Our sailing adventure took us through the French Bay of Biscay over three exciting legs. Our first stop was the island of Belle Île, where we spent our first night at sea. Despite alternating shifts, I could hardly sleep because the exciting experiences of the night kept me awake. Dolphins accompanied us for hours on our night cruise. The night trip was a real experience.
Our journey next took us to the island of Île d'Yeu. On the way there, we had an unexpected encounter: in the darkness, we accidentally collided with a fishing buoy. Fortunately, we didn't pull the net behind it, but the shock was deep. We had simply not seen this buoy coming.
From Île d'Yeu we continued our course to the island of Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron, located south of La Rochelle. We spent wonderful days there too and waited for the right weather window to continue our journey.
Our final move took us to Hondarribia, Spain. We were aware that it would be a longer cruise and planned our shifts carefully. The first day went smoothly, but the next day we were surprised by sudden gusts of wind and heavy rain showers (squalls) throughout the day. Changing shifts was out of the question and we had to hold on day and night. We had to reef the mainsail and later bring it in completely. The waves grew quickly due to the wind and the situation became unpleasant.
The challenges did not even end with the view of the harbour entrance of Hondarribia. The waterfront and the town were so brightly lit that the beacons were difficult to see. The current in front of the entrance was strong and we had to drift sideways into the harbour entrance. But at 05:28 we finally reached our destination and could moor at the jetty.
The French Biscay was a great passage for us with new challenges and with some unforgettable memories.
Belle-Île
Île d'Yeu
Port-Joinville Île d'Yeu