Sunday 9 June

We have a leisurely morning because we can’t leave for Pauillac until after lunch in order to catch the strong tide going up river.  After a fasting day we go beserk and buy croissants and pain au chocolat and quiches for lunch.  Naughty but nice.  Our French neighbour is also going this afternoon and we shall probably see him in Pauillac.

The weather is still iffy, but it is bright and not too cold.  We don’t stop for fuel in Royan because the book says that there is fuel in Pauillac and we will be there for a few days.  Also we find there is a two star Michelin restaurant in the town.  Regrettably it is not open on Tuesdays, when it will be Richard’s birthday.  But we book for Wednesday night because it seems unlikely we can leave before Thursday especially if we wait until our mast is loaded on the lorry to go south.

The trip to Pauillac goes well.  The weather is brightening and the current is stronger than we expected, so we get there sooner than we thought.  The only problem is the debris in the sea.  The books warned about this, but it is worse than expected.  There are large logs floating in the river and tons of small twigs and bits of tree.  As we get to the harbour the next disaster strikes.  We are trying to find a visitor spot, but they seem limited on the pontoons that the books say we should go on.  We try one space but it is hopeless.  As we try another the bow thruster gives up!  I am not sure how I got off the boat and managed to get it in the space, but I did.  Then as I struggled to tie up nice Frenchman helped and we found we were tied up.  Well, that was one problem solved, but it does not solve the problem of the bow thruster.  We can’t manoeuver the boat in tight places without it.  That means we cannot go down the canals until it is fixed!  I am very worried about this.

Richard tries to find the harbourmaster, but the office is shut.  We can’t find any of the services the book says should be here.  There is no sign of toilets or showers and there is no fuel pontoon where the book says it should be.  Fuel could turn out to be another problem.  The pontoons are old and rickety and there are literally tons of wood debris all over the place.

To make us feel better we decide a drink is in order.  We try the Pineau we bought it La Rochelle and that helps a bit.  Richard then decides we should walk in to town to try to get a glass of the good local wine.  We wander around a bit and find that nothing much is open on a Sunday night.  However we do find a nice little cave.  We go in and the lady is lovely explaining to us is slow French all about her wines.  She specializes in small vineyards that do the local fine wines, but are not internationally known and hence are much cheaper.  It seems a better idea to buy a bottle, so we buy a Pauillac from a minor chateau - La Fleur Peyrabon - and take it back to the boat.  There I make us dinner and we try the wine.  The first glass is a bit harsh, but it really needed more time to aerate. 

After we have tried to cheer ourselves up, Richard speaks to Nigel Gee and mentions the bow thruster problem.  Nigel asks if the problem is with both sides.  Richard can’t remember if he tried both directions.  So he goes up and tries again.  At first nothing works and then all of a sudden the thruster works on both sides!  We both feel so much better!  Also the wine has softened and we are both now very relaxed.  Tomorrow the sails come off.