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15 June Arrived in Morlaix to find that Sufiana had been damaged it seems by a mono hull which first broke the eurosteel traveler for the chute between the hulls then the pulpit and made a hole on the bridge deck. The mooring line was also broken and the starboard rudder had hit the pontoon astern.
16 June A local yacht crew told me that the deed was done by the Jeanneau Sunrise (Paxos 2) opposite. I took photographs of the damage and his bow which showed very little - just a couple of scrapes, some white GRP and a slight bend in the pulpit. It seems that the bow hit the eurosteel and started to rise, the eurosteel broke and the bow roller hit the stanchion of the pulpit, the bow then hit the bridge deck and lifted the pulpit 30 cm and pushed it sideways, some time during this the mooring line broke. Overall the damage is not bad but annoying as the culprit still has not come to own up though there has been someone on the boat every day. At present (Sunday 19) they are away down the river...It is too hot to do repairs today. In the town I met an off duty town policeman who said he had witnessed the crash and was available if needed.
20 June A rep from Paxos 2 came and took away the pulpit to be straightened. He said it would be ready tomorrow. The holes are within my ability and I shall back them with marine ply to make them more firm
26 June Repairs to the pulpit and bridge deck are now complete and I am just waiting for Michel and Amelia ( a law student contacted through to arrive
3 July Michel arrived with sister Coryne, mother (84), car and mountain bike. We wandered about Morlaix in the evening looking for a restaurant and as usual returned to the first one for moules frites (this does not mean fried mussels as the crew thought but mussels and chips ). We explored the surrounding countryside for a spot to moor Sufiana after leaving the river and found nothing better than Roscoff. On the 4th and 5th it was too windy to set off.
6 July NW 3-4 decreasing 2-3 during the night later 2-3 locally 3-4 0730 filled tank with fuel and put 45 litres in containers. At 0830 we were through the lock and away down the river. We carried on to Ile de Batz and anchored in 1.2m at 1055. Low water was at 1317 and I had a look at the hull. All clean so I applied a bit of yellow paint to the repair on the starboard side. At 1500 Michel took Coryne and his mother ashore to look at the island. They left the dinghy in the middle of the beach. At 1600 I started the motor and anchored opposite the dinghy, walked ashore and retrieved the dinghy which had just started to float.
7 July motored to Roscoff and set Michel and his bike ashore to collect the car from Morlaix. When he returned we stopped for a pint costing 6€ each then returned to Ile de Batz It was now BREST or BUST.
8 July 0930 Motored all the way to Brignognan Plage arriving at 1147. Michel took his bike to pick up the car again but did not bother to return it to the boat so we had to get up at 0300 to retrieve it from the car. He got lost. Eventually at 0530 he waded through the rising tide back to the boat.
9 July 0650 Motored out of the bay and westward till 0800 when we were able to hoist full sail. We passed all sorts of boats including an inshore fishing fleet eventually tying up at Camaret sur Mer (17.30€ ) where we stayed two nights and the car was retrieved again. Coryne, mother and the car left here but unfortunately they left the bike with Michel.
11 July 1930 It was either this or 0700 in the morning to catch the tidal current at Raz du Sein which we eventually passed at midnight doing 11 knots over the ground. We arrived at Belle Ile at 1510 and anchored off the west coast opposite a beach after we had caught a mackerel. We later moved a little South to a fiord or calanque where we rested for the night.
13 July 0945 After our fishing success we decided to sail round the island trailing the lines. We caught nothing and reached Port le Palais where we moored with the help of the port personnel at 16€ a night. On July 14 the customs came for a chat and gave us a paper to show that we had been 'controlled'. Fireworks were grand in the evening but Michel got lost again on his bike. I had told him that if he returned to the boat when the sun set he would have plenty time to get back before dark as the island was small. He turned up after midnight when most of the people had left the beach and he could see the dinghy.
15 July 0933 Set off for Ile d'Yeu with no wind flat calm. At 1245 dolphins arrived and I set the camera to video to avoid photographs of splashes where dolphins had been. As we neared the island we towed a line for mackerel but got no joy. We tied up in Joinville at 1840 (39.95€ ) At this price we did not stay two nights but set off for Anse des Soux which we found was full so we continued to anchor east of Port de la Meule.
17 July 0705 Met gave us SW 3-4 later W 4-5 so we set off at 0725 with full sail. Soon we were doing 3.7 knots as the wind backed to SE 2. The donk took us the rest of the way to La Rochelle where we were given a berth we could not get in to. We returned to the acqueil and eventually tied up alongside a large catamaran and filled up with fuel ( 1.23 €/litre)
18 July we took a water bus to the town for a wander and I filled my phone and wallet. At 1540 we set off for Ile Oleron arriving 1 hour after low water and anchoring in 2m off Pointe de Manson.
19 July 0720 Set sail and away no motor. By 0930 we were through a rather lumpy channel and sailing south and Michel got up. 1144 the posing chute went up and we headed for Royan. As we approached the port doing 20 kph over the ground it seemed a shame to waste a wind and rising tide like this so we continued up the river till the tide turned and anchored between two islands opposite Port de la Belle Etoile near Pauilliac.
20 July 0740 the tide started its ebb so we took the mast down. It finished with a bang as Michel let go his control lines when I told him to ease them together. No damage was done as there was a 35 litre water container on the deck below the mast which broke its fall. At 1420 when the tide started to come in we set off for Bordeaux arriving at 1630 after a hairy passage through the arch of the Vieux Pont. We tied up at the Cafe du Port which had nothing to do with the port though it had a board outside with spaces for the met and high and low water. I walked 3 km to the office of Voies Navigables de France (VNF) to be told that the toll for the canal was collected at the first lock. I did the shopping at Leclerc and had to stop twice for a beer on the way back to the boat. Next day I bought guitar strings and on the way back someone bashed in to me at a tram stop. When I got to a bar on the riverbank I found that my wallet was gone. 260€ and a credit card. I called Hugh who canceled the card. Now I had a debit card and one in date credit card. I proceeded to lose the debit card somewhere in the boat but as I was not sure I had it canceled too. I had one card whose pin I did not know and could not get cash. Also some small shops could not accept the card. From here Michel supplied cash and I bought provisions.
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