A last blast in Brittany

At the end of our Biscay trip, we found the engine didn’t want to start. Unusual…

Dave found that the oil cooler had gone, and was letting raw seawater into the oil. Not good! Luckily we had a big drum of engine oil with us, so Dave was able to drain all the old oil and replace it with new. He then had to run pipes to bypass the faulty oil cooler, which meant that we now had no way of cooling the oil. We hoped that it was sufficient to get us home.

We spent a couple of days in the river Odet, which is very much like the river Dart – incredibly busy with boats at the entrance (Benodet), but picturesque and tree-lined further upriver, with lovely peaceful anchorages. After an expedition into the woods collecting sticks for bows and arrows, an otter crossed the river right in front of our dinghy.

 Benodet busy with boats

otter climbing out of the river

We were once again shocked at the prices in France – a small beer ashore to celebrate the crossing was 4 euros each!! However, the sun was shining, so we took full advantage of the long sandy beaches in Benodet and spent an afternoon swimming and making sandcastles.

Our next hop took us further west to the town of Audierne, around the Pointe de Penmarc’h. Again, we had forgotten what a popular cruising ground this was, and on the way we passed a constant stream of boats heading in both directions, from small yachts to superfast kevlar-sailed racing boats.

We spent three days in Audierne, and each day the anchorage emptied as most yachts headed out to sea, and each evening it filled up again with new boats. We started to feel we'Katie kayaking by Spring Tide' in Audierne had been there forever! We enjoyed our time there – exploring the pretty town, sampling French crêpes, and swimming off the sandy beaches all around the anchorage.

Kate kayaking by 'Spring Tide'

We met up with our friend Tim on ‘Spring Tide’, who was also heading for the Douarnenez festival, and visited the ‘Aquashow’ – a lovely little aquarium, which also kept birds of prey. During the bird show, a tame peregrine falcon was diving for the fake ’prey’ when there was a scuffle in the treetops – it had disturbed a wild peregrine falcon! Neither got hurt.

octopus in aquarium

Peregrine falcon - huge!

Douarnenez was situated to our north, around the notorious Raz de Sein. The weather was so calm, we weren’t worried about the passage, and in fact decided it was perfect conditions to visit the Ile de Sein, a tiny island directly opposite the Raz headland, and a new stop-off for us.

We anchored in the main harbour in what we hoped was a deep-enough spot. We could see the kelp clearly wafting up from the bottom. It was so clear, in fact, that the children couldn’t wait to jump in and swim. It certainly sounded chilly by the shrieks!

JUMP!

Our neighbouring French boat welcomed us with a bottle of wine, so we invited them over for a coffee and a tour on board. They had hoped to cruise as far as the Scilly Isles but got stopped by the lack of wind, and were now heading back south to their home port. They were amazed to hear we had been away for ten months!

In the afternoon, we went ashore for a quick tour of the island. It is very small, and very low-lying – the highest point being 11m above sea level! There are no trees, no electric cables to the mainland and no natural groundwater – so you can imagine how hard life used to be on the island.

Ile de Sein

seaweed and crabshells

Seaweed was a valuable commodity, used for cooking, heating, and even sold to the pharmaceutical industry for iodine. Water was collected in communal tanks, and even today is used scarcely, as the cost of desalination is high.

The main industry was fishing, and men were called on several times a year to man the lifeboats, when boats got into difficulty in the rock-strewn and strong tidal waters around the island. A chart in the museum showing the hundreds of shipwrecks around the island over the years is very sobering. Not to mention the lifeboat boards listing all the callouts since the 1800s and how many men were (or weren’t) saved.

articles salvaged from shipwrecks, Ile de Sein

Lifeboat callouts, no of men/boats saved on right 

During the second World War, there was a high presence of Germans on the island. All the island’s fishermen set sail for England in 1940 to join the Free French Naval Forces, and were rewarded for their help by de Gaulle with a tax-free status, which I believe still stands. A fascinating place.

From there, we sailed to Douarnenez for our ‘final fling’, the Temps-Fête Maritime Festival. As usual, it didn’t disappoint. Throngs of classic wooden boats congregated in the harbour for several days of sailing races, music and general festivities. The first three days were in gorgeous sunshine. At anchor, we had a great view of all the boats sailing by and could jump in and swim at will. There was even a dolphin in the harbour who kept popping up, seeming unperturbed, in the midst of all the chaos.

traditional smoked fish

chaos of sails

Old friends from Topsham, Val and Bev, came out to surprise us and we had a lovely few days with them, including a sail across the bay. Val was even brave enough to climb up on the boom under sail! The children were delighted to be able to show off their latest tricks in the rigging - they are both now way braver (and stronger) than me on the ropes.

Bev and Val on board

Katie up the rigging

Unfortunately, the weather turned for the last two days. With big winds and swell forecast, we squeezed into the inner harbour, where we wouldn’t be bobbing around and could at least walk ashore between rain showers. Spirits weren’t dampened, however, and the socialising carried on indoors. We met up with other boat crews and friends from the Guadiana, and had a perfect view of the impressive firework finale.

inside the harbour

Marcus and Freya, 'Grayhound'

Reuben and Malachi doing Lego

Dave in stone outhouse

We visited with Marcus and Freya from the lugger ‘Grayhound’. Reuben and their son Malachi became firm friends and they spent two days solidly playing Lego together! After the festival, Marcus drove us around the local area and out to see their beautiful stone house near the Pointe de Raz – a perfect rural retreat.

All in all, we had a great week to end a memorable year of adventuring.