19th July – Saturday – Brest to Roscoff

04.20 get up for a 4:45am start.  12 hour day to complete the 66 miles arriving 16.30.

We had to set off in the dark very early to catch the river tide out of Brest and ensure we timed the tide correctly to navigate through the Chenel du Four.

Early in the morning there was a slight mist, by the time we got to the Chenel it was thick fog.  The sea was very still and the Chenel undercurrent came was we passed through.  There was between 10 and 50 metres visibility and we were relying solely on electronic navigation to see us through the passage.  The tide was running at 4 knots and we achieved 8.3 knots over the ground, not being able to see much past the front of the boat, negotiating the swell and current, which was trying its best to take us off course.  I steered through this section and was quite anxious for most of the time.  We occasionally glimpsed other boats in the mist and once a motor boat came from nowhere and was only 20 metres from our port side.

Interestingly, the fog was so thick it made a water vapour covering over everything on the boat, including ourselves, I actually had dew on my eyelashes and eventually took off my glasses as they we constantly misted.  The mist occasionally gathered to make large water droplets, like big very clumsy raindrops.  We had never seen anything like this before.

It must be noted at this point that the weather forecast gave clear skies with 5 miles visibility for today.  In the middle of the morning the French coast guard came over the radio to advise everyone that fog had been reported and to navigate with care!  Horse…Bolted!

Above shows the navigational instruments, during Chenel du Four.  Left - Baring to Waypoint 339, Course Over the Ground 335, Speed over the Ground 8.5 knots (usually 4 or 5), Distance to Waypoint 2.03 Nautical Miles.  Right – Depth 14.8 metres, Speed through the water 4.7, Distance travelled 11.50 nm.  The tide was increasing our speed over the ground by 4 knots.

Just after the Chenel the fog cleared for about 20 minutes and then came down again.  So much so that ourselves and the other sailors were using our air-horns at assess distances between ourselves.

When the mist finally cleared we had a sunny, clear run into Roscoff.  It being a Saturday many local people were out fishing in their small crafts, so the afternoon was spent dodging fishermen, who do not appreciate you getting too close to their lines, but who also set off or change direction at a seconds notice straight into our path without a thought.  We smiled and waved!

We arrived at Roscoff and were met by the dory who sent us to ‘F’ pontoon, not the usual visitors berths.

Info: Roscoff marina was built in 2008, next to the Brittany Ferry terminal.  All the pontoons are brand new and wide. The facilities were porta-cabins for a while.  There are two lots of facilities along the main pontoon and then excellent new toilets and showers in the marina complex which have only opened this year (2014).  They are still a few signs short and everyone who came into the toilets went first to the showers then muttered to themselves and eventually found the loos.  I directed 5 sets of people whilst drying my hair.  The complex holds a chandlery, shop, cafe/restaurant and the marina offices.  28 euros per night.

20th July – Sunday

Roscoff town is a 20 minute walk, which is signposted, ‘Petit Citie’.  It is unexpectedly attractive, being so close to the ferry terminal.  A lighthouse marks the start of the tiny town, which has a couple of tiny streets, a church and a quayside square with cafes.

Roscoff is where the French onion sellers originated.

We bought some bread and custard tarts which we ate on the harbour-side.  Then slowly walked back to the marina, past an enclosure of camels and lamas, being aired in the sunshine, part of a visiting circus.  Then on past a Mama Mia style, tiny church on the top of a hill which was holding an open air service.  Complete with refreshments stall for the parishioners, just like at home.