22nd June – Sunday – La Rochelle – Big Day

Another early start to sail to La Rochelle, before it gets too hot.  We set off in good weather, and waded through a flotilla of small fishing boats, we think it was a competition.  We were soon followed by large ominous clouds, which grew and grew, then the storm started.  The sky was very dark behind us and we took some good video of the lightning.  We are travelling in a huge lightning rod so I should have been scared but I love storms.  Mick put the phone in the Microwave (Faraday cage) just in case, as all our navigational equipment is electronic and a strike could have made everything pop.  The storm never quite caught up with us but we got some rain, big Pleur.

Lightning always reminds me of Nellie (my ex Grandma-in-Law and one of the nicest ladies I have ever met) who was scared stiff of lightning, due to a near miss in her youth, real hide-under-the-table scared.  God Bless Nellie.

Another high-light of the day was sailing under the Ile de Re bridge, which connects La Rochelle to the Island.  You have to pass under a particular section which is well marked with Red and Green signs.  The water is only 6 metres deep at this point and tidal planning is required to ensure sufficient water is available, allowing for any swell (but none today).

Once under the bridge you get your first glimpse of La Rochelle, and boy is it busy.  There were tens of vessels in the approaching channel from Tall Ships to canoes, so we needed to be vigilant.  As it was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon it felt like all the residents of La Rochelle were out on the water.

Following the buoys and the pilot book we aimed for the Marina, which is one of the largest in Europe.  The marina is undergoing major work and the entrance was not quite as described in the book.  No visitor pontoon was indicated, so we radioed the Capitanerie for instructions.  After a short conversation in French a small boat came out to meet us, as we were circling awaiting instructions.  The boat told us to follow him and we were taken to the Visitor Jetties and allocated a berth.  We tied up and went to the office where once again the small boat driver turned out to be the man on duty.

It has been a long held dream of Mick’s to sail his own boat here and today he succeeded.  I do not underestimate the years of planning and navigation which have brought us safely to La Rochelle today and praise his skill and tenacity.

We had a quick walk around and then had tea and lots of wine to celebrate.

23rd June – Monday

Walked into town, a good 40 minutes along the waterside, and what a lovely town it is.  There is a large castellated turret and the town wall fortifications which make another impressive entrance to the inner harbour, there are pleasure boats moored here but there is a lock to enter and you have to pre-book.  The harbour is surrounded by shops and restaurants and the town itself has many arched shopping Arcades which make for good shelter in todays light rain.  Had a coffee and watched the world go by and then walked back to the marina.

There is a water bus (Bus de Mer – 3 euros) which goes from the Marina to the centre of town every half hour, but we timed it badly twice.

We have decided that La Rochelle is going to be our most southern port of call this year.  We are going to slowly make our way back up the coast to northern France and the Channel Islands, visiting the places we missed on the way.  There are a couple of reasons.  The first is the heat, neither of us had banked on it being so hot, so early in the year.  The thought of the heat in Spain and Portugal hundreds of miles south in July and August does not appeal.  We are northern folk and are good at being cold but not designed very well for the heat.  We need more gradual practice in the heat.  Secondly we have spoken to many people over the passed few weeks in France and many are going home.  There are varying levels of bureaucracy in other countries where it is very difficult to get a definitive statement of what you can and cannot do as a live-a-board on a yacht and what regulations your yacht must comply with.  We can do without the stress.

The whole purpose of this trip was for us to sail our boat and visit new places, and we are certainly doing that.  We are enjoying France very much and are looking forward to our onward journey and more of Northern France.  We were sorry to miss the Channel Islands on the way here and are really looking forward to them.  Then we may spend some time roaming around the south coast looking for somewhere to leave the boat for winter.  We are going to make full use of our time and are not planning to come home early.