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.

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Recent Posts

The winner of the 2013 Croissant competition

Le Fournil du Port, Paimpol.
This boulangerie produced the winning croissant
click to enlarge

We can now declare the winner of the Play d’eau Croissant Competition 2013.

Having cruised the beautiful coasts of north and west France and their hidden treasures of marinas for the last three months, we’ve tasted croissants in 22 ports from 31 boulangeries.

And the winner is…

‘Le Fournil du Port’ at Paimpol, north Brittany.

The margin by which Le Fournil won was considerable. In all criteria their croissants scored the highest.

To prove it wasn’t a baking fluke and that Le Fournil’s croissants consistently rose crisply to the challenge, we tried croissants from Le Fournil on five occasions.

Le Fournil is at the south end of Paimpol’s Bassin No 1.

Running order…

The first bite of the winning croissant
click to enlarge

The final running order was:

1st place (€0.88) – Le Fournil du Port, Paimpol
2nd place (€0.90) – Boulangerie Denigot, Port Louis, Lorient
3rd place (€0.95) – Boulangerie Founesant la Forêt, Port la Forêt
4th place (€0.23) – LIDL, Rochefort (yes, only 23 centimes)

Judging criteria

The judging criteria has been the same all along,

  • Does it look good?
  • As you bite, is the outside crispy?
  • Is it buttery?
  • Is the inside light, fresh and soft?
  • Do you glow with croissant pleasure?

Although the price was noted, it was not included as one of the criteria.

Was the inside light, fresh and soft?
click to enlarge

One question remains. How can we have hot, fresh supplies from Paimpol to Beaucette in time for breakfast?

Piers and Lin
From the Galley of
Play d’eau
Fleming 55

You can get in touch with us any time by using our Contact Form.

7 comments to The winner of the 2013 Croissant competition

  • Hil

    Oh wow! Do they know,and how did they react! They LOOK glorious and IRRISISTABLE.You will miss them so much when you leave.Did you speak to the chef? Will you ever be able to enjoy other croissants…x x

    • Sadly, Madame speaks no English and I don’t know sufficient French to explain. But I have a plan. The Harbour Master speaks both fluently and I’ll see him tonight and ask if he’ll come with me in the morning to explain. I’d love to know what they do to make theirs so different, but maybe that’s something that’s a secret too far!

  • Philippe and Paola -S/Y Why Not?

    Well! It’s alright for you two!

    We are back on the island ‘enjoying’ Sainsbury’s best sliced!

    We look forward to receiving a crate of Le Fournil’s best croissant collection, by return!

    • Your wish is my command, sir! But they’ll probably be soggy and a bit mouldy by the time we return to G, which is looking like the 25/26 Sept.

      Meanwhile, happy sailing, and enjoy the Sainsbury’s best…

      Piers (ducking for cover)

  • Diccon

    They do look and sound amazing. In the UK however we have found that the Costco Reading create quite amazing versions and I was tempted to enter them into your competition but they probably don’t compare however good they are for the UK.

  • Robbie

    We have just returned from a trip to Russia during which I was reminded of this competition, because of the burnt offerings at breakfast every morning at both hotels. I thought at first it was just a bad day for chef, but it must be the way they like them. No I didn’t dare take photos!
    I see you’re back ‘home’now. I need to catch up on your posts and photos.

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