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

Leg 16 (2015) – Pornichet to Lorient Port Louis

The July 2015 blue moon taken at 0530
click to enlarge

Having had a dinner of Lin’s luscious mince (heavy on the onions, mushrooms and thick, shiny gravy) accompanied with sweet corn and peas and followed by cantaloupe melon with a touch of framboise liqueur and lime juice, we fell into bed soon after 8pm.

I was up at 0500.

Northwards Ho!

The forecast had come good. A final weather check showed that if we transited the west side of the Quiberon Peninsula at noon, the wind would be at slack. What could be better, given the westerly swell there can heap over the shallows.

That meant an ETD of 0800.

Goodbye Pornichet

Spot on 0800, with a coffee in my hand to look ultra-cool to onlookers, we slipped warps and motored out of the marina’s S-bend entrance, built to protect westerly swells from entering and disturbing the peace.

Heading west, the brisk easterly 15kt wind was directly behind us. Given we were on a falling tide, the ride was flat and stable. Lovely for a crisp morning departure.

En route

To complement the blue moon, the effect of the sunrise was also spectacular
click to enlarge

The passage turned out to be somewhat uneventful. No-one tried to crash into Play d’eau; no-one even threatened us. In fact, it was quite boring with no-one to grumble at about COLREGS to make us feel holier than thou.

As you know, we’d originally planned to anchor off the east coast of the Île d’Houat in of its idyllic sandy bays on our return journey. Sadly, the weather disrupted this idea.

Passing to the west of the island showed us two more glorious and protected bays. Seeing this showed us that whatever the direction the wind was blowing, a night at anchor was possible somewhere around the lovely island.

True to plan, as we approached the Quiberon Peninsula, the tide was slack and the wind had died off. The rest of the journey was on a flat, almost glassy sea with no wind.

Port Louis

Having approached Lorient via the eastern channel, we entered and turned to starboard for Port Louis where we were met by the Harbour Master in his new orange RIB, sporting matching orange framed sunglasses – cool.

We were led to the hammerhead of Pontoon B. Another lovely mooring.

Given the weather forecast and our timing, we’ll probably stay here until Wednesday when we’ll head for Sainte-Marine to explore the River Odet before leaving for Camaret on the 8th August. All to the revised plan.

Met data

Pornichet’s entrance is an S-bend to keep unwanted westerley swells at bay
click to enlarge

Pornichet: NW4, clear at 0500, becoming cloudy by 0800, good
Sea state: 1½m steep westerly swell becoming smooth
Lorient: Clear skies, NW1

Nav data

Times are FST.

Date: 1 August 2015
Departed Pornichet: 0800
Arrived Port Louis: 1432
Pinchpoint: Quiberon Peninsula
Longest leg: 21.7nm
Time en route: 7hr 25min
Planned distance: 61.6nm

Tech issues: Having been saying nil, there was nothing new on this sector. But we have a list of seven items that need engineering attention on return to Beaucette.

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

(click on the photos below to enlarge, and use the left/right arrows)

3 comments to Leg 16 (2015) – Pornichet to Lorient Port Louis

  • Hil

    Now, this leg sounds much better and better spirits too. The Blue moon is spellbinding, beautiful and breathtaking. Why is it called the Blue moon? And what are COLREGS? (Regulations of some kind, I guess?) Have fun exploring now!

    Lol Hil x x x

  • John and Beryl

    Sorry you had such an uneventful leg, after the hidden nets, host of anchored vessels, and yacht race of the previous one! At least the leisure boats swarmed around you at Lorient to keep you alert! Love your dawn photos – there’s no better sight than a calm clear dawn on the water, we miss it.. (and Lin’s luscious food!)
    Our love…

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