L'Herbaudiere, Port Joinville and Les Sables d'Olonne

L’Herbaudiere, L’Herbaudiere, L’Herbaudiere. It doesn’t matter how often I practice saying it, the next time I have to pronounce it it just comes out wrong! I had the same problem with Hundested in Denmark last year. No idea why.

Anyway, from Piriac-sur-Mer we sailed 28 miles SE to L’Herbaudiere which is on the Ile de Noirmoutier. It was a bit bumpy – we are in the Bay of Biscay after all – but we made good progress and it was great to be able to actually sail all the way from harbour to harbour, and not have to motor at all.

Sailing at last! 

The weather was pretty miserable during our stay in L’Herbaudiere so we didn’t see the place at its best. In fact we didn’t really venture out much at all during our stay, so I don’t have a great deal to say about it. 

Frank and Jennifer (fellow CA – Cruising Association – members who'd seen our CA burgee) kindly invited us aboard their yacht for pre-dinner drinks and nibbles on the 2nd evening we were there. On the 3rd we enjoyed an evening meal of Moules Frites (mussels and chips) with Sam and Camilla – who generously picked up the tab - and Robin, their crew. Other than a short walk around the harbour, some washing of clothes and doing a couple of minor jobs on Camilla and Sam's boat, that was about it! 

We knew we couldn’t stay later than Monday morning as a regatta of about 100 boats was due to descend on the place later that day, but we were ready to move on by then in any case.

 

L'Herbaudiere harbour

Entrance to L'Herbaudiere harbour near low water

Camilla (skipper) gets boat ready to depart. Robin (crew) eats croissants!

Our next destination was Port Joinville on the Ile d’Yeu. This place has a reputation for being packed, but on this occasion the aforementioned regatta worked to our advantage. Prior to visiting L’Herbaudiere, those 100 or so boats were holed up in Port Joinville. There was therefore loads of space for us when we arrived just after they’d departed!

Once again we had to motor the majority of the 20 miles or so of our passage, but we did get about 1.5 hours of sailing in before the wind pretty much died altogether. We encountered the fleet of race boats about 5 miles north of the Ile d’Yeu. They were sailing rather than motoring, but the AIS information from those who were transmitting told us they were only making about 2 knots over the ground – and they were beating to windward too! Plenty of patience required there then…

Leaving L'Herbaudiere

Regatta fleet near Ile d'Yeu making very slow progress

Port Joinville harbour entrance just visible to left of picture

Soon after our arrival at Port Joinville we were greeted by Margaret, who introduced herself as a fellow CA member and invited us to join her and her husband Jack aboard their boat for drinks and nibbles later that evening. Sam, Camilla and Robin were also invited, as were Pam and John from a neighbouring boat. Margaret served up some very tasty nibbles – many of which were homemade - and Jack made sure that our wine glasses were suitably replenished. If you’re reading this Margaret and/or Jack, thanks very much!

The harbour at Port Joinville isn’t anything special. There’s no view from the boat and the ship(s) that bring all the island’s supplies are unloaded very noisily (think dropping full sized containers from a foot or two/dragging them along the ground) about 50 yards away. This all takes place at times that suit the tides, rather than those trying to sleep in their yachts nearby!

We came to hate this ship - except, of course, when we needed supplies!

The Ile d’Yeu is, however, otherwise pretty much idyllic. We circumnavigated it using the well-marked cycle tracks. These include some quiet roads but mostly follow unmade tracks which are closed to motor vehicles. Our trusty steeds (fold up bikes) coped well with the stony surfaces and it made for an enjoyable few hours. The pictures tell a better story than I can:

Ile d'Yeu scenery...

... and again...

,,, and again. How clear is that water?

There were lots of little coves with mini harbours like this

We saw lots of these

She's cracked it! I told her not to jump on it...

How blue is that water?

Private, idyllic beach anyone?

"Sing lofty!". "Why do you whisper green grass..."

Le Vieux Chateau

Street in La Meule. Looks sort of Spanish to me.

Port de La Meule

Looking seaward from Port de La Meule

Beach at La Croix

Pointe des Corbeaux

  

On our final day we visited the local cemetery to see Marechal Philippe Petain’s grave. He’d had a distinguished career in WW1 before seriously blotting his copybook by signing an armistice with the Nazis in WW2. In return, he was allowed to set up a puppet government in unoccupied France with its headquarters in Vichy. Amongst other things, his authoritarian government passed anti-Semitic legislation and was responsible for rounding up Jews for deportation to German concentration camps. 

After the war Petain was tried for treason and sentenced to death. This was subsequently commuted to life imprisonment, some of which he served in Le fort de Pierre Levee at Joinville. He died at the age of 95 and was buried without ceremony in Port Joinville's cemetery. It seems weird to me that such a man would have a cross on his tomb, but what do I know? Maybe he had no say in the matter?

Petain's tomb 

We visited Le fort de Pierre Levee after leaving the cemetery. It reminded us of the forts on top of Portsdown Hill, near Portsmouth, which I suppose shouldn’t be a surprise as they were built around the same time. The fort’s most remarkable feature was that we couldn’t see it at all until we were within about 50 yards! A small forest had been planted around it which did a great job of hiding it – and making it impossible to photograph properly…

Entrance to Le fort de Pierre Levee

Le fort de Pierre Levee's dry moat

How French is that? Citroen Ami (remember those Ju?!) with lobster pot on top!

We enjoyed farewell drinks with Sam, Camilla and Robin on the Thursday evening before going our separate ways the following day. Camilla is the editor of the CA’s magazine and has to return to the UK shortly to get the next issue ready. They’re heading north to leave their boat in Arzal until they’re ready to continue their cruise. We’re continuing south for a little longer, starting with a visit to Les Sables d’Olonne (30 miles of decent downwind sailing).

Fish farm off Ile d'Yeu

Farewell Ile d'Yeu! Pointe des Corbeaux - the SE point of the island

Entrance to Les Sables d'Olonne

No doubt Les Sables d’Olonne is famous for many things but us yachties know it for the Vendee Globe.

No caption required!

This is the non-stop, round the world, single handed sailing race launched in 1989 by Philippe Jeantot and Cyclone is currently berthed in Port Olona, the very marina used by the Vendee Globe yachts (and, it has to be said, hundreds of very ordinary vessels too!).

Cyclone in Port Olona - home to the Vendee Globe

The boat pictured below is no ordinary vessel though. Sailed by Alessandro Di Benedetto, at 6.50m she's the smallest vessel to have circumnavigated the world. She did this without stopping, without assistance, without engine, without generator and via the 3 Capes - the same course as the Vendee Globe.

"Mini" Respect!

There’s a Walk of Fame in Les Sables d’Olonnes but this isn’t for namby pamby actors. Oh no! The pedestrian Remblai walkway has been lined with 7 floor plaques celebrating the Vendee Globe winners. These contain the date of the victory, the skipper’s hand and footprints, and a sketch of the yacht concerned. I’d have taken photos if I’d read the leaflet that told me they were there before we got back to our boat…

I managed to acquire a self-guided walk leaflet from the Tourist Information office (much to Jo’s delight…) and so we walked the Les Sables d'Olonne route one day and the La Chaume route the next (La Chaume is the town on the other side of the harbour entrance).

First some pictures of Les Sables d'Olonne:

Les Sables d'Olonne street scene

That'll be the Sable then! The cloud soon cleared to relentless sunshine

The St Nicholas Priory, La Chaume side of the harbour entrance

Saint clair Castle, Arundel Tower, Also on La Chaume side of the harbour entrance

Looking towards La Chaume in the direction of the harbour

War Memorial in Place de la Liberte, Les Sables d'Olonne

L'Ile Penotte quarter of Les Sables d'Olonne, where houses are decorated with shells

L'Ile Penotte bat

L'Ile Penotte Dracula!

L'Ile Penotte street scene...

... and again

Me, standing in La Rue de L'Enfer - the narrowest street in the world...

...and in the Guiness Book of Records, so it's official! Just 40cm wide.

The remaining pictures are of La Chaume:

Secondary town hall of La Chaume. The coat or arms features the Virgin protecting ships and sailors

Trompe l'oeil fresco in the St Anne square...

... or "Muriel" as we like to call 'em.

Yes I know that should be "Mural"(we particularly liked this one)...

...but we still remember Hilda Ogden and her "Muriel"!

La Chaume streets contrast with the modern urban landscape of Les Sables d'Olonne

Saint Clair Castle, Arundel Tower. You can climb this...

... and get views like this!

The St Nicholas Priory. 16th century first place of worship in La Chaume. Subsequently a fort and arsenal

Armandeche Lighthouse. 36m high with a 42km reach

Cross overlooking the sea

Tomorrow we head for La Rochelle. We intend to stay there for a few nights - visiting Ile de Re by bus (the harbours there apparently get very crowded) and remaining for the July 14^th Bastille Day celebrations.

Thanks for reading.

Port Louis, Home and Piriac-sir-Mer

You'll have gathered from my last post that we travelled back to England to visit our parents at the end of June. You can see from the pictures below how delighted they were to see us:

Beryl and Keith - Jo's parents (caught off guard!)

Margaret - Rob's mum...

... who went off Rob when he scored 185 with "crescent"!

A better picture of Jo's parents - Lee on the Solent...

... and better still!

A French National Strike delayed our return flight from Gatwick by two days. There's not a lot to do in a Gatwick hotel. It's not as if you can even go for a walk anywhere.

Rob "enjoying" the Hilton, Gatwick

Still, with this being June 24th 2016, there was plenty of breaking news on the TV:

EU referendum results. Interesting times...

Joking aside, it was great to see our parents and they were delighted to see us too. Despite the disastrous travel arrangements, we're very glad that we went.

My suspicions that the Volvo engineer had not yet visited Cyclone were confirmed when we finally got back to Port Louis. We didn't want to hang around until they were able to fit us in and so decided to limp on with the engine as it was - i.e. getting too hot if we ran at anything over 1700(ish) rpm.

More from a feeling that I had to try something to resolve the problem than anything else, I decided to isolate the calorifier (hot water tank) from the freshwater cooling system - just in case this was responsible for an airlock or was somehow impairing circulation. This was pretty straightforward but, as it meant draining the coolant before disconnecting the relevant hoses, it took a bit of time. Job done, I ran the engine up to 2000 rpm in forward gear whilst alongside the pontoon and, sure enough, after about 30 minutes the overheat alarm sounded. So disconnecting the calorifier was a waste of time...

But this time I was ready for it! I'd bought an infra-red thermometer from Screwfix before leaving home and carried it back in my hand luggage. These are amazing bits of kit. You just point them at something, squeeze the trigger and, behold, a digital read out of its temperature! So, with the alarm squealing its heart out, I fired my "gun" at different parts of the engine. Nowhere did I record a temperature of much over 70 degrees centigrade and, given that the engine is supposed to run at 74 degrees centigrade, I could only conclude that the engine wasn't overheating at all.

Just in case this was wishful thinking, I fired a query off to the Practical Boat Owner forum on ybw.com. Within a few hours I had several helpful answers, including some readings taken in the same way from an identical engine by a forum member. These were slightly higher than those I was getting, so I was able to conclude that all my "overheating" woes were actually down to a faulty sender unit!

Anyway, time for a little bit about Port Louis. Formerly called Blavet, Port Louis was renamed by Louis XIII in the early 1600s when the fortress was rebuilt. In 1666 the French Company of East Indies was founded in the Port Louis harbour and the city became home to aristocrats and naval officers.

Unsurprisingly, the citadel was controlled by the Germans from 1940 to 1945, when it was used for the defence of the harbour. It now houses two museums; one relating to the establishment of France's lifeboat service and the other to the East India Company.

Enough waffle, time for some pictures:

Port Louis cove with the citadel in the distance

Port Louis Citadel

Port Louis' main beach

More pictures of the citadel....

... and more...

... and more

Our next destination was to be Piriac-sur-Mer. The offending engine coolant temperature sender unit was disconnected prior to our "sail" there - a "sail" that included 7 hours of motoring/motor sailing until there was sufficient wind to make progress under sail alone.

Every half hour I checked the engine temperatures with my new gadget and all was well. Admittedly we weren't pushing it at just under 5 knots through the water, but this was definitely good news! Perhaps I'll try running the engine a bit faster next time and see what effect, if any, this has on its temperature.

Before setting off for Piriac-sur-Mer, a distance of about 45 miles, I'd sent Camilla and Sam a text to let them know of our plans. Coincidentally, and fortuitously, they were also heading for Piriac-sur-Mer that very same day!

Camilla and Sam are people for whom I have enormous respect. Sam had a stroke a few years back which left him pretty much paralysed down his right side.

We'd first met them when they'd visited Cyclone at my invitation to see if we could work out ways to get Sam on and off the boat with his restricted mobility. Their identical boat was in Denmark at the time - they'd intended to continue their Baltic cruise before Sam's stroke dealt its blow - so Cyclone was a more convenient test bed for ideas.

Since that day, Camilla and Sam have sailed extensively together - always, I believe, with the help of an additional crew member (Robin, someone Sam's known from his schooldays, is with them at the moment) - including a return passage across the North Sea to the Netherlands and their current cruise from Roscoff to Ile de Yeu. How many other people would have done this in their circumstances? How many would have just given up? Respect!

En route to Piriac-sur-Mer: Not a lot of wind then!

Piriac-sur-Mer is a very pretty town with plenty of beaches and coastal walking.

Piriac-sur-Mer...

... and again...

...and again...

... and again...

... and again...

... and again...

... and again

A Piriac-sur-Mer market stall. Look closely and you'll see a Yorkshire Terrier in one of the baskets!

On our second day in Piriac-sur-Mer, we decided to do the 10km walk marked on the map provided by the tourist information centre. Camilla agreed to join us, which was great. When you spend so much time with only the two of you, it's always nice to have someone else to talk to!

The walk was a bit of this....

... but mainly this.

Cute port, but we're not going to attempt it!

Camilla with Jo, taking a well earned rest

Er, rocks!

We're now in L'Herbaudiere after a 5 hour sail - yes sail!!! - yesterday. It was a bit bumpy, but great to be making fast progress with only the sound of the wind and waves. Sam, Camilla and Robin are here too and we hope to spend a bit of time with them later.

Thanks for reading.