Friday 4 October

We are out of the water!  Having been told that the wind would be too strong to take the boat out, when we woke up we saw that the wind was only blowing 5 knots where we were.  So Richard decided to immediately set out to La Seyne to see what could be done.  The wind picked up a bit as we went over, but only got to 10-11knots.  We phoned the boat yard as we arrived and then Alex arrived and said he would lift the boat then and there.  There was a lot to do to prepare it.  We had to emptly the water tank, take off the lazy jacks and bag and remove the back stays!  But all went well and the boat came out just fine.

However, there was a shock when it came out.  We found that the starboard rudder was broken.  The bottom was worn away and it is split about a quarter of the way up.  Worse was to come,  When the boat was cleaned off it revealed that the hull below the water line is badly scratched, one large gash of about 12 inches is quite deep.  We can only imagine all this happened when I hit the side of the canal trying to let another boat pass.  It sounded like we hit rocks, but Richard thought at the time we only touched the keel, which being a huge bit of metal, causes no problem.  But it seems we hit the side of the boat and the rudder.  This will be an expensive repair.  I suspect we will need Southerly to make a new rudder.  Probably will have to make an insurance claim.  In the circumstances we are very glad that we have had the boat taken out of the water for the winter and that we were there to see the problem when it came out.

We finished off cleaning and clearing the boat.  We tried to find a sail maker who could valet our sails and store them for the winter, but without luck.  The only local one wanted 70 euro for each sail just to store them.  We will just keep them on board.  Also the sailmakers said the could not alter our stackpack bag to make it larger to take the bulkier sail.  Arun said they probably could do something if we took the cover back.  So I have made room in our luggage to bring it back!

By midday the boatyard shuts for lunch.  We go off to the town to check in to our hotel and have a bite of lunch.  Then back to finish off the boat.  By this time I am exhausted.  My Nike band shows that I have walked over 10,000 steps today and overran my goal, which is designed to be met when I do serious exercise.  This is not good for my knee which really aches.  So I leave Richard to it and return to the hotel and have a rest.

Richard goes back to Toulon by ferry and gets our car.  We then decide to go out to dinner.  I find a restaurant that is recommended in Michelin.  It is said to be 4km from the town on the road to St Mandrian (where we moored when we first left Toulon).  So off we set, but we cannot find the restaurant.  We ring them for directions, but they are not very specific.  Finally we stop and ask someone on the street.  The restaurant is supposed to be in a place called Fabrigas (I thought he used to play for Arsenal!) but we can find no signs to show us where it is.  However the instructions given to us by the person who asked turns out to be correct (despite our suspicions).  We finally find the place at the end of a dead end road right next to the beach.  When we get in there we are really uncertain we have come to a good place.  It is Friday night and now 8:30pm and there is no one else in the place. But two more tables turn up and the food is really good.  They do a mussel dish, which is particularly nice.  The only problem is that service is slow.  There is only one person serving and we are not convinced that she isn’t also doing the cooking.  But it is a nice evening meal.

On the way back to the hotel we get caught in a huge thunder storm.  We both get soaked just running from the car to the door!  The lightening is spectacular.  Now planning our nights stay for tomorrow.  It is nice to have only that to worry about (Well other than waiting for the quotes for the repairs to the boat- We now have two boatyards pitching for our custom).

Thursday 3 October

Today is hard work day.  Richard did get the sails off last night, but there are tons of things to tidy away.  First priority is the last of the washing.  I manage to get it all in one load, but that was probably a mistake because when I got back to the boat and started to go through all the clothes to see what should go and what should stay I found a lot of things I should have washed to leave here.  But we shall just have to take them home.  At least we have good luggage allowance on our BA flight home.

Sorting clothes and starting to pack them away seems to take me most of the morning.  Then I had to start to sort out the food.  That meant going through the whole of the galley and seeing what was opened, what was in date until next summer, etc.  I thought I had done well eating through most of the stores, but there is an awful lot left.  I do have a bit of luck in getting rid of food.  Two boats down there is an Englishman on a Nauticat.  I see him at the toilet block and ask if he would like my leftovers and he seems keen.  In the end I was able to give him just about everything.  I am just left with food for dinner tonight, and breakfast tomorrow, although I do have some left over butter.

We seem to be getting on quite well to be taken out tomorrow.  Richard speaks to the boatyard again and they seem to think it will be fine.  Then at about 4pm they ring and say we can’t come out tomorrow because there will be too much wind.  The weather forecast really is bad suggesting winds of 8-9 plus strong gusts.  They want to postpone it to Monday.  This is Ok with us.  If necessary we can drive back here to supervise the lifting out then, but we need somewhere to keep the boat in the meantime.  So Richard agrees with them that we can leave the boat on the pontoon where they lift the boats from.  There is a small charge by the town to stay on the pontoon, but that is fine.  They have also said that they do not need us to be there on Monday when it comes out, but we will discuss all the details with them tomorrow when we take the boat over.  We are also told that there is electricity available, so we can keep the batteries charged.  With this information Richard goes to the chandlery to buy a small de-humidifier to put on the boat.  However when he gets here, he can’t make it come on, and finds that it is not suitable, because it drains into a tank which needs to be emptied.  Luckily the shop takes it back.  We shall just have to see how we get out without a de-humidifier – or buy one tomorrow.

We have a drink on board with the Nauticat owner, John.  He seems quite nice.  He keeps his boat in Port Napoleon- it seems every English boat is there!  He even offers to help us crew tomorrow if the conditions seem too bad for us to do it ourselves.  Very kind.

I have now cleaned the whole of the galley and most of the heads except for the awful job of cleaning under the floor.  That is always awful, full with soap scum and hair!  I finally get it done, but it was a horrid task.  Also I had to get down on my hands and knees and my bad knee doesn’t like that at all.  So I am now shattered and give up.  At least we don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, so we can take it slowly to finish off the packing.  It may even work out better.

Wednesday 2 October

Well this is the beginning of the end.  We will go to Toulon today and have a day and a half to clear the boat and get it ready for the winter before it is taken out on Friday.  Regrettably the weather forecast is for high winds on Thursday and Friday, so heaven knows what will happen.

Richard first goes with out neighbour to the chandlery to find a new nav light.  They do not seem to have any success, however in speaking to each other they find that the Frenchman knows the boatyard that is doing the work on our boat for the winter and he will instruct them to repair the light and send the bill to him.  So that should be ok.  In the meantime we tape a plastic bag over what is left of the fitting, so water does not get into the electrics.

The day is bright and the wind has miraculously turned around so we are not going upwind at all.  We first stop for fuel so the boat is topped up for the winter.  Then we set out.  It is the top of a four as we leave the harbour and Richard decides to sail.  He has not undone the sail bag, so goes forward to do that when there is a little bang and the main sheet block falls onto the forward deck.  The shackle holding it on to the boom has failed!  So there will be no mainsail today.  Richard takes the blame.  He thinks he must not have done up the shackle properly when the mast went back up and he redid all the ropes.  Richard rigs up the rest of the mainsheet bits and attaches them directly to the boom, but the boom is still rocking around in what is a fairly lumpy sea.  He eventually has to rig up a preventer to stop the boom moving.

The good thing is that the wind is getting stronger and is directly behind.  That being the case sailing on just the genoa is fine.  We are making about 5 knots and going nicely.  Richard says it did occur to him just to sail on genoa before the main sheet fell down!

I did not sleep well last night, so I have a snooze in the cockpit.  I wake up to find that we are only 45 mins out of port.  We have a quick lunch (I made sandwiches this morning) and then come into the Old Port in Toulon, where we were before.  This time we are on an inside pontoon, because the visitor pontoon is more or less filled with an enormous trimaran!  It is getting late so we get to work.  I start sorting out clothes while Richard takes down the sails.  Then I go to the shops just to get the minimum we need to eat tonight and tomorrow.  We shall do a fast day tomorrow, which makes things a little easier.  I will have to do the last of the laundry and clean the inside of the boat.

Richard has spoken to the boat yard.  Everything is fine for Friday.  High winds may cause a problem, but they will sort it out… We will see.

Tuesday 1 October

It is my birthday, but perhaps least said the better. As previously discussed, no presents, but not even a proper birthday card-just a postcard bought locally, yesterday no doubt.  We have really terrible internet connection here, even with the Domino, so I can’t even tell if anyone has sent me an e-mail in the morning.  Later in the day I did get e-mails, skype messagea and texts from the boys, my sister, Wednesday and some friends. So maybe somebody out there thinks of me.

The weather is nice, if not spectacular.  We could have taken the boat out and anchored near a beach, but I wasn’t in the mood, so we took a walk to the other side of the Island instead.  It was an easy walk, but about 4 miles and I am not sure it did my knee any good at all.  So back to the boat for a light lunch using up food we have.  We must get rid of it all or throw it out within 4 days!

Spent the afternoon on the boat and even had a little sleep.  By the time we came to, the harbour office had closed so we can’t pay until tomorrow.  One thing I have forgotten to mention in this log is the unusual aircraft we have been seeing.  The other day as we left le Ciotat, we saw a bright yellow thing flying very low, so low it looks like it could hit another boat’s mast.  Then we see what it is doing.  It is an emergency fire fighting plane practicing picking up water from the sea and spraying it over a fire.  It does this 4-5 times just as we are leaving the port.  Another sight was when we were coming back from Porquerolles the first time.  Then we saw 7 fighter jets flying in close formation.  As they approached Toulon the let off ‘bleu blanc rouge’ smoke.  Then on the way here we were buzzed a number or times by what looked like an old WW11 plane.  Finally today as we were in the cockpit no less than 4 fire fighting plans started practicing picking up water just in the bay outside the marina.  All very interesting.

As we are going to a posh restaurant for dinner we decide to shower in the toilet block not on the boat even though we have to pay for the showers.  It isn’t much, but after paying about 30 euros for the night you would not have thought it necessary to charge another 1.5 euro for a shower.

I get back to the boat first and start to dress for dinner.  I just get into my posh jump suit when another boat starts to come in.  The wind is blowing a bit- it is a four- though nothing like what it was doing when we came in yesterday.  The boat starts to make an approach and gets it wrong so pulls out and tries again.  As I am in going out clothes there isn’t much I can do.  Anyway there are two Frenchmen on the pontoon to help and the boat seems to have a crew of 4 men and two women.  But just to make sure everything is alright I go out on deck.  Richard is still not back from the shower, so I am on my own.  The boat is a 40ft Beneteau.  It seems to be coming in very nicely and well away from us when suddenly the bow blows around right in the direction of our bow.  Dressed or not I run forward to fend off and manage to grab its pushpit and try to push them off.  However, the boat is very heavy and It has a huge anchor protruding out the front.  So while I am able to keep the boat from ramming us I can’t keep it far enough away, and the anchor smashes out starboard navigation light.  Well, it could have been a lot worse, but it figures we would have a breakage on my birthday.  The skipper is terribly apologetic and immediately says he will go to the chandlery in the morning to buy us a replacement and pay for its installation.  When Richard finally comes back he sees the damage and is content with what has been offered.

Off we go to the harbour office where we will be picked up to be taken to the Langoustier restaurant.  It seems that is the only way to get there and back and the hotel and restaurant provides this chauffeur service.  The restaurant is modern and overlooks the sea.  In fact it overlooks the bay where we anchored last time.  I choose the middle priced menu because I don’t see me eating 7 courses plus two amuse bouches.  We start with a glass of champagne.  Then come the tasters.  Very nice especially a foie gras mousse served in a little cup to look like a cappuccino!  The food was very nice, though I thought the fish was slightly overcooked.  The best part was the dessert.  I have been disappointed by the desserts so far.  Too small, too precious and not rich enough.  But this was great fun.  It was a modern take on Black Forest Gateau.  A large rectangular plate had three little cakes on in all made in the shape of a cherry.  There were a number of marinated cherries and two little round red things which turned out to be chocolates filled with cherry liqueur, scrummy.  Oh, there was also a small scoop of black cherry sorbet.  As cherries are just about my favourite fruit, it was great for me.

So we are driven back to the port.  On the way back to the boat we stop outside the chandlery that has free WIFI.  The signal is much better and I finally get my messages and am able to load the last two days’ Times.

Monday 30 September

The morning seems nice.  After yesterday’s rain it is bright and clear with blue skies.  Richard rows over to the harbour office and pays for our last two nights and returns reporting that the weather forecast is as expected.  Clear with wind from behind at force 4-6.  So we are off to Ile de Porquerolles.  We had hoped to anchor for at least the afternoon or even the night, but it looks like the wind will be too strong for that, so we will just set out for the marina.

All goes well to start.  The winds are about a 4 and we are sailing quite nicely.  Very soon however, they pick up and it is about a steady 6 most of the way.  With a following wind that doesn’t seem too bad.  However, when we get to Sicie Point it is miserable again.  That damn point - this is the third time around it and two of the three have been in winds of over 24 knots.  We try to do a controlled gybe, but the wind gets hold of the sails and with so much weather helm, I can’t keep her on course.  So in the midst of the worst of the seas we have to take two reefs in.  Then we can gybe and on this course, the seas, which have built a bit, feel better.  Still, I should have taken a pill.  By the time we can see the harbour I am feeling fairly queasy.  The wind is now a pretty steady 26-28 knots.  We manage to get the main down, but not neatly and I am worried about Richard going forward too much in this wind.  Then Richard has a really good idea – he spots a place where other boats are anchored and it is quite a bit calmer, even though the wind is still blowing full force.  We put down the anchor and in peace and quiet are able to wrap up the mainsail and get all the fenders and lines out.  So after a ten minute or so respite it is on to the harbour.  I was worried there might not be room, but there are plenty of places.  However, Richard does not want to be on the far end where it is practically empty.  So he goes up the pontoon.  He spots a space which is fairly big being between two small boats, both with people on board who could help us.  It looks like we will need help as it is still blowing top of a 6, bottom of a 7.  We just can’t get in to the space.  We are being blown sideways and the wind is so strong the bow thrusters can’t push us hard enough.  So we go to look for somewhere easier to berth, but still not at the further more exposed end.  We spot a space big enough for at least two boats and dive for it.  To start with we seem to be doing well, but at the last minute all hell breaks loose and we are blown hard onto a 34ft Bavaria.  Luckily there is crew on the Bavaria who fend us off well and we put lots of fenders out.  But it is hell to moor.  The wind is blowing us sideways so hard that to pull us into position I have to put the lines on the winches and winch us in to position.  Richard and I both have to tug with all our might to get the forward line hard enough to pull us out also.  But with the help of two very nice Frenchmen and the winches we are finally safely in!  Whew!

Richard goes to book us in.  I vaguely remember there being a launderette here and ask Richard to enquire about it.  He returns confirming that it is right around the corner from the boat.  So we spend the afternoon doing laundry.  It doesn’t cover everything I need to wash before we go home, but it makes a good dent in it.  Really I am just left with the sheets and duvet cover we are sleeping on and some of the last bits of clothes we are sailing in.  That gets us a bit ahead of the game.

Regretfully, although we can get some free WIFI none of the signals are strong enough to get the Times.  The same goes for the Domino.  It seems that Orange coverage here is also very week.  So I am reading my next book on the kindle and doing my tapestry.  That should keep me busy.

Sunday 29 September

A day of pure indulgence of all kinds.  Up fairly late.  Managed to get just enough free WIFI to download the main parts of the Sunday Times.  So spent the morning reading the paper and just mooching about.  At about midday all hell broke loose weather wise.  The forecast was for thunderstorms and indeed that is what we got.  Over an hour of torrential rain, and constant thunder and lightning.  At one stage the lightning was just overhead and kept making the lights blink.  I was sure we were going to be struck by a bolt of the stuff.  Richard calm as usual pointed out that our mast was smaller than most, so the higher ones were much more likely to get hit then us.  Anyway, nothing untoward happened except that we found a leak.  Water started to drip from the place where the wires come down the mast and into the boat – a leftover from when we put the mast back up, showing that the weather since mid July really hasn’t been so bad. It was pouring down through the wiring.  We did think that the wiring to the mast needed sealing after it was put back up.  We have not had such heavy rain (which is good) to prove that there is a problem.  Richard can’t find any sealant, but we will need to do it after the rain stops in any event. 

With the terrible weather we stay in and have a light lunch.  We then get ready to go to the Thalasso.  Luckily the rain stops and the sun actually comes out and we set off.  The treatments are fun.  We each have a bath with different additions which is sort of like a jacuzzi, but instead of bubbling all the time it works its way around the body sort of massaging you.  Then we each have a wrap.  It was somewhat different from wraps I had before in that you rested on a water bed that was collapsed about your to form the wrap.  Last Thalasso treatment was for me a funny massage lying on a water bed that had pressure put through it to form a massage.  Richard had the jets of water sprayed on him.  Then we each had gentle massages under a spray of sea water.  All very relaxing and very wet!  After our treatments we went into their Thalasso pool, which was just a big set of different kinds of Jaccuzzi, rather fun.

So, well washed, we set off back to the boat.  Stop for a drink on the front, and have a local Sangria.  On the boat I start reading a new book.  I miss old Leopold Bloom!  The sun is now out and it is quite a pleasant afternoon.  So we spend a lot of time in the cockpit.

Then out to dinner.  We have chosen a restaurant recommended in the Michelin guide.  It has no rosettes, but does have a very good write up.  And it really comes up to its reputation.  The food is as good as some of the one rosette restaurants we have eaten in.  The service, which is all done by one waitress (but it is a small restaurant with only about 15 people in for the evening), is excellent and friendly.  We have a lovely meal and are now back on the boat.  The wind has dropped and it is a nice quiet evening.  However, the weather forecast for the next two days is for fairly strong winds (5-6) so our original plan of anchoring tomorrow night is looking doubtful.  We will leave in the morning and see how we get on.  At least the wind is predicted to be in the right direction for our next two sails (westerly when we want to go east and vice versa).

Saturday 28 September

Up fairly late.  The weather is not great.  Certainly it will not be a beach day.  It is overcast with some breaks in the clouds.  Also the wind is getting up, keeping it quite cool.  So we just have leisurely French breakfast.  Then we manage to download the Times, though not from the free WIFI, which only seems to work intermittently and only really for the internet and e-mails, not downloads.  We then decide to go out and try to provision the boat for the rest of the week.  We have dinner on board for tonight and will eat out tomorrow and on my birthday on Tuesday.  Monday will be a fasting day, so really there is not too much to buy.

Back to the boat and read the papers.  We have something new for lunch.  Instead of bread we have bought a Fougasse, stuffed bread specialty of the area.  It is a sort of cross between a loaf of bread and a pizza.  Very interesting, though Richard did find it a bit heavy on the black olives which he doesn’t eat!  We have decided to just have a quiet day today.  The weather forecast for tomorrow is bad.  Rain and thunderstorms with high winds.  We have found that there is a Thallassotherapy hotel here and we will try to book a session for tomorrow.  First however, Richard is going to use the free internet to get us organised for when the boat comes out.  First he books us into the best hotel in Vence (just inland from Nice) with a two rosette restaurant.  That will be my delayed birthday treat.  Then after a lot of effort he manages to book us a car to go from Toulon to be returned to Nice airport.  Then he books us an hotel for the last night at the airport, as we have a morning flight.  Finally he books us into the one rosette restaurant at Porquerolles which we couldn’t get in to the other day, for my birthday.  We find that they include a lift to the place from the port!  So we hope our last 4 days are now all sorted out.

We take the long way around walking to the hotel that does the Thalasso, and yes they can book us in for tomorrow afternoon.  So we have chosen three treatments and a massage each.  We don’t think we will need to shower tomorrow!  On the way back stop at the posh Italian ice cream parlour and indulge in good sized cones!  My weight is not going to appreciate all this indulgence.

Back to the boat and I spend the afternoon finishing off Ulysses!  Yes on the fourth attempt I have finally finished it.  I don’t think I understood more than half of it and I shall probably have to read it again, but I do have a great sense of achievement.  Richard suggests a glass of champagne to celebrate, but I will save that for my birthday.  Dinner on board.  Made a cote de boeuf with pommes Lyonaisse.   More calories! 

The wind has really got up this afternoon.  Here in the harbour it is blowing a 6.  Hope it gets better when we want to move on Monday. 

Friday 27 September

In accordance with our plans we left le Ciotat for Bandol at about 10am.  The weather was cloudy, but warm.  It seemed to be in line with the forecast.  Even going out 3 miles to dump the holding tank, we only had 9 miles to go.  Not exactly a long journey.  We couldn’t sail.  There was only about 2-3 knots of wind, so again we just motored.  What they say about the Med is true, there is either too much or too little wind.

I forgot to mention in my log before the bit of interesting wild life I saw the other day when we went to le Ciotat.  I kept seeing splashes in the water.  I thought at first it must be a diving bird, but it seemed too big for that.  Finally there was a fish that jumped right up out of the water.  I thought at first that it might be a dolphin, but it was the wrong shape, not quite large enough and did not have the proper dorsal fin.  In the end, after looking at the book I am convinced that I saw a tuna!  Very exciting.

Nothing like that today.  Nothing at all to see really.  We get in to Bandol just after noon and are directed to the visitor pontoon.  Richard again does a wonderful job of mooring us stern to.  He is getting very good at this.  We decide to go straight over to the Harbour Office to sign in and then have showers.  It is a very long walk even though our berth is directly opposite the office.  The problem is that the only way ashore is in the opposite direction!  We are therefore very disappointed to find the office closed for lunch (from 12:00 to 13:30)!  So we trudge back searching the back streets for a bakery, which we eventually find.

Lunch on board is whelks and crab claws bought in the Hypermarket yesterday.  Very nice.  But we are a bit surprised to realise how good the weather is.  It has got quite sunny and hot.  Had we known it would be like this we would have found an anchorage for the night, but hey ho here we are.  The town seems quite nice and sophisticated.  But we can’t find much in the way of shops to provision.  There are a few butchers, but no grocery stores, greengrocers or even small supermarkets that we can see from our limited search so far.  A trip to the tourist office does tell me that the only launderette is too far away to walk to, so any plans to start the laundry have to be scrapped.

So we have a quiet afternoon.  We go back to the Harbour office when it opens, but this time we take the dinghy.  It is only a very short row.  Much better way to get there so long as not too many boats moor along side us so we can’t get the dinghy to the pontoon to get into.

I spend most of the afternoon in the cockpit under the bimini ready Ulysses.  I have got to the last chapter, Molly Bloom’s soliloquy.  So it looks like I shall finally finish the book, but wait and see….

This evening we walk around the town.  We couldn’t get in to the restaurant we wanted as it was fully booked, so we have booked for Sunday night (if we stay that long).  We therefore just look for somewhere to have a light bite.  We find a very busy place and stop there and have Moules frites, which were quite good. 

The harbour has free WIFI, but it is very weak.  However, it is free and I am now listening to the BBC online.  It does stop every once in a while, but better than the French oldies channel, Nostalgie, which is the other alternative. 

We don’t know what we will do tomorrow.  I would like to try to find a coach tour of the vineyards, but I don’t think there are any.  We shall see what the weather is.

Thursday 26 September

Yesterday when we tried to use the toilet block we found that they had locked the ladies part with a key even though it has a keypad and code.  So it was with some trepidation that we walked all the way over to it again this morning to take showers.  However, this morning it is open and all is well and I join the ranks of the clean again.

We have found out that there is a large commercial centre just out of town where there is an Orange shop.  There is also a local bus that goes there.  So off we go on the bus.  It takes us quite a time to find the Orange shop which is hidden up an alley, but when we do we find that we have indeed used up all our credit.  We can’t understand why it is being used up so much more quickly than it was in June and July, but there it is.  We put on another 20 Euro and hope that will keep us going for the next 2 weeks.  While we are there we go in to the large Carrefour.  We really don’t want to buy too much, but I get something for lunch tomorrow and a large piece of beef to eat in the next day or two.  That is really the only dinner I have left on board.

Back at the boat we find more people struggling to berth.  We have a little relax after our efforts.  I am doing well with Ulysses.  I only have 200 pages to go.  I don’t think I have understood half of what I have read, but I may finally finish it.  We shall see.  The introduction to the book suggests that the chapter I have just started is the most difficult for first time readers and as it is 100 pages long, I’m not counting my chickens yet!

After our little sit down and read we take a walk in to the town.  It is really cute.  There is also a general mobile phone shop which says it sells Orange products, so it may be that we didn’t need to go out to the commercial centre after all, but it was an adventure.

The weather forecast is not good.  There are likely to be showers tomorrow and rain on Saturday. So we will just go to Bandol, which even with a three mile detour to sea to empty the tank is only 9 miles away.  We may be there fore a few days, but what the heck, the wine is supposed to be quite good.

It is late now, so to bed after finally posting this online with our recharged Domino.

Wednesday 25 September

We get up fairly late and have a lazy morning.  We don’t think the weather is suitable for another night in the Calanques.  It is supposed to get very cloudy.  Anyway the constant rocking of the boat in the swell is beginning to get to me.  So we decide to go on to le Ciotat, where we had thought we would go when we wound up in Cassis.  We phone them up and they assign a pontoon space to us.  We are in no hurry, so we decide to sail.  The wind is on the nose, but we want to go out to sea to pump out the holding tank, so we just do a huge tack.  It is slow going, but pleasant enough until the wind dies on us completely.  So we have to put the motor on and at first we go direct into the wind.  The wind dies down to between 2-4 knots and is all over the place.  The sea has a very gentle swell.  But despite this, after about an hour I am feeling rather queasy.  I don’t know why such low wind and benign sea is doing this, but it is.  Maybe it is just the cumulative effect of being rocked around for the last 24 hours!

So we make it in to le Ciotat.  We are in the Vieux Port, in the centre of the town.  The visitor pontoon, where we are is at the end of the harbour near the entrance.  It is about half a mile to the Harbour office and the toilet block!  But it is a cute place and we berth without problems.  That is more than we can say for other boats that come in after us.  One tries to berth next to us and swings around so that he is side on to the pontoon!  He has a bit of an excuse because apparently he has engine trouble.  We know what that is like.  He moves to another berth and then a smaller boat tries to moor up next to us.  They too get into all sorts of difficulties before they finally are able to tie up securely.  Luckily we have no damage to the boat from all this messing about.

The place has developed into a boatyard to build and repair super yachts so there are some huge beasts here on the other side of the harbour.  These contrast with the small local classic fishing boats all around the edge.  The town seems to be very old with small streets and alleys.  Allegedly the Romans were here, but there are no obvious Roman ruins.  There is no harbour WIFI and the tourist office doesn’t have the free WIFI we have been used to.  Richard finds an Italian ice cream parlour which does have free WIFI.  So we indulge in an ice cream and get connected.  We can now download the times and the Archers!  But we must do something about WIFI.  We need to organise car hire for next week and hotels for when we are on our way back to Nice to catch our flight.

We have dinner on board- Couscous Royal from a tin which needed eating up.  I have spruced it up with some fresh veg and merguez sausages.  Nice enough.  I am trying work our way through all the food that would otherwise need to be thrown out when we leave the boat! 

So to bed in a nice quiet and stable berth!

Tuesday 24 September

The weather seems better than we thought it would be today, so we have decided to go to the Calanques.  Richard has identified a rather wild looking calanque called de Figuerolles.  So we make our way there.  There is very little wind 5knots maximum, but on the nose, so it was a day of motoring.  When we got to the Calanque it was very beautiful, but despite what the pilot book said, totally unsuitable to anchor in.  In fact, in the centre was a buoy when had a ‘ no anchoring’ symbol on it.  A small motor boat was anchored near to it, but I’m not sure if he was policing the place or just taking the Micky.  Anyway, we could not find anywhere shallow enough to anchor where we could swing and could see nothing to tie a line to on shore.  Also the wind was howling down the water and it looked pretty uncomfortable.  So we went away to find another.  We were not the only ones to do that.  We saw at least 2 motor boats and another sailboat do exactly the same thing!

So well on past Cassis and to the Calanque de Sormiou.  This is a much wider inlet and there are already three or four boats anchored including a large catamaran, which is clearly a party boat that will leave before nightfall.  Anchoring here is something of a problem because it is quite deep.  The most shallow place we can find is 10meters deep.  That means putting out 30 meters of chain.  Also all the other boats are swinging, and there does not seem to be a convenient way to tie to the bank in the available space.  So we need a 60 metre turning circle!  Well, we shall just have to see.

We put out the anchor and we seem to hold well.  The boat closest to us is swinging and we seem to be swinging exactly the same way.  Therefore it does not seem that we will swing into each other during the night.  It is lovely and hot and we both put on bathing suits.  I put on a bikini!  But we soon become a tourist attraction.  The boats taking trippers to see the calanques all come in here.  They come right up to where we are anchored, turn around and go out again.  In one 15 minute period we had 4 boats come and go.  They are all looking at us (and the other boats) and taking photos.  Why they want a photo of fat old me in a bikini, heaven only knows!  These tour boats also travel at a fairly good pace which means we keep getting rocked around by their wake.

Despite all this it is really a lovely spot to stay.  By dusk the party boat has gone, and the tour boats seem to give up.  It is quite peaceful although there is a slight swell which means the boat does rock back and forth.  Well that will put us to sleep!  The Swiss party on the boat next to us go in the water.  We think about it, but the instruments show that the water temperature is only 18C, and we will soon lose the sun behind the high cliffs of the calanque.  So we don’t swim.  We just have a two course dinner on board and a nice bottle of white wine, so who can complain!

Monday 23 September

I didn’t post for a couple of days, just out of laziness, I guess.  We spent a second day in Porquerolles harbour.  It was very congenial.  A typical French holiday island.  We had a nice walk around the town and to the beach.  We sat on the beach for about an hour and although we got quite warm, not warm enough to go in the water, which is surprisingly cold, especially for the end of the season when I would have expected it to have warmed up.

Back at the boat we watched a super yacht moor.  They need all that crew in matching tee shirts!  Then we went out to dinner.  We found there is a one Michelin rosette restaurant on the island, but decided not to go because the main dinning room was booked with a private party and, although they said they were serving their gourmet menu in the other restaurant, we weren’t keen.  So we just chose what looked like the most popular restaurant in the town close to where we were.  It was quite expensive, but an interesting meal including raw sea bream and spaghetti with squid. 

On Sunday we decided to go wild as it were.  We have been staying in marinas all the time and decided that with the weather being very settled and there being no wind to sail, we should anchor out for a night.  We were going to go over to the mainland, but at the last minute we decided to go into a bay just around the corner from the marina.  It was very crowded during the day.  Reminded us of East Heat in that way.  But it is lovely.  It is overlooked by the Fort St Agathe, the local monument.  We even got into the water!  It is only 19c, but it was a very hot afternoon and it felt good once you got in.  We had a nice dinner on board and sat out to watch the sunset.  The sky turned the most wonderful colour red.  The bay has cleared out a lot and there are only about a dozen boats staying the night.

This morning we were fairly lazy in getting going.  We weren’t sure where we would go.  We can’t sail because there just is no wind.  I think at the highest it got up to 5knots!  So we motored west for 20 miles and have wound up in a pretty little town called Sanary sur Mer.  The harbourmaster directed us to a rather strange berth.  We are on the inner end of a pontoon and surrounded completely by classic boats!   Next to us is a 1935 Nicholson.  There are a few local boats said to be over 100 years old.  Of course, they have all been restored.

We have managed to get hold of some free WIFI from a local bar.  Mind you to get the password we had to buy 2 very expensive bottles of Perrier.  It might have been cheaper to buy internet access, but then there is none here and we are wary of using the Domino for fear it will run out of credit again and there will be no where to top it up.  With the free WIFI Richard has downloaded some Radio 4 programs, so I am now listening to the radio!

The weather is going to turn a bit.  It looks like it will get cloudy and maybe even rain.  We have yet to decide where to go to best use up our last 10 days before the boat comes out of the water.

Friday 20 September

We are woken up by the telephone.  It is the boatyard about our winter storage.  The bad news is that he cannot put our boat in his boatyard.  However the good news is that he has agreed for us to have our boat on shore with another yard that just does storage.  He will do the maintenance work.  But we must go to the other yard today to organize it.  The weird part is that the yard who will now take our boat was one we contacted before who told us that had no room to store the boat.  I guess it helps to have influence.

The next problem is the shore power line.  But that too sorts itself out.  Richard first tries to contact Southerly and find someone who can talk him through re-wiring the end.  But they are all at the boat show.  So he goes to the chandlery where he bought all the stuff and they find someone who can wire it up.  He comes back with an intact wire and when he connects it to the electricity it works!

So after a real French breakfast (we decided that we needed cheering up) we motor round to the other side of the harbour and find the boatyard that will store our boat.  We were told that we could put the boat near the Harbour office, but there does not appear to be any room there, we just moor up in the first empty space we see.  This marina is full of very large boats, almost super yachts and they had told us yesterday they had no room for us, but they don’t seem to mind our plonking ourselves down for a while.  Richard goes to the office and comes back and everything is agreed.  We will bring the boat back on 4^th October.  It will go the in the yard next to the boatyard we went to yesterday who will do the work we need.  It will be more expensive than if the boatyard stored it, but at this stage we are just so relieved to have organized everything.  Now we can be on holiday!  We have two weeks to ourselves.  And the weather is now lovely.  The sun is shining and the wind has dropped to next to nothing.  So off we go to Ile de Porquerolles.  It is one of the Hyeres island groups.  We are told that there will be no trouble getting a space in the marina.  I am looking forward to some creature comforts for a change.

We put up the sails and as we get out of the inner harbour the wind is blowing about the top of a 3, so we start to sail.  But it doesn’t last long.  After a while we are only making 2 knots, so the engine has to go on. But after our last trip out this is heaven.  It is even smooth enough for me to make sandwiches for lunch under way.

We get to the Island and are directed on to a berth.  There is even an Englishman on the pontoon to take our lines!  Now I do really feel like we are on holiday.  The place is like many French islands, very much a holiday place, with loads of people coming and going on the ferries.  But it is all very jolly and the afternoon is lovely.  The only problem is that the Harbour Office is a long walk from our pontoon (although we could just take the dinghy there direct) and the facilities are far away and shut at night!  So it seems that we will be showering on board again.  But as we are now connected to electricity and have water on the pontoon, it makes no difference.  We book in for two nights.  Not sure what we will do, but it seems a nice place to be for a while.  A walk around the town finds us some ice creams and a shop to buy ice cubes, so we can have iced drinks tonight!  The weather report looks settled for tomorrow.  Then the wind will pick up, and go easterly.  So we may go back towards Bandol after all.  My only concern is that with our luck we will have trouble getting back to Toulon for the 4^th Oct, but then it is a fortnight away.

Back on the boat we have a go at cleaning the outside of the boat and get it looking quite respectable.  Have our showers on board and then sit down to a civilized pre-prandial drink of run and Coke and canapés of tapenade.  Now this is more like it.  It is warm in the sun, but when it goes down it is quite cool.  So back inside for dinner- duck breasts a l’orange with the good claret left over from the other night.  Very soothing. 

I am now working on my tapestry.  Better than just playing games on my I-Pad.  I just miss radio 4.

Thursday 19 September

I did not write anything yesterday because there was little to say and what there was is depressing.  The wind was still howling and the forecast continues to give warnings of 45 knot gusts of wind.  So we stay in town and do laundry.

The real worry is winter berthing.  Richard spent the whole of Wednesday phoning and e-mailing ports to find out if they could put us up and we had absolutely no positive responses.  Out of desperation we speak to the harbour here. They can’t do anything for us.  There is a classic boat show here next week and until it is over they don’t know what availability they have.  By then it will be too late for us.  The office does however give us telephone numbers for three local boat yards who may be able to help.  But it is now late and we will have to try to contact them tomorrow.

We are both feeling rather low.  The boat is lurching around in the wind and is getting most uncomfortable.  So we go out for dinner.  It is OK, but not very exciting.

Thursday dawns and we are still feeling fairly down.  However, the wind does seem to have gone down a bit.  We can’t work out the weather forecast; it is all over the place.  First they say there is a strong wind warning with gusts of force 8 and then they say it will go down to force 2.  We guess it is all very localized, but we can’t work out where the bad weather is.  Richard has made contact with the numbers the Harbour office gave us.  We get one positive response.  It is from a small boatyard who says they can store the boat ashore if they do work on it.  As we need antifouling, gelcoat repairs and some plumbing repairs, this may suit.  We decide to leave the marina and take the boat around the large Harbour area (the Rade) and see the boatyard and sus things out.  We are berthed next to another English boat.  They haven’t been particularly friendly, but when I see them this morning they give us the name of a boatyard in the Rade who has told them they have space, so we will try them too.

I am worried about leaving this berth and then finding nowhere else safe to stay the night.  Richard rings around the other marinas in the harbour and it isn’t until he rings the third one that they say they have a space.  It is the marina next to where we anchored on Monday.

So off we go into the harbour.  The weather is nice.  There is a decent breeze, but it is only a 5 and the sea in the harbour is much flatter than it was on Monday.  We find the boatyard that said they could help us and even find a harbour wall to tie up to and go see them.  It all seems very hopeful.  The problem is that boss has gone walk about and can’t give us final confirmation.  The lady we spoke to says there should be no problem.  Even if they don’t have room in their yard, they can store the boat in the yard next door and do the work.  The price isn’t bad (2500 euro) plus the cost of gel coat repairs and plumbing works.  Better than we expected.  She will have to telephone us to confirm the details when she speaks to her boss.  So for a few minutes I feel a bit better about the situation.

So off to St Mandrier sur Mer.  We find it alright and manage to moor stern to with no assistance!  Maybe we will get the hang of this one day.  It is a lovely hot afternoon.  The only problem is that the toilet block is at the other end of the marina and the women’s is only open when the office is open.  We thought we would walk around this little town, which I guess is a suburb of Toulon, but when Richard tries to plug in to the electricity it won’t work.  Someone comes to look at it from the Marina, and finds that the problem is our cable.  It seems to have lumps in it and probably is split at one or two points.  So instead of looking around R goes to the chandlers to buy a new cable.  What he comes back with is a new length of wire.  He starts to wire it up and finds that the end that goes into the marina supply is rusted up, so needs to buy that.  He gets that part wired up OK, but comes completely a cropper trying to do the end that goes in to the boat.  It is a very complicated connection and well past either of our abilities.  So we have no electricity and tomorrow we will need to find someone to make up the wire before we leave. At least it is not the weekend yet!

We are also fed up because the boatyard hasn’t rung us with the final arrangements.  I am beginning to get very nervous again.  I guess we will also have to contact them in the morning.  Hey Ho, nothing seems to be going smoothly for us!

Tuesday 17 September

Up fairly late.  We did need the sleep.  We have a hearty breakfast of porridge.  The wind is still howling (force 6 much of the time here in the harbour - probably much worse out at sea) and it does not look like it will get any better.  We will keep checking the forecast.  In the meantime we go to town to the market.  It is held every weekday right up the road from us.  It is huge but sells mostly fruit and veg.  I do not want to buy too much so just get the minimum including some wonderful looking fresh figs.  We find a proper coffee shop to top our supplies, which I do not think will last another three weeks.  We decide to buy a rotisserie chicken and we eat that for lunch.  Very good.

We have a quiet time on the boat for the afternoon.  Richard has started to make enquiries about where to over winter the boat.  We have not having much luck.  The marina in Nice town cannot keep it on land and can only put us on a waiting list for a berth in the water.  We aren’t getting helpful replies from anywhere else.  Richard works his way through the Cruising Association website and posts a query.  He gets one reply which suggest Toulon!  Well, as we are here, we might as well make some enquiries.

In the afternoon we take a walk around the town and see the monuments listed on their tourist map.  The town is much bigger than we thought and there are a number of elegant parts, apparently built by Hausmann. 

Back to the boat and off again sending e-mails to harbours to find somewhere for the winter.  I could start to panic.  We shall see. 

We have looked again at the forecast and listened to the radio.  It is still terrible, so we will be here for at least one more night.  I found a launderette in town and will do laundry tomorrow.  May as well make a virtue out of necessity.

Have become disillusioned with the toilet block, so am about to shower on board and then to bed.