Category Archives: Cruising

Cruising posts will detail each passage we make, including the nav planning, weather conditions and anything of influence and interest en route

Cruising

Leg 14 – St Martin de Ré to Les Sables d’Olonne – 11 August 2013

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Ian and Wendy on their Moody 422 bound for the Caribbean
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A UNESCO World Heritage site, St Martin is Île de Ré’s historic capital and ancient port surrounded by the citadel.

Small, old, full of history, buzzing with life. We cherished our time there.

You have to live the dream

Ian and Wendy’s Moody 422 yacht, Silver Slipper, was moored directly behind us. Having met in March 2012 and married in April 2013, they are gradually making their way to Las Palmas to take the ARC to the Caribbean.

‘We’ll cruise the hundreds of Caribbean islands until we feel it’s time to move on to the Pacific through the Panama Canal.

‘You have to live the dream – you must live the dream,’ emphasised Ian, ‘so we’ve sold everything to make it happen while we can.’

Watch the video of their departure from the UK bound initially for Guernsey, complete with their dog, Bumble.

Play d’eau makes a graceful stage exit

‘Living the dream’ captured as the sun rose behind us
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With clear skies, a calm wind and the temperature already in the mid-twenties, it would be another perfect day for Play d’eau.

Ten minutes before our 0800 ETD we still had two 53’ motor boats and three yachts rafted against us. With one foot clearance behind, we were hemmed in by two boats in front, our bows in the gap between them by six feet.

At ETD plus ten they’d all moved and we cast off. We sidled, went forward a few feet and finally swung Play d’eau’s stern out and towards the lock, gracefully reversing out of the marina as though making a stage exit after the final curtain call.

The nav plan

Only one pinch point today, and that was the opening time of the St Martin lock. Not a problem, and given the travel time to Les Sables d’Olonne was only some three hours we’d arrive before lunch when hopeully there’d still be a space for us at the Quai Garnier port.

The Journey

The radar screen erupted with yellow targets as we neared Les Sables d’Olonne (30 second trails in blue)
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A really gentle and calm crossing with the fun beginning in the last few miles when the radar erupted with a rash of yellow targets as the world appeared to be out on their boats. There were dozens and dozens, everywhere.

Arriving

As planned, there was space for us on pontoon A, but within an hour of mooring up (and Lin having hosed Play d’eau down) boats were being turned away.

The tecky details

Departed St Martin de Re – 0810
Arrived Les Sables d’Olonne – 1141
Total distance – 25.8nm
Longest leg – 17.5nm from Les Islattes NCM to Bourgenay SWM
Tech issues – nil

Piers and Lin
from the Nav Table of
Play d’eau
Fleming 55

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

We overhung the boats in front by 6 feet and had five boats rafted against us
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Only 1 foot clearance between us and Silver Slipper
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Cruising

Mud, mud, glorious mud

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The beautiful river Charente at Rochefort
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As the song goes, ‘mud mud, glorious mud’!

On our way was to Rochefort we travelled 12 miles up the beautiful river Charente, where the colour of the water became more and more brown-green. By the time we arrived the colour was so dense that nothing could be seen if it was much more than an inch below the surface.

Walking along the river bank at low tide showed just how muddy and silty the banks were, looking as though it was ‘quick mud’ if there is such a thing. Piers found a small pebble and tossed it at the mud. It sank out of sight causing a spurt of brown water to jump into the air.

Would I want to fall into this? A beauty treatment, maybe? No thank you.

Lin
from the Saloon of
Play d’eau
Fleming 55

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

The mud bank by the entry to the lock from the river
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You can see the mud-trail left by this paddling tern
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When the lock gate opens the mud is stirred in the marina
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Just before the lock opens, the mud builds against the gate
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Play d’eau needed a good cruise in clean water after sitting in this for five days
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The banks of the river Charente were covered in reeds. Clumps floated everywhere
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Cruising

Leg 13 – St Denis to St Martin de Ré – 8 August 2013

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Port St Denis d’Oléron marina was a huge parking lot for Merry Fisher boats
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Port St Denis d’Oléron was crowded. The only visitors’ pontoon was tightly packed and Play d’eau was on the inside of a raft of four; the bulk of the marina seems to be a huge parking lot for Merry Fisher boats.

The Capitainerie staff was brilliant. Under their direction boats were shuffled to give us an outside position against an old beautiful (but actually brand new) 60’ twin masted sailing boat for the last night so we could leave early for St Martin on Île de Ré. Perfect.

The nav plan

The two pinch points (it always seems to be two, doesn’t it?) on this journey were the entry/exit times at both Port St Denis and St Martin de Ré, but given the passage time was just over two hours, it wouldn’t be a problem.

The Journey

St Martin de Ré – our mooring overlapped the yachts in front
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Casting off at 0551, we used the FLIR camera to pick our way through the unlit buoyed channel to the sea. Exciting!

The journey itself was lovely with twilight changing to dawn as we neared Île de Ré. So beautiful.

The forecast was for W/NW winds F2 but reality was entirely different with an E’ly F3. It’s been interesting that forecast winds seem to bear nothing to reality in this area of the Vendée.

Arriving

Calling the St Martin Capitainerie on ch 9, we were told there was no space until the evening. In the hope this would change as more boats left in the half hour before the lock closed, we hooked onto one of the visitors’ buoys. Determined to keep Play d’eau in the forefront of the Capitainerie’s mind, I called again to announce we were moored to ‘bouée seize’. ‘D’accord,’ came the reply.

A few minutes later we heard, ‘Vedette Play d’eau, ici St Martin. Il y a une place maintenant. Venez vite puisque l’écluse se ferme en dix minutes’. (Please excuse my dreadful knowledge of French…)

We unhooked, venezed vite, très vite, and moored to the smallest pontoon space I’ve ever seen between two rafts of boats four deep, just as the lock gate closed behind us.

There was not a lot of space behind, either
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As we all know, mooring is not so much a skill but a spectator sport. Finally, as we eased Play d’eau against the pontoon with her bows overhanging six feet into the space in front between the bows of the two rafted yachts, we were give a round of applause!

Whilst taking a bow, a cheery Welsh voice drifted across the marina, ‘Hi Piers!’ It was Mike and Heidi of Yacht El Aranque, whom we’d met in La Rochelle. For Mike, read Dale Nelson.

Within moments we had a Princess 52 and four yachts rafted alongside.

Memories

Looking at how the boats were stacked reminded me of Kim Hollamby leading his MBM cruise in company fleets. You needed to use a feeler gauge to measure how close he’d packed them all in….

The tecky details

Departed Port St Denis d’Oléron – 0551
Hooked St Martin de Ré visitor’s buoy (No 16) – 0802
Unhooked the buoy – 0818
Moored St Martin de Ré – 0830

Total distance – 16.6nm
Longest leg – 12.9nm from Port St Denis WP to Grand Greffe ECM
Tech issues – nil

Piers and Lin
from the Nav Table of
Play d’eau
Fleming 55

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

Cruising

It all happens whilst we’re away!

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Adam and fiancée Perdita
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So we leave for Guernsey and our long romp around the west coast of France and what happens? The moment’s our backs disappear across the oceans our two unmarried sons both get engaged!

Toby and Amy

Toby proposed to Amy in April – Amy said ‘yes’ – and…

Adam and Perdita

…yesterday Adam proposed to Perdita – Perdita said yes.

How brilliant is that!

Blue v Pink balance

Our family now comprises four sons, two daughters in law, four grandchildren and two fiancées. The balance of blue to pink is soon to be levelled and Lin won’t be outnumbered anymore.

Toby and fiancée Amy
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We’re so proud of them all.

Such a great start to a great future.

Piers and Lin
from the Saloon of
Play d’eau
Fleming 55

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

Cruising

What did we do in Rochefort?

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Before and After – Lin did a good job
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What did we do in Rochefort?

Lin cut my hair!

I needed a haircut. Lin said, rather too eagerly, ‘I’ll do it.’ This would be a first in the 47 years since we started going out together. I said, ‘no.’ She said, ‘think of the savings.’ I said, ‘no.’ She said, ‘I did all our boy’s haircuts until they were 11.’ I said, ‘no’. Lin said, ‘trust me, I know what I’m doing.’ I said, ‘no,’ my voice showing annoyance at her persistence. Lin paused and said, ‘think of the wine you could buy with the savings.’ I said ‘Deal.’

Being old age pensioners, that was an acceptable compromise.

Lin said, ‘and now think how much you could have saved over the years.’ I didn’t respond.

The suspended gonloda of Rochefort’s Transbordeur travelling at 3m above the river’s surface
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Transbordeur

I walked the 6 mile round trip to the Rochefort Transbordeur, a 113 year old beam and suspended gondola arrangement for linking the road across the river Charentes. Amazing and wonderful and still working like a dream, although a bridge has now been constructed next to it for the bulk of the traffic.

Dinner out

Plagiarising a term from ‘Spy Games’, we had ‘dinner out’ at Café Cap Nell opposite the marina the day we arrived in Rochefort. The highlight for Lin was a salmon fillet, perfectly cooked, just off-rare in the middle. Succulent, juicy and non-fibrous. Mmmm.

For me, it was the goat’s cheese first course which had been made into a mousse with mascarpone and served on a thin bed of almost caramelised pears. Heavenly.

Café Cap Nell at Rochefort marina (left of centre)
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Yacht Raksha

We’d met Peter and Stefanie from Yacht Raksha in La Rochelle, so when they pulled in Rochefort we found ourselves having a couple of great evenings with them, eating and drinking too much, again – is there a pattern developing?

Peter and Stefanie are retiring, moving from the UK and looking to buy a house in the Dordogne, or Dordogne-shire, Britville, as it’s apparently becoming known.

Hermione and La Corderie Royale

As well as seeing the Hermione, we toured La Corderie Royale (the Royal Ropery), a long and narrow building created for making 300m ropes of every conceivable type and weave for vessels created at the Rochefort dockyard.

La Corderie Royale
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We borrowed a set of those ‘listen to it in English’ machines and heard the story from its royal concept to its destruction by fire, to its being rebuilt as a museum. Ropework demonstrations completed the tour. Really interesting.

Since it’s built on a marsh, its late 1700s foundations were made of a cris-cross of oaks at a depth of 1.5m. When it was rebuilt as a museum, the foundations were checked and found to be unmoved and perfect.

Splice the eyes

Lin attacked our 100m drum of new 16 strand octoplait, created two new warps, and spliced an eye into each. Not only are they perfect, but they attracted much comment from our neighbours, such as, ‘Can you do mine, next?’

I thought Lin would have jumped at this having been on about savings and old-age pensioners, but alas, she didn’t. Should I have mentioned how much wine we could have bought with the proceeds?

Lin spliced eyes into 16 strand multiplait
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Piers and Lin
from the Saloon of
Play d’eau
Fleming 55

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

Cruising

Leg 12 – Rochefort to St Denis d’Oléron – 5 August 2013

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Sunrise over the Embouchure de la Charante almost two hours after leaving Rochefort
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At 0500 the swing bridge swung, the lock gate unlocked and the green exit light greened. Casting off at 0507, we eased our way towards the exit in the glow of the marina’s spartan lighting.

The Harbour Master was there to bid us farewell. ‘Bonne navigation,’ he called. ‘A l’anée prochain,’ we responded.

Who turned the lights out?

Leaving the lock to enter the river it was as if someone suddenly turned all the lights out – literally. Nothing, but nothing could be seen apart from a few distant spots of light from a house or car, and with sunrise not expected until 0638 we had a good 45 minutes or so before anything might be seen with pre-dawn twilight giving us plenty of time in which to find a mud bank….

Instead, we navigated on instruments with the screen of our FLIR thermal imaging camera displaying the river ahead. The detail was stunning. It was as if it was daylight. The ripples on the water, terns swimming and taking off as we approached, branches of trees – how brilliant was that?

The SW corner of Île d’Aix where we anchored in glassy flat seas. Soon, the sky darkened, the wind changed and picked up, and the seas started to mis-behave
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Concentrating on that, the radar and depth sounder, we threaded our way deeper into the black as if blindfold. The FLIR was exceptional. With the chart plotter as back up, all was well – even our heart rates.

The nav plan

Two main pinch points on this journey to Port St Denis in Île d’Oléron.

Departure from Rochefort was limited to 0500 – 0530 and entry to Port St Denis was limited to between 1600 and 1800.

This gave us far too much time to cover the 25nm journey so we planned to break the journey part way by anchoring off the west side of Île d’Aix in the lee of any E’ly wind, have breakfast, sleep, catch up with some work, and leave for Port St Denis at 1445.

The Journey

Having exited the Embouchure de la Charante we dropped anchor 0732 in a perfect spot; flat, silky calm, and completely shielded from the wind.

The Capitainerie at Port St Denis, Île d’Olérone
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With the anchor’s snubbing line installed, the anchor ball proud in Play d’eau’s bows, Lin produced a cooked breakfast of ‘eggy bread’ (scrummy) and we sat back to enjoy the day. Well, that was the intention.

Where did that come from?

Soon after 1100, the sky darkened, the wind changed to a NW’ly at 15 gusting 23kts and started to build a sea with a tall, short and rather nasty chop. We began to roll around. This hadn’t been forecast.

Given our earliest arrival time at Port St Denis, we couldn’t leave until 1445. Moving anchorage wasn’t an option either; all the allowed anchorages were either exposed to this wind and/or the endless wakes caused by the multiple fast ferries that ply between the islands.

We braved it out, eventually weighing anchor at 1445 and heading for Port St Denis. At times, spray flew over the top of Play d’eau as she pitched, sometimes rather excitedly, whilst the stabilisers coped brilliantly with any roll.

The sand is really soft and a lovely deep orange golden colour
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As ever, Play d’eau coped well, nothing was broken and I gave her a good long bath when we arrived.

Arriving

Port St Denis was crowded, as if the world of ‘those who normally anchor out’ had taken shelter. We managed to squeeze into a space giving barely a metre at either end, and within no time at all we had two large yachts rafted up against us.

At least we weren’t rolling anymore and Lin, for one, was happy.

The tecky details

Departed Rochefort – 0507
Arrived Île d’Aix – 0732
Departed Île d’Aix – 1445
Arrived Port St Denis – 1620

Total distance – 24.9nm
Longest leg – 12.9nm from Rochefort to the Embouchure de la Charante
Tech issues – nil

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

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

Cruising

L’Hermione – a 26 cannon fast frigate

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L’Hermione in wet dock at Rochefort
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Lin and I visited L’Hermione yesterday, where she’s under construction in the Arsenal at Rochefort. She’s wondrous and beautiful and a magnificent work of art.

At 66m LOA, a beam of 11.24m, draft of 4.94m, and a displacement of 1,082 tonnes with her 26 cannons and ammunition, the three masted L’Hermione is a replica of the eighteenth century jewel of the French navy.

Used to fight the British

Commanded by Comte de La Touche-Tréville, L’Hermione was originally launched in 1779 at Rochefort’s naval dockyard. Here, the Marquis de La Fayette boarded L’Hermione in 1780 bound for the Americas in support of George Washington’s war of Independence against the British, taking the news that France would support Washington with 5,500 men and 5 frigates.

For two years, Lafayette served as a Major General directly under Washington whilst Vice Admiral Touche-Tréville in L’Hermione fought many naval battles against the British.

A 1/8th scale model was created to help understand the final look of L’Hermione
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During her final action against the British, L’Hermione ran aground off Croisic, France, due to ‘a simple navigational error’, where she was wrecked by heavy seas.

Er, Britain, can you help?

Having fought the British a twist of irony was to unfold 200 years later – L’Hermione’s replica needed help in two keys areas.

The original plans for L’Hermione had been lost. Britain was approached where records were found providing a sketch of L’Hermione’s original hull as well as plans for her sister ship. From these the replica has been ‘faithfully’ created.

L’Hermione’s figurehead needed to be proud, strong and worthy of gracing L’Hermione’s prow. Against local competition, a British sculptor, Andrew Peters from Oxford, UK, was chosen and commissioned to create the 3m tall lion.

Andrew Peters carved the 3m tall figurehead
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Interestingly, Lin and I had just had Play d’eau’s name plates re-made by Andrew when he told us of his new commission. Maybe we should have had a figurehead for Play d’eau? If so, of what?

Construction

20 years in construction in one of Rochefort’s wet docks, the cores of 4,000, 150 to 200 year old oak trees have been used in creating the main frame and structure.

Now in her final stages of fit-out, the 2,200 sq metres of sail are almost complete.

2015

L’Hermione’s scheduled for completion in 2015 when she’ll leave Rochefort for her transatlantic journey to the USA, following La Fayette’s original journey.

En route she will visit Las Palmas in the Canary Isles before crossing to Yorktown, New York, Boston and Halifax before returning to Rochefort where no doubt other great adventures await her.

Let’s hope she doesn’t make another ‘little navigational error’.

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

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

Detail of the 300kg Mizzen sail
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The sail loft where all L’Hermione’s sails are created
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The size and craftsmanship of the rigging is simply astounding
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Lin
took to the helm rather too naturally
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Andrew Peters is featured on a video of how he carved the figurehead
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Working on view to the public
this is the description of how
Andrew created the figurehead
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Anyone for cat’s cradle? The smell of tarred twine was everywhere
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L’Hermione, a beautiful replica of the 18th century fast frigate
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Now that’s an anchor rope!
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Cruising

Leg 11 – La Rochelle to Rochefort – 31 July 2013

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The fortified and walled city of La Rochelle
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We’ve had a great time in the Bassin des Chalutiers in the Vieux Port of La Rochelle.

One of our sons, his wife and two children came to meet us for a day; we explored the Maritime Museé and the town; we walked; we were hot; we used the air con many times, and we met Pat and Michelle who spend their life racing their Class 40 yacht, Croix du Sud, all over the world – literally (see photo below).

The nav plan

There were two pinch points on this journey.

Rochefort is some 12nm up the River Charente and we’d been advised the lock gate to the marina would only be open between 1300 and 1400. If we missed it, we’d have to wait until the next day to gain access.

The 3500 berth Les Minimes marina at La Rochelle
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Back at the Bassin des Chalutiers, the exit lock gate wouldn’t open until 1130 leaving us with a maximum of two and a half hours for the journey, in turn demanding an average speed of 12 knots. Too fast as far as I’m concerned, and even if we travelled at this speed there’d be no margin to play with.

Instead, we took the 2215 lock gate yesterday evening from the Bassin des Chalutiers and motored all of 1nm to Les Minimes marina. Given Les Minimes has 24hr access we could leave at our leisure for Rochefort, today.

The Journey

Having had strong W’ly winds for the last few days with the occasional rain and thunder shower, today was different. Hot, clear skies, with only a light E’ly wind. Perfect.

Passing Fort Boyard, we entered the Charente river an hour or so before high tide expecting the flood tide to give us an extra knot. Interestingly, the tide was against us yet in the last mile it changed and the river was still on the flood.

Fort Boyard between Ile d’Aix and Ile d’Oléron
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Crazy – or am I missing something? Yes, I checked high tide with the Capitainerie and there was no mistake.

Arriving

The Charente river is lovely although an avocado green of mud in suspension. We followed the many leading marks passing strange fishing huts on stilts with large nets. Anyone know what these are for?

An astonishing piece of engineering is Le Pont Transbordeur, which suspends a cabin just above water height taking people and cars from one side of the river to the other, linking the road.

We were met by the Harbour Master in his dory and shown to a good berth. By gum, the marina’s a sun trap measuring well into the mid-30 degrees C.

There are many of these huts on stilts with huge nets along the river Charente
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Can’t wait to explore the town and tour the Hermione which we saw close to the marina – it’s on tomorrow’s agenda.

The tecky details

Departed Les Minimes, La Rochelle – 0720
Arrived Rochefort – 1322
Planned distance – 25nm
Longest leg – 12.9nm up the River Charente
Tech issues – nil

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

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

The 113 year old Le Pont Transbordeur
links the road on either side of the Charante
with a suspended ‘flying cabin’.
You can see the cabin close to the water
at the base of the left leg
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The Transbordeur cabin started its crossing after we’d passed.
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Pat and Michelle on Croix du Sud.
Having raced nearly every yacht race there is (including the Sydney-Hobart ‘many times’)
their next race is the non-stop Le Havre-Brazil.
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