A nice gentle sail from Les Sable d'Olonne with just enough wind for the skipper to fish and us to arrive here at high tide. Only 16 miles so hardly strenuous and 3 mackerel for tea!!We saw 5 huge jelly fish on the way here and obviously there could be more out there and they were big. ( Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water!)
We have to arrive here at high tide on the flood. a) because it is shallowish and b) because the flood runs at 2 knots but the ebb runs at 6knts. We were chased in to port by a fishing boat in a hurry. well we were chased out of Les Sable by Casan the supply ferry to Isle de Yeu so we are good at being chased. Unfortunately there were loads of us coming out of Les Sable at low tide, centre channel and a man on a body board was in front of all of us in the middle. I ask you does he need the water?
We decided to stay for 6 days as I did not fancy getting up at some unearthly hour to get out and it is springs on Monday with a high coefficient so could be really swift. It could also be really shallow. We have been assured we will have plenty of water but we had 0.4 metres beneath our keel last night so who knows. Hopefully it is mud and we shall be asleep any way.!!! The skipper is beginning to mutter. But Madame has assured him everything is fine.
The town is really two towns. St. Gilles which is a fishing port and Croix de Vie which is a sort of upmarket Blackpool. I am sure it is better out of season but this is the start of the French holidays. The port itself is very pretty but Rue Charles de Gaulle would make him turn in his grave. The beach however is beautiful and 16 miles of it all the way to Les Sable. Much better than the town itself.
La Vie ( No more Lavie jokes please) divides the two towns with a bridge and a passeur for cyclists and pedestrians only (another bridge). This town is where Bejamin Beneteau started his Chantiers. (Boat builders). He designed innovative fishing boats. There is a huge Beneteau presence here and the technical team were readying 3 boats for Southampton boat show one of them the new 48 at the end of our pontoon.
We went to the market on Saturday morning in front of the church. It wasn't there. It was in front of the other church (Duh!!!) and this morning the market was in front of the church, the other church.
High tide is with us so I can use the internet. At low tide the signal disappears.)
We are quite a way from the promenade. There is a stream and boats between us and the quay but some drunken yobs were throwing stones at the boats on Friday morning at 03.20am. They do have a security guard here and I think we share it with the boat builders.
We have just watched a French boat come in and get stuck on a low patch in the river. It is marked with 10 yellow buoys and 2 red ones and three chaps from the Capitainairie are hauling them off. ( Well they are French). Also no boat cleaning due to lack of water unless you are chantier. All the French boat owners are obviously chantiers as they are all cleaning their boats. We are the only English people here on a boat and it is quite odd to hear English spoken in town by British tourists from campings.
Pictures soon when I can down load them.
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