Brittany - Benodet, Concarneau, Port Tudy, Port de Crouesty, Golfe du Morbihan, Vannes, Piriac-sur-mer, Pornichet

4 - 20 June

Sailed round to Benodet and stayed a couple of nights - mainly a holiday village, very quiet as still very early in the season.

A pleasant sail a short distance around the bay was Concarneau with its old fortified island town (La Ville Close). Although very touristy, it was still charming and full of character.

A couple of days later we sailed to Port Tudy on the Isle de Groix - the pontoon moorings were very busy and tight so we moored up to buoys in the outer harbour and took the dinghy to get ashore for a walk. Again all very shut up as it is so early.

Had a lovely sail to Port de Crouesty by the entrance to the Golfe du Morbihan - a modern marina complex, but we needed to get provisions as we would be anchoring for a couple of nights. We also needed to service the wind vane which was sticking when we had tried it that day. For the first time the weather turned really sunny and hot for a couple of days.

Motored into the Golfe du Morbihan - a very beautiful inland sea with lots of wooded islands. Anchored off the Isle d'Arz, did a few odd jobs and lazed around for a couple of days before motoring up to Vannes - the historic capital of the Morbihan.

Vannes is full of historic buildings - a large number of them being mediaeval half-timbered houses and about half the ramparts still standing. The place is lively with a busy market 3 days a week. Well worth going out of your way for a visit if you are in Brittany.

Spent a further couple of nights at anchor in the Morbihan before sailing down to Piriac-sur-mer - a charming place of narrow streets with a more southern feel to it. Tried the wind vane again but were still having problems. Jim made a slight change to the angle of its rudder which seemed better, but we were at Piriac by then and didn't have time to properly test it.

On our next sail we again tested the wind vane - the alteration had improved its performance and it was now steering the boat as expected. Spent the night in Pornichet - an unattractive holiday resort - blocks of flats behind a 5 mile beach!

For more photos please click here

Brittany - Treguier, Trebeurden, L'Aberwrach, Camaret, Rade de Brest, St Evette

23 May - 3 June

Almost no wind, so a long motor to Treguier in Brittany where we moored in the marina. It poured with rain most of Saturday so we stayed another day to have a look round. A very attractive place with a great many old buildings - some 13th century - in the historic centre.

Bad weather again on the 25th so we finally left for Trebeurden on the Tuesday 27th - a small French holiday resort - but too early in the year for anything to be open. We stayed a couple of nights then continued on to l'Aberwrach - our last port of call in North Brittany before going through the notorious Chenal de Four off Cape Finisterre.

With good weather and the timing right for the tide, the Chenal de Four was no problem and we arrived in Camaret in the evening - a very attractive old fishing port, where we had a lovely meal out to celebrate. Stayed a couple of nights then sailed into the Rade de Brest and anchored overnight (it poured with rain). Returned to Camaret to get some provisions and prepare for the even more notorious Raz de Sein.

Again we were lucky with excellent weather, and got our timing right for slack water at the Raz (in fact we had left early and had to slow down) - the Raz can be very rough at times, but for us was very smooth. Whilst picking up a mooring buoy at St Evette for the night a dolphin came and played around the boat - incredibly distracting when you are trying to moor up!

For more photos please click here

Departure from England - Lymington, Guernsey

16 - 22 May

After many delays we finally left Gosport and motored down the Solent to Lymington to give the engine a good test. All seemed OK. We stayed a couple more nights as the weather forecast was not good for a Channel crossing, and did various odd jobs on the boat.

On the 19th we left Lymington and anchored in Newton Creek on the Isle of Wight for a couple of hours for lunch, then gently sailed down to Alum Bay (by the Needles) to anchor until 2.00am when we departed for the Channel crossing. We found the light in the compass didn't work, so we fixed up a red headlight torch (good tip from a letter in one of the sailing magazines). Also found the winches not working properly.

Arrived St Peter Port in Guernsey at 4.00pm on the 20th, knackered after a very lumpy and cold trip.

21st - Jim's birthday. He dismantled the winches - a gear had been put back in the wrong way on each, so that problem was easily sorted out. Then the compass - Jim undid the screws - the wrong ones and the oil came out! Major problem. Asked around and obtained a phone number for a somebody who might be able to fix it. No answer all day on the phone...

... or first thing the next morning. Finally around 10.00am he answered. He'd been injured in a traffic accident and was now waiting to go to hospital in Southampton - but he could fix the compass if we could get to his house, so we jumped straight on a bus. He and his wife were both very kind, and he refilled the compass for us, to our great relief. At last we would be able to leave Guernsey (and the UK) and head for Brittany.

Fitting out

October 2007 - May 2008

On our return to Portsmouth in October we rented a berth in Port Solent at the top of Portsmouth Harbour for three months, spent time visiting our families and friends - and were around when our latest grandchild was born in December.

At the beginning of January we rented a cottage in Gosport where we had arranged for the boat to go into Gosport Boatyard to get our engine problems sorted out, a new rudder to be fitted, some other odd repairs, and to complete the fitting out.

Return to England

5 - 10 October

We took advantage of some good weather with light easterly winds to make the return journey via Dunkerque, Dover, Eastbourne and Brighton.

We mainly motored, but had a couple of pleasant sailing days. A nasty weather front came through whilst we were in Brighton so we stayed an extra night.

We finally returned to Portsmouth Harbour and moored up in Port Solent at the top end of the harbour for the winter.

For more pictures please click here

Belgium - Brugge (Bruges)

4 October

Again a day out by train to Brugge – an amazing place, historic and attractive, but very vibrant with a 'lived in' feel, not just a tourist attraction.

We went on a half-hour boat trip along the canals – our driver/guide was a turn in himself – he spoke in English, German, Italian and Spanish, with a lot of humorous cracks, and had us and another English couple in stitches.

For more pictures please click here

Belgium - Brussels

2 October

Day out by train to Brussels. Fog all day but not too cold.

Le Grand Place (the main square) was incredible, beautiful historic buildings. Had a walk round a couple of other areas of the city, including the upper part with a lot of Art Nouveaux architecture.

For more pictures please click here