Tag Archives: Fleming 55

Cruising

Leg 8 – Vannes to Île d’Yeu – 5 July 2013

Yacht Aquitaine (Chris and Sue) were our hosts
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I confess that far too much Breton cider and Pastis was consumed and far too many olives fresh from the buzzing farmers’ market that morning; black in herbs and green in pesto. We had been invited for drinks by retired Chris and Sue of Aquitaine, a British yacht moored three places along the pontoon from us, together with their friends who were cruising in company with them on Lady Day.

Chris and Sue keep Aquitaine close by at La Roche Bernard on the La Vilaine river. Having cruised the area extensively for many years I took advantage of their local knowledge.

The plan takes shape

Taking Chris’ advice that we needed to see the off-lying islands before the annual French swarm begins on 14 July, we planned to go straight to Port Joinville on the Île d’Yeu and stay for a few days or more before returning to the mainland. A telephone call to the Harbour Master secured a mooring and the plan came together.

The Kerino swing bridge opened, three greens came on and we were off
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The forecast promised a week of light NE’ly winds, high temperatures and clear skies from an Azores high of 1028mb. In honour, we erected the flybridge bimini cover to protect us from the impending rays.

The nav plan

The only pinch point for the route was the need to be at Vannes’ Kerino swing bridge at 0730, the morning’s only opening.

The Journey

Starting grey and overcast, by midday the forecasters were right. The clear blue sky had appeared and it was hot, very hot.

A small queue of boats waited for the 0730 Kerino swing bridge. As we exited into the narrow channel we came head to head with a coaster about to moor at the small commercial dock. Pulling as far over to the side of the channel as we dared the coaster slid by. Its skipper made a point of thanking us. Nice one.

We edged to the left of the narrow channel to make way for this coaster
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The ebb tide carried us all the way to the mouth of the Golfe averaging an extra 2kts which peaked at 5½kts close to the Grand Mouton.

Apart from one really silly fisherman in his small boat being intent on preventing a British boat from overtaking him by intentionally weaving to and fro in front of us, the ten mile journey through the Golfe was uneventful. My finger itched towards the Kahlenbergs but with discretion being the better part of valour I restrained myself, waited my time, attacked and won.

Passing close to the many reefs and islands which extend to the SE of Presq’ile de Quiberon, we espied some lovely places to anchor, especially the beach on the east of Hoedic. We marked map.

From Presq’ile to Île d’Yeu, we had a calm open Atlantic sea, its gentle swell, and a hot sun. It was lovely in the shade under the bimini.

Arriving

The tide was ebbing fast by the Grand Mouton beacon
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Île d’Yeu slowly appeared out of the haze seven hours after leaving Vannes and we pulled into the Port Joinville marina just ahead of schedule and the Harbour Master guided us to our berth. Perfect.

The tecky details

0720 FST – Departed Vannes
1558 – Arrived Port Joinville
Planned distance – 67nm
Longest leg – 29.1nm – Sud Banc Guerande SCM to Port Joinville WP
Tech issues – nil

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

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

Lin at the flybridge helm under the bimini for shade from a very hot sun
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Play d’eau’s wake en route to Ile d’Yeu
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Cruising

Vannes – the farmers’ market

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It’s rare to find such an extensive farmers’ market. We’ll let the photos do the talking.

Picture postcards of Vannes’ farmers’ market
Oi! Who are you lookin’ at?
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Nougat by the kilo…we bought some….
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Lobsters by the dozen
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Spider crab anyone?
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Ah! Langoustines by the hundredweight
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Henley doesn’t get all the strawberries
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Flowers for all occasions
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Fruit stalls were everywhere
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Even the humble radish has its own display
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Olives of all varieties and flavours – memories of Ganges
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Rose garlic was only one of many varieties
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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

Vannes – a medieval town

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A potted history

The walled town of Vannes
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Founded by the Romans in 56 BC, Julius Caesar went on to conquer the area known as Brittany.

Throughout the third century, fortified walls were built around the town to protect it from ‘barbaric tribes’.

Between 1341 and 1364 wars of succession were fought between two families claiming the title Duke of Brittany, which was eventually won by Jean IV.

The union with France

Anne de Bretagne was the last duchess of Brittany, dying in 1514. The demise of Brittany was sealed when her daughter, Claude, married Francois d’Angouleme, the future king of France.

In 1532 Francois 1st stayed in Vannes and negotiated the Treaty of Vannes proclaiming the ‘perpetual union of the Country and Duchy of Brittany with the Kingdom and Crown of France’.

Although Brittany was still permitted to control taxes and maintain its own army, in practice its destiny lay in French hands. The title Duke of Brittany became obsolete, the region’s assets were stripped and its autonomy eroded.

Today, many Bretons today do not ‘officially’ recognise Brittany as part of France and would far prefer to return to self-rule.

Picture post cards of Vannes
The St Vincent town gate which faces the marina
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Castle De L’Hermine which housed the Brittany Parliament
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The glorious gardens of the Castle De L’Hermine
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The Captain of the Guard’s residence
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The Parliament’s Wash Houses
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You just feel these buildings are tipping over
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Party creations from a sweet shop called Glup’s
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The woodwork structure is just beautiful
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Gorgeous ancient buildings abound in the walled town
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So many alley-ways with overhanging buildings
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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 7 – Port Haliguen to Vannes – 2 July 2013

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Many colourful trawlers fish the Baie de Quiberon with seagulls hitching rides waiting from breakfast
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Our next port of call, the walled town of Vannes, is at the top of the beautiful Golfe du Morbihan. The Breton word Morbihan means Little Sea, an apt description given it covers over 100 square kilometres (approx. 12,000 hectares), with more than 40 islands, the largest of which is the Île aux Moines with its 7km coastline.

The inland sea of the Golfe du Morbihan is separated from the Atlantic by a narrow strait through which 400 million cubic metres of salt water pour at each high tide.

The nav plan

The pinch points start at the narrow strait entrance to the Golfe where tidal flows create currents of over 4kts. These become more pronounced as you pick your way through the islands towards Vannes, in one place exceeding 9kts. Bear in mind Play d’eau cruises at 8kts so we could easily find ourselves going backwards!

The ‘Sandbanks of Poole’ equivalent to the Golfe du Morbihan
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We planned to leave Port Haliguen so we’d arrive at Port Navalo, the entrance to the Golfe, at its high tide to be carried on its peak to Vannes. In practice, it gave us an unexpected additional 2kts all the way.

The Golfe is a favourite yachting area for thousands of boats. Couple this with fast Vedettes ferrying tourists, and it becomes a challenge to play boats against Vedettes against tides against the shallow sea!

Arriving

Access to Vannes is through a swing bridge which only opens at specific times. For us, this meant being at the bridge at 1530.

After three exiting yachts we went through and up a short canal to Vannes to berth.

Tecky details
The Vedettes don’t take prisoners. Travelling fast, they pass close and make large wakes
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1242hrs FST – Departed Port Haliguen
1542hrs FST – Arrived Vannes
Planned distance – 19.3nm
Longest leg – 9.8nm of pilotage in the Golfe
Tech problems – nil

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

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

Cruising

Leg 6 – Port La Foret to Port Haliguen – 1 July 2013

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A cold, grey sky greeted us as we emerged from our cabin and raised the blinds in the saloon to view the outside world. Whilst Lin went to fetch fresh croissants (a pink job) I busied myself with engine and nav checks (a blue job).

Lin at the helm, not always doing a pink job
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Leaving Port La Forêt

Casting off at 0830, we motored gently from the sleepy marina along the narrow half mile channel to the open sea where we began dodging the many poorly marked lobster pots that seem to litter the Brittany coast.

Lin brought the La Foret Fouesnant croissants and fresh coffee to the pilot house for breakfast and we were soon set up for the six hour passage to Port Haliguen, a small marina and fishing port on the south east side of Presqu’ile de Quiberon some fifty miles to the south west.

The nav plan

There are no real pinch points along the route today, but there’s one part worth mentioning.

Towards the end of our journey we pass to the south of Presqu’ile de Quiberon where we need to thread our way through the many reefs and islands which extend fourteen miles to the south west.

Threading our way through the reefs, we passed within 50m of this outcrop
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The track we take through this area will depend on the sea state at the time and how comfy we feel about cutting corners and threading our way thought the rocks!

Arriving

Just as we rounded Presqu’ile, the sun came out in her full glory and turned a grey day into a great day.

Given the sea state was completely calm, we chose the shortest of short cuts through the reefs where the tide, at times was running at 4 knots against us.

The Harbour Master was waiting for us in his RIB and led us to our berth. Would you believe, it had one of those pesky water connectors we’d first encountered at Camaret. The receptionist at the Capitainerie couldn’t have been more helpful. In answer to our first question she responded, ‘Oui, of course there’s Wi-Fi and here’s the code.’

This is the adaptor required for the new style water outlets being installed in many French marinas
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In answer to our second question, she replied, ‘The Chandlery is closed and there’s nowhere else to get the adaptor. But wait a moment.’ Picking up her radio she called another of the marina staff and spoke in rapid fire French. All I understood was ‘Play d’eau‘.

As we returned to Play d’eau someone asked, ‘Monsieur Play d’eau?’. ‘Oui’. ‘The Capitainerie asked me to give you this adaptor, with our compliments’.

So now we are the proud owners of the elusive adaptor!

Tecky details

0830hrs FST – Departed Port La Forêt
1453hrs FST – Port Haliguen
Planned distance – 51.1nm
Longest leg – 38.1nm, Pointe de Trévignon to Basse du Chanel SCM
Tech problems – a very slight oil leak from the aft of the stbd motor. Needs investigation
Note: that the previous leg’s nav kit issues were all resolved with a re-boot. The question remains, what happened?

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

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

Cruising

Jazz on the Bandstand & ‘au revoir Port La Forêt’

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A hot sun in a clear blue sky with a cool breeze and a sea mist rolling up the estuary, set the scene for the Festival of Jazz at the bandstand on the last day of our extended visit to Port La Forêt.

The six jazz musicians of the Cornouaille Jazz Band on the bandstand at Port La Forêt
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…and they played

With the crowd ready and waiting, the Cornouaille Jazz Band’s six musicians and vocalist assembled their various amplifiers and instruments and put their heart and soul into playing blues, trad, and Chocolat ‘River Rat’ syncopations, using their array of saxophones, trumpet, clarinet, banjo, guitar, bass guitar, drums, and the occasional voice.

After two hours of fun the crowd didn’t want them to stop. ‘Encore, encore!’

We loved it.

So pleased we stayed that extra time at Port La Forêt.

Au revoir Port La Forêt

We’ve had a ball here.

Glorious walks, a beautiful local village, an outrageous Creperie, excellent quaffable cider, fresh croissants and Petit Moulé loaves from a Boulongerie that cares for perfection, swooping terns ducking and diving to snatch unwary fish for supper and to top it all off, Jazz on the Bandstand with the Cornouaille Jazz Band.

Au revoir Port la Forêt. À la prochaine.

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.

The Trumpeter, who played and played and played
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The vocalist sang ‘Let my people go’ (in French, of course)
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The bass guitarist
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Proficient on banjo and guitar (sounded just like Johnny Depp)
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The clarinetist played clarinet and sax
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The clarinettist plays his preferred instrument
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The drummer never had a break
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Always waiting for his big moment to go crazy!
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The bass sax was almost as tall as the player
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The saxophonist with his array of saxaphones
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The bass guitarist with one of the sax players in the background
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The Trumpeter, my point of contact
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Cruising

Port La Forêt – we’re staying a while

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The eccentric Creperie Quartier d’été, with equally eccentric and delicious crepes
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By now you’ve probably gathered we like it at Port La Forêt. So much so, that instead of moving on after two days we’re staying until next Monday or thereabouts.

Why are we staying on?

So many reasons.

The village (or is it a tiny town?) of La Forêt-Fouesnant is a lovely half mile walk away around a lake. Counter-clockwise, you walk by the forest; clockwise, you walk on the small road by lovely houses and the Crêperie Quartier d’été with its wonderfully eccentric owner just waiting to delight you with his crêpes and Fouesnant cidre served Breton style in pottery cups.

Jazz on the band stand

Behind our pontoon and hidden by trees is an old fashioned bandstand. Two days ago, we heard a small jazz band practising. I went to investigate – with my camera. The four musicians played trumpet, bass guitar, banjo and sax and rather than mind me taking pics they asked me to come on stage to take more!

Members of the Cornouaille Jazz Band were practising on the bandstand ready for Sunday’s concert
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If you’ve seen the film Chocolat with Johnny Depp the type of jazz they were playing was very similar to that played by the River Rats – syncopated, catchy, innocent and fun.

I learned they were some of the members of the Cornouaille Jazz Band, practising for Sunday’s 4pm concert and they insisted I returned to take even more photos! I will, but I must learn how to take good pics which have a strong backlight without using flash. Back to the new camera’s manual.

La Forêt-Fouesnant’s Boulangerie

Now here’s a treat. The Boulangerie is also a Patisserie and a Chocolaterie, with chefs that delight in precision cooking. It’s hard not putting on weight just by looking.

La Forêt-Fouesnant’s École des Chefs

Would you believe there’s a Chef School in La Forêt-Fouesnant, specialising in crêpes? We were only just saying how we’d love to learn how to make buck wheat crêpes (galettes de blé noir) the way Monsieur Quartier d’été makes them, so thin and lacy. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll sign up for a course….

So Play d’eau will be staying for the next few days. An added bonus is that the sun is out and forecast to stay out. Good call.

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.

The chocolates made by the Chocolatiere
look so gorgeous
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…and there were more….
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The cakes were glistening so seductively
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…and there were more….
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Cruising

Leg 5 – Audierne to Port La Forêt – 25 June 2013

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The west Brittany coast is strewn with reefs, rocks and lighthouses
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With the sun daring to make one of her rare but welcome appearances during the summer months, Play d’eau and ship’s company waved au revoir to the small, unspoiled town of Audierne.

Audierne may not have the finest of marinas but it’s ‘real’. Wi-Fi may only be available from a bar on the quay front provided you keep drinking Cidre Pression (quel dommage), but when you have fresh croissants and baguettes and fresh local vegetables and fish only 200m away in the small covered market, does it really matter?

The nav plan

The plan was to leave Audierne as the tide fell and enter Port La Forêt as the tide rose again without , timing both so we didn’t fall foul of the sand bars at the entrances to both ports. It worked.

Bringing his catch home, a fisherman proudly displays a fine moustache
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Again, the sea was kind to us, keeping wonderfully flat and calm all the way with a wind never reaching more than a 4 knot NW’ly. Perfection for Play d’eau, not for yachts.

Port La Forêt

The first time we visited Port La Forêt was three years ago. We loved it then and we still love it.

As the piggy in the middle between Benodet and Concarneau, Port La Forêt tends to be bypassed by visitors. Such a shame since it’s a quiet yet vibrant marina with facilities way beyond the norm.

The France-Finistère training centre for the Figaro and 60′ single-hull races is based at Port La Forêt and some of the pontoons are especially wide for these single and multi-hull racing yachts.

Tecky details

A delight to behold
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0933hrs FST – Departed Audierne
1523hrs FST – Port La Forêt
Planned distance – 38.1nm
Longest leg – 13.0nm, Audierne to Men Hir on the Pointe de Penmarc’h peninsula

Tech problems – minor, annoying issues with the nav gear requiring investigation.

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

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

Macif, one of the 60′ racing mono-hulls based at Port la Forêt with its huge mast
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Looks like half the boat’s been cut off
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A giant’s cat’s cradle for kids to climb in the play area
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The Saveol 60′ racing mono-hull, one of many based at Port La Forêt
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Cooking onboard

Squash and Ginger soup

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Squash and Ginger soup ready to be devoured
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The clue to this beautiful soup lies in its simplicity and flavour maximising. Although the amount of ginger may sound excessive, I assure you it isn’t. It’s just gorgeous.

For the soup – at least 6 servings

1 Large Butternut Squash
200gm Salted butter
½ ltr Vegetable stock
8cm x 2 cm Fresh ginger
Sea salt

For serving

Crème Fraiche
Finely chopped Corriander
Crouton Soldiers

Squash, Ginger, and vegetable stock
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You will need

Saucepan
Hand-held or small stand-alone liquidiser
Cheese grater or a coarse Microplane
Bowl

Making the Squash and Ginger soup

Slice the squash into 2cm ‘wheels’. Cut the skin off, and, using a teaspoon, remove all traces of seeds and membrane.

Using the same teaspoon, use the edge to scrape the skin off the ginger.

Cut the squash wheels into 2cm x 1cm pieces.

The squash cut into 2cm wheels
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Slice the ginger thinly, or grate it if you’ve kept it in the freezer. (Note: keeping peeled ginger in the freezer is a really good idea. It keeps for ages and can be grated easily whilst frozen)

Melt 150gm of butter in a large pan, add the squash and ginger and stir with a wooden spoon to ensure everything is covered with butter.

Cover the pan and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring every two minutes to keep everything covered in butter.

After these ten minutes are up, add just enough stock to cover the squash and cook until the squash is just soft.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool down a bit before liquidising really well. If it’s too thick, add some more stock or fresh milk. Provided you’ve liquidised it well there’s no need to sieve this soup.

Serving the Squash and Ginger soup
The Squash and Ginger, basted with butter, before the stock is added
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Pour the soup into a clean pan and reheat – do not boil – and add the rest of the butter. Stir well, adding salt to taste. (Note: don’t add pepper since it’s black specs will detract from the look of the soup)

Pour into warm bowls.

Place a small dollop (a Play d’eau technical term) of crème fraiche on the top of each serving and a small sprinkling of finely chopped coriander.

Each person should have six Soldier Croutons.

Additional touches
  • Once liquidised, allow the soup to develop its flavour in the fridge for 24hrs – if you can wait that long!
  • Drizzle some Truffle Oil on each serving before adding the coriander. Brings a earthy depth

This soup is also great as an Amuse Bouche, served either hot or cold without the croutons. Keeps well in the freezer.

So, so simple, yet so, so beautiful.

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.

Cooking onboard

Crouton Soldiers

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These are so much more fun than the usual square croutons, and so simple to make.

Crouton soldiers, golden brown
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For the Crouton Soldiers

1 slice of bread/person
1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp sesame oil (enough for 18 crouton soldiers)
Kitchen paper

Making the Crouton Soldiers

Carefully cut the sliced bread into 8cm x 2cm strips.

Mix the oils, and sprinkle onto both sides of the crouton soldiers.

Tip – we mix the oils since sesame oil on its own can easily burn at a low temperature.

Warm a frying pan over a medium heat and add the crouton soldiers. After a minute, turn them over. You are looking for a lovely golden brown on both sides.

When they’re done, lift them out and place them on kitchen paper to absorb any surplus oil.

Crunchy and gorgeous.

Ensure no one is about when you make them – they’ll disappear without trace if you aren’t watching like a hawk!

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.