Sunday 26 May

So we are up at 5:30, and it is not yet light!  But the weather seems fine.  There is little wind and the sky is clear, so off we go.

After we cast off I go below and make us smoked salmon bagels for lunch.  I am not up for breakfast, but R is cold and hungry so I make him a hot chocolate and then go back to bed.  I am really exhausted.  I meant to stay up, but just could not manage it.  By the time I wake up at 8:30am we are well into the Channel du Four.  And all is fine.  There is very little wind and what there is is more or less on the nose, so we are motoring.  We are going great guns with strong SOGs.  So all seems really well set to get through the Four and the Raz.  I make us a quick breakfast and then Richard goes down to have a bit of sleep.  He gets up as we approach the Raz.  The timing is just about perfect.  We get there just at the end of slack water and get around the point with only a very little adverse tide.  We think we are the last to get through easily.  At least we can’t see any boats behind us.

We are really doing well and Richard suggests that instead of stopping in Audierne we go on the Benodet.  It seems a good plan and we go for it.  The weather is cold but lovely and sunny and still quite windless.  We get in to Benodet about 6:00pm and find a reasonable spot on the inside of the visitor pontoon.  We can’t sign in because the Marina is on winter times and isn’t even open on Sundays!  Locals tell us the codes for the gates and the showers.  The latter is no use to me because the showers need jetons to work, but Richard is advised there is one shower in the gents that works without a jeton and he does get a nice wash.  After we get in, a Bavaria called Melody comes in.  This was the boat we saw in Trebeurden and who were also in Guernsey with us.  Small world really.

The evening is lovely and we take a walk to the entrance to the river just for some exercise.  Richard even gets an ice cream, so he really now feels like we are on holiday.  We are very pleased with ourselves.  We have covered the distance of a Channel crossing today and made up some of the time we have lost.  It didn’t even really feel like a chore!