Kisti Two left Concarneau on 9 June after a lovely time in this fishing port and walled town. Over the next few days we were to sail to Ile De Groix, then on to Belle Ile before a sail round a few islands finishing up at the entrance to the Gulfe Du Morbihan at Port Cruouesty. The chart below shows our route from Concarneau top left to Morbihan, the red blur in the centre. All the other boats shown are those using AIS at the time of the screen shot.
The cruising chute was made ready in Concarneau and was soon unfurled in light winds so the fishing lines were once again deployed and we caught our first mackerel of summer! The winds later increased, the cruising chute was easily furled away and we were soon romping along with main & Genoa. The wind disappeared so out came the cruising chute again! So much easier with a top down furling system, well done Karver, and Kemps an excellent system. Thank you to John for all his hard work getting it all together. We entered Port Tudy and tied up alongside Dalhanna of Lymington. Tony and Andrea were there to welcome us in! It was a lovely days sail and the fresh mackerel starter tasted superb. Need to catch a few more. Kisti Two enjoyed a couple of nights in Port Tudy which allowed us time for a long walk on 10th June complete with french picnic again. The Ile De Groix was very quiet , but the scenery lovely. If only we could paint these lovely scenes. Must get the watercolours out!!
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| Guy On Walk With Picnic Sticking Out Of Pack. |
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| Port Tudy, Ile De Groix Kisti Two Tied Up To Dalhanna Beside The Ferry |
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| Ginny On Walk What A Stunning Beach. |
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| Picnic Time At Locmaria Like Father, Like Son!!! Can You Spot The Difference? 'Um, um, um, yes darling' |
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| The Picnic View At Locmaria |
It was with some reluctance that we departed on 11 June but the promise of a good wind tempted us out. We soon had 2 reefs in the main (this helps reduce the size of the sail, lowers the centre of gravity and eases the rudder work and sails more upright) It was only a F4/5 but the large swell encouraged us to reef and we still went just as fast but more comfortably and upright. It was an exhilarating sail and 4 hours later we in Port Le Palais on the Belle Ile. We were moored up between two buoys near the harbour wall which turned out to be a little bumpy and their mooring chains occasionally caught the rudder. We were to spend three nights at this fascinating Port.
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| Ginny Enjoying Being At The Helm With 2 Reefs! |
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| Guys Now Knows Why He Dislikes Fish!! The French have A Good name For Fish. |
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| Not All Sunshine. Our Duck Was Happy. Plenty Of Rain While Safe In Port Le Palais. |
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| Port Le Palais. Kisti Two Against The Wall And The Citadel Vauban Top Left |
Belle Ile is a fascinating island with a most magnificent citadel. Amazingly the British captured the island at the close of the Seven Years War with France in 1761. After a contested landing, the final siege was almost gentlemanly. British gunners knocked two breaches in the citadel and the French defenders capitulated. The island was then used by the British as bargaining power to gain Minorca from the French in return for Belle Ile. Well done the Brits!! We enjoyed a visit to the citadel and Guy was amazed that the Brits managed to capture this very imposing castle, quite some feat.
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| Ginny at The Bottom Of One Of The Citadel Ramparts. |
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| Ginny In The Round Room ( the Powder Magazine) Which Has An Amazing Echo Right In The Centre. |
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| Hotel & Museum In The Citadel Vauban |
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| Officers Quarters. Splendid! |
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| A Supply Boat reversing Out Of The Inner Harbour. Fascinating To Watch |
We departed on the 14 June in good weather with the idea of anchoring off Port Marie where the British landed troops. We tied up on a buoy but the weather appeared to be changing, the swell increased so we decided to go for a sail around a couple of islands, Hoedic & Houat before turning north to Port du Crouesty. We had a lovely 40nm sail before settling next to a lovely old 15m British wooden motorboat called Tudora from Falmouth. She even has a bath on her! We enjoyed drinks with them the next day along with some other Cruising Association members
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| Departing Port Maria |
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| A Lighthouse Off Ile Heodic Mind Those Rocks Ginny. |
Kisti Two has now spent three nights in Port Du Crouesty. This has given us a chance to do some admin, clean the boat and off course for Ginny, armed with various maps (most upside down!) to take us on a bike ride. The new seat cover for Guys bike works a treat, so big smiles all round.
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| British Monks Church At The Port Entrance Ginny Armed With a Map!! |
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| Port Navlo, A Very Beautiful Village. |
Our plan is to motor up through the Golfe Du Morbihan tomorrow and head on up the river to Vannes for a night or two, who knows. Bon Nuit.
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