Den Bommel - Spain


A difficult start with a happy ending. As we cruised Normandy and North Brittany already quite extensively, we now concentrated ourselves upon the southernmost regions. So now we enjoy sun, sea and beaches while anchored in Les Sables d'Olonne in the Bay of Biscay. Our bad start was due to: - a huge tear in foresail #4 (this could be expected as the sail was quite old) - loss of the propellor (very expensive 3-blade MaxProp) - and many problems with the cooling system of our engine (solved in Nieuwpoort) - on top of it all it was really bad weather with southwesterly winds force 5-6-7-8. Via Dieppe we visited our favourite port Port-en-Bessin in Normandy. A real fishing port, yachts are allowed but only for a short stay.	Then on to Cherbourg and the Channel Islands, while waiting for the weather to improve. PHOTO 1 One of the many beautiful rivers in North Brittany. This is L'Aber Benoit, on Brittanies most westerly extremity near Ile d'Ouessant. PHOTO 2 The Golfe de Morbihan in South Brittany is an inland sea and should not be missed! We cruised there for days and still we haven't seen every bay. The tide can run up to 5-6-7-8-9 knots, so you'll have to be careful. While at anchor in one of the many bays, a dolphin discovered our anchor ball as an interesting item to play games with. Wanna know more? Click PHOTO 3 If we owned a boat in the Golfe de Morbihan, it would have been a sporty catamaran. This type of boat is also the choice of many French, but fortunately you also see lots of well maintained classic yachts like Int. 6 meters.	PHOTO 4 Royal Visitors! Maarten and Pieter joined us for a glass of champagne (don't worry, there is still enough left). PHOTO 5 We enjoy the picturesque villages, the splendid weather and impressive cloud formations. Our home made bimini shelters us from the sun and we use the solar panel continuously. It generates 5-6 Ah, enough to keep the refrigerator running (so the champagne can be served at the right temperature). We didn't catch any fish, although we saw a giant ray the other day so we have hopes for the future. FOTO 6 Sometimes we even do something! On the Ile de Ré we covered 50 km by bicycle. We saw salt winnings (see photo), oyster beds and swamps. It was beautiful but our bottoms hurt like hell.