La Flotte- Les Sables d’Olonne (30nm); Les Sables- Ile d’Yeu (34nm)
Dungarvan in County Waterford boasts an active and adventurous sailing club. Gareth Higgins took SIPADAN (a Hunter 36) to France for a family cruise in July and August of this year. He published a blog of the cruise for all to read on the club website. In this extract from his blog, he tells us about a section of the trip…
“We docked in La Flotte, a quaint village located on Île de Ré that has previously won the title of “Most Beautiful Town in France.” The cobbled streets, fresh food markets and coastal scenery attract thousands of visitors annually, including some friends from Dungarvan, whom we ran into and planned to have lunch with.
Everything was perfect, we were soaking up the sun until I glanced at the depth beneath the boat, I considered the projected drop in the tide which then prompted a sharp exit— lunch was cancelled! “C’est la vie!” The winds were relatively light and, as in Ireland, persistently from the northwest, which meant a lot of motoring upwind.
We were headed for Bourgenay, but “en route,” I noticed that “Copperwynd,” a Cork boat owned by a colleague, was moored at Quai Garnier in Les Sables d’Olonne. A quick phone call later, dinner reservations were made and we adjusted our course to visit Les Sables d’Olonne for the night.
The next morning, we headed for Île d’Yeu for a visit. However, the northwest winds made it very difficult to get a line on the island, and ultimately, a seasick wife meant that the headsail came in, and we motored into Port Joinville. The approach was tricky, as the marina was crowded, and we had to raft, necessitating a retreat to get the lines and fenders onto the other side and reverse in.
Additionally, my dodger was parting at the seams, and every time I went on deck, I was making it worse by using it as a handhold. Some surgical suturing was required! We also needed to do some laundry and pick up a few items from the chandlery, so we made our way to Port Joinville, the main port for Île d’Yeu, which ticked all our boxes! The following day, the temperature climbed from 19 degrees to 30 degrees, so we decided to stay put for a few days to get jobs done and cycle around the island.”
You can further read Gareth’s cruising adventures on the Cruising Association of Ireland’s homepage