Put Out More Fenders

Monday 28 May: Up bright and early, and already feeling energized from being at sea, but still grubby after yesterday's ablution fiasco. The Dufour has two huge water tanks, and there would certainly be plenty for a hair-wash and a shower, but would it be warm? I took a chance, and realized how little water you actually use for a shower on the boat. Maybe that’s why they don’t bother building any at La Trinité?

So, complete change of plan: Piriac sur Mer.

Warm, sunny and not a breath of wind this morning Well, in a way that suits: engine on, autopilot engaged, 2 ½ hours to Piriac at 6 kts or so. At least the autopilot works: we seem to be having trouble with the speed indicator and the log as well as the depth sounder.

We entered the harbour at Piriac at midday with 3m of water over the sill, and were given an easy downwind berth a short walk from the quayside. The entrance channel is very narrow, so you have to be really wary if there’s nobody to lead you in.
Having got the boat tidy, we sat admiring the view and watching as boats continued to hurry in before the closure of the harbour "door". Piriac is quite exposed to the prevailing westerlies, and whilst the water in the harbour is very sheltered, the breeze often makes berthing tricky. The local technique for tying up to an upwind berth soon became clear: Turn confidently in, just a little upwind, bounce gently but firmly off the boat in the neighbouring downwind spot, and ricochet in a more or less controlled fashion towards the desired finger pontoon...
The moral of the story being, when tied up to a downwind pontoon, leave a generous share of your fenders on the opposite side. If you're of a nervous disposition, it's probably also better to go ashore for your apéritif and leave the locals to their own devices.

Walled in. Piriac's moveable barrier.

I had put in a request for a bit of touristy stuff somewhere along the way, and this was looking very promising. It was a public holiday, the sun was shining, and the setting very pretty. OK, it was a bit candyfloss, but the atmosphere was really relaxed. Also we didn’t have to sit in traffic to get home, just amble back to Our Yacht. Tee Hee.

Piriac's pretty town square

We had lunch, walked around the lovely little town, bought a few souvenirs and withdrew for a civilized supper on board. One thing I love about Brittany is that the time zone means it stays light really late in the evening in summer. I never tire of watching the sun go down whilst sipping a glass of chilled white in the cockpit of a boat, and I don’t suppose I ever will. Smug.
While I cooked the supper, the Skipper made himself useful. One of our mooring lines was very badly frayed, and this had been annoying me, so Skipper got out his little mending bag and set about whipping it. Very neatly done it was, too.

Love the hat.

We asked at the Capitainerie to check what time we could get out of the harbour. The answer was readily forthcoming, but nobody seemed to be able to give us the information you would need to work it out for yourself. Most frustrating!