About this site

Piers and Lin du Pré bought their new Fleming 55 / 129, Play d'eau, in 2003.

She was berthed in Beaucette Marina, Guernsey in the Channel Islands at N49° 30’.197 W002° 30’.350 until she was sold in October 2021.

This site charts the thrilling adventures they had in her.

You can contact us here.

Where’s Play d’eau?

If the new owners have the AIS on, you can find where Play d'eau is right now.

Click here.

Zoom in and our position will be shown on a map.

Recent Posts

Red Pepper Sauce

Red Pepper Sauce

As we continue to search for the beauty of flavour simplicity, we’ve honed this recipe to produce a sauce that’s one of the most beautiful to look at, let alone a tasting delight.

The colour is vibrant and the taste is so pure …

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Pea Soup

The peas, parsley and stock just a-bubbling in the pan

When visiting France, we always look forward to our first can of Petit Pois. Only recently, did we realise the one we really liked had lettuce with it. Lettuce? Well, that sowed the seed for this recipe …

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Gazpacho to cool those hot, hot days

Gazpacho, dressed with diced cucumber and shreds of basil

This Gazpacho is just perfect for a hot day when ‘cool’ is needed. It’s so refreshing, so ‘clean’. Making it in these quantities means you’ll have a good number of servings. Any left over can be kept in the fridge for use during a heat-wave, or frozen whilst you wait for the next heat-wave …

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Celeriac soup

Chives, truffle oil and the 'dollop' of crème fraiche just make this soup

What a delicious soup this is. Whether you love or dislike celeriac or even know what it is (!) you will like this soup. Again, the recipe for Play d’eau’s celeriac soup has been developed over the last few years, ensuring it’s kept simple whilst maximising on flavour …

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Squash and Ginger soup

Squash and Ginger soup ready to be devoured

The clue to this beautiful soup lies in its simplicity and flavour maximising. Although the amount of ginger may sound excessive, I assure …

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Vegetable Stock

All ingredients trimmed, peeled and chopped and in the pot

Our recipe for stock has been worked and refined over the years and never lets us down, producing a concentrated stock for many of the recipes we’ll be adding. It’s packed with flavour and keeps really well in the fridge for a good three weeks and almost for ever in a freezer …

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Cooking onboard

Rose garlic was only one of many varieties

Rose (violet) garlic, the best of all garlics,at Paimpol’s farmers’ market, Brittany click to enlarge

Eating out appears to be the choice of many boaters rather than cooking onboard. Whilst away, it’s a holiday in itself not to have to cook but we sometimes we come away disappointed with the fare we’ve been served.

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