Vendée

 We had promised to return with more wind to these Morbihan coasts, and this late spring week was not unvain. 4 repeat offenders and 1 young sailor thus faced 4-5B with a western dominance and 2-3m swell during a very beautiful week departing from Port Haliguen.

The mount is once again a recent RM 1180 rented from the excellent Alternative Sailing (twin keel, single rudder, mast and carbon sail). If the boat had proven itself as a great outdoor living space in a heatwave, it demonstrated its formidable performance at all speeds, even upwind. The speedo found an anchor in the 10ths, rarely below 8ths, and offer us some peaks at 12nds.

Saturday May 25: our friendly rental company allowed us to sleep on board before the formal take over, so we woke up having already made our mark. A substantial refueling later, we are already in the bay of Quiberon for a warm-up worthy of the name: the swell is not yet there and the wind is “only” 15 knots, allowing the crew to go over the basic maneuvers and get into the mood quickly. The essential Navily found us what will turn out to be our only anchorage of the week, the canoe beach north of Hoëdic. Warming up also for our Wing-man whose gear seems to be all in place!

Sunday May 26: we got down to business: head to the island of Yeu. The sea is ours, just ours. Too much wind for the spinnaker which will remain in the holds all week. Two large broadsides allowed us to leave the wind turbines on the port side. This was the big revelation for our young sailor: a snowboarder and veteran of bike/motorcycle raids, he discovers that 8 tons of wood and lead at 11 knots in 3m of sea can be very, very funny. The fish will discover with relish that the crew is not yet completely marinated and our brave sailors retreat to Herbaudière at the tip of Noirmoutier for an aperitif in the sun and a dinner of which the Vendée have the secret. 

Monday May 27: this will be the other good surprise of this stay. While the captain fears having eaten his white bread and having to undergo a painful ascent over several days, the wind allows an almost direct route to Pornichet at speed and comfort for everyone. A surprisingly (too?) short leg that allows the wing-man to winger and allow us to spend the night side by side with the great professor’s Wisamo and get our exclusive vroom-vroom club tatoos. As for Pornichet: not the right date, not the right atmosphere, not the good weather, port too far from everything…

Tuesday May 28: a roughly similar stage to head to Le Palais: noticeably open upwind, a well-formed sea but in phase with the wind and no one on the way. But what a different environment upon arrival! This is a real port, where anchorage is not standardized and where the walls exude history. A very succinct VHF welcome and a port captain on her zodiac who has seen others, here we are moored to 4 centuries of Vaubanesque history; too bad the fort cannot be visited. The welcome from the off-season islanders will be exceptional: Lucienne, Léa, Léanne, Laura, … the seasonal workers are taking possession of the place before the first tourists and they are full of benevolent energy (drunken chess anyone?). Too much ! will say the latest nightbird in the wee hours.

Wednesday May 29: it’s a gamble with the weather, if the climb back to Groix looks very feasible, it will then be necessary to return in one go the next day. It will be a very wet stage, with a regular sequence of squalls and instrument navigation: no visual on Groix less than three miles away. But as a bonus for bad weather and the off-season, we will be able to moor with the fishermen in the inner harbor to taste our first pancakes and pay homage to Ti Beudeff.

Thursday, May 30: the day begins for the best with a clever swap with our favorite neighbors (and good culinary advice): two beautiful lobsters at a bargain price and three spiders as a treat. The crossing to Quiberon will then be perfumed with successive vapors from the pressure cooker. The sun is shining, it is blowing at 23 knots, and we trace the route at an average of 11 knots with all sails up: four beautiful legs at 150° and as many gybes as in the books to avoid a full tailwind. We will have to reduce (in true conditions!) to cross the Teignouse and go back towards Port-Haliguen while practicing solo tacks. A final wing session and a bit of tidying up before a shower “we clean everything”, an aperitif “we empty everything”, and a meal “we eat the little whelps”. And a long evening at Barantyno’s, the only bar in Quiberon open after midnight where the special maritime intervention forces will show us their Maori tattoos “guaranteed from over there but we can’t say more”.

Very positive results with a sailor now official helmsman, a more than experienced crew and a progressive mastery of engine maneuvers (even if still stressful) and electronic navigation (it’s great, once everything is well calibrated). We will come back but not necessarily right away. Next stop: Northern Brittany, Croatia, Corsica or Norway?

Hardware notes:

• Suction cups for floors are annoying.
• The kitchen drawer in the companionway needs to be reviewed.
• The helmsman’s toe clips must review their ergonomics.
• The boat is great.
• The carbon mast helps, but the adjuster must follow the sheets.
• The winches are always undersized.