailed with Gannets diving in front of the boat and with Storm Petrels skimming through the waves around us…………but we haven’t seen a spoonbill!
posted by Sue at 7:48 AM
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