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 15 (2015) – Les Sables d’Olonne to Pornichet

We woke to find this cargo vessel on the other side of the marina. Was it capsized?

The decision was taken to make as much headway north as reasonably possible.

After nine days in Les Sables d’Olonne of wintry cold, windy and rainy days, we had an ETD of 0700. We knew the westerly swell would be a short and steep 1½m for the first two hours but it would gradually diminish as we passed between Île d’Yeu and the mainland, destination Pornichet. …

Continue reading Leg 15 (2015) – Les Sables d’Olonne to Pornichet

Ambushed by the weather

Endless black clouds and high winds assail us

Own up – who turned our brilliant weather off?

The 6 weeks following our departure from Audierne on 12th June have been utterly glorious. Sun cream by the gallon (well, not quite), calm seas and blue skies, all courtesy of a friendly Azores high pressure system spreading its wings over Play d’eau. It was perfect. …

Continue reading Ambushed by the weather

Leg 14 (2015) – St Martin de Ré to Les Sables d’Olonne

The small town is a maze of alleyways adorned with Hollyhocks

John and Beryl’s fortnight of cruising on Play d’eau had come to an end.

Amidst tears, damp handkerchiefs and endless wavings, the taxi drove slowly down the road, over the roundabout and on to La Rochelle’s airport.

We stood a while, looking, and hoping beyond hope that the taxi would turn around and come back. …

Continue reading Leg 14 (2015) – St Martin de Ré to Les Sables d’Olonne

Leg 8 (2015) – Les Sables d’Olonne to La Rochelle

Dawn breaks over Les Sables d'Olonne

We’d slept well. The endless succession of trawlers that passed by the marina en route to the Maritime Cooperative auction market at the end of the port had taken the weekend off. Well, almost all of them.

In their place, the Saturday night revellers had tried but failed in their attempt to compete …

Continue reading Leg 8 (2015) – Les Sables d’Olonne to La Rochelle

Leg 7 (2015) – Pornichet to Les Sables d’Olonne

Play d'eau sets out for another lovely day of cruising

It was the Festival of Music, ‘a speciality’ we were told. What we didn’t know was that it started late evening and ended early morning.

But was the destination to be Pornic or Pornichet? Last time it was Pornic and it has to be said that although the village was lovely, we found the marina oppressive. Having never visited Pornichet before, Pornichet it was. …

Continue reading Leg 7 (2015) – Pornichet to Les Sables d’Olonne

Leg 15 – Les Sables d’Olonne to Pornic – 15 August 2013

A lovely calm sea for cruising

Looking forward to another FLIR experience, we cast off from Quai Garnier’s pontoon A ‘exterieur’ and headed into the black an hour and a half before sunrise, destination Pornic in the départment Loire Atlantique, some 60nm to the North …

Continue reading Leg 15 – Les Sables d’Olonne to Pornic – 15 August 2013

When do we return to Guernsey?

Calm seas as the sun rises

Whilst moored in Port Garnier marina, Les Sables d’Olonne, local trawlers of all sizes pass us by heading for their cooperative some 300m beyond the marina. Since they bring fresh catch every moment of the day, we really don’t mind the noise or being tossed around by their wakes since the cooperative’s …

Continue reading When do we return to Guernsey?

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

Ian and Wendy on their Moody 422, bound for the Caribbean

A UNESCO World Heritage site, St Martin is Île de Ré’s historic capital and ancient port surrounded by the citadel. Small, old, buzzing with life, and we cherish our time there.

Ian and Wendy’s Moody 422 yacht, Silver Slipper, was moored directly behind us …

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

Leg 10 – Les Sables d’Olonne to La Rochelle – 18 July 2013

M. Christian, Harbour Master, guided us through the lock gate and to our berth

As dawn was preparing to make her golden appearance to grace another red hot day, there was just enough light to see the trawlers off-loading their night’s catch at the maritime cooperative. The Bassin des Chalutiers at La Rochelle was today’s destination …

Continue reading Leg 10 – Les Sables d’Olonne to La Rochelle – 18 July 2013

Memories of Les Sables d’Olonne

Le Clipper, restaurant gastronomique, where we celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary

We’ve had a great time at Les Sables d’Olonne celebrating our 41st wedding anniversary, cleaning Play d’eau, exploring the town and enjoying the constant movement of trawlers. We ate at Le Clipper, Restaurant gastronomique, one of many restaurants along the Quai Garnier where Play d’eau is moored …

Continue reading Memories of Les Sables d’Olonne