Les Sables-d'Olonne
We left Ile d'Yeu with a calm sea and not much wind. It was only 27 miles to Les Sables-d'Olonne but it was grey and miserable looking which was such a change from the previous day that we just wanted to get there.
We arrived around lunch time and went to the "arrivals pontoon" where I was given wrong instructions about where to go they even marked it wrongly on the chart. We stopped and tied up and looked for the berth we had been allocated. There was already a boat in it so the marina sent a man to select an alternative and we were soon tied up.
The marina was vast, the French had put EU money to good use to build marinas everywhere, the UK government should have done the same but they have been totally incompetent in this respect. The French marina facilities are amazing.
Les Sables-d'Olonne is famous in yachting circles because it is the start and finish of the Vendeé Globe, the single handed around the world yacht race. This race was spawned from the BOC Challenge, later known as the Velux 5 Oceans race. In the original race the race was conducted in legs and was better for sponsors but the Vendeé Globe is more glamorous and challenging and in France world class yachtsmen are as big stars as top football players. Remember when Alex Thomson led the Vandeé Globe for ¾'s of the race he received no publicity on the BBC at all, it is a real shame because with publicity British Yachtsmen cannot attract financial sponsorship and support. No Englishman has one this race and it costs millions to take part.
Our berth was allocated on the Vandeé Globe pontoon right amongst them so we felt as though we were on show. There was a constant stream of French tourists wandering along the pontoons to look at the boats.
The next day we had a mooch around the town, it is about a one mile walk and it was really nice. We walked to the beach and managed to find the most awful restaurant and then we located a shop selling sim cards so internet has been restored to the boat and then I managed to get some new new pumps. The deck shoes I bought in the UK before we left have fallen apart and they are going to refund me so overall it was a successful day.
The next day we went to the indoor market in the town and had beef skewers at the Oyster bar, we also bought some fresh fist, langoustines and fruit. That evening I walked around the other side of the marina and there was a pop-up market so I called Linda to join me. We enjoyed the market and had a cocktail in one of the bars, it was not up to the standard of the Carribean! Afterwards I said lets walk to the point which was another miles along the north bank (The town is on the south bank) as we approached the point there is a tower and around the tower there was all sorts of sculptures, including one of Poseidon and another with David and Goliath and lots more. There wasn't one of Neptune. It turns out that this is a visiting exhibition and we were in the right place at the right time to see it.
This morning we decided to rent some bicycles and cycle to the beach through the forest and past some salt marches. However as I hopped down from the navigation table I knocked the frame of my glasses with my finger and the lens popped out. After a frantic unsuccessful search for the screw that holds it in I decided to find an opticians first. Unfortunately the opticians informed me that the screw hadn't come out but it had snapped off and a stub was stuck in the frame. Alas they were unable to extract it and the frames need to be returned to the manufacturer on return to the UK so for the rest of the holiday I will take on the Jack Nicholson look and sport sunglasses even at night.
The cycle through the woods was lovely a bit up and down and the hire shop was a mile walk. It look us about an hour of cycling to get to the beach whereupon we realised we only had about 30 minutes before we had to return because the hire shop would be shut. When we arrived we were pretty horrified by the state of the sea neither of us fancied a dip even though many others were in the sea. Overall we have been getting in our exercise one way or another.
Tomorrow we are going to La Rochelle which is only about 30 miles and it is as far south as we plan to go but the further south the better the weather…finger crossed.
We arrived around lunch time and went to the "arrivals pontoon" where I was given wrong instructions about where to go they even marked it wrongly on the chart. We stopped and tied up and looked for the berth we had been allocated. There was already a boat in it so the marina sent a man to select an alternative and we were soon tied up.
The marina was vast, the French had put EU money to good use to build marinas everywhere, the UK government should have done the same but they have been totally incompetent in this respect. The French marina facilities are amazing.
Les Sables-d'Olonne is famous in yachting circles because it is the start and finish of the Vendeé Globe, the single handed around the world yacht race. This race was spawned from the BOC Challenge, later known as the Velux 5 Oceans race. In the original race the race was conducted in legs and was better for sponsors but the Vendeé Globe is more glamorous and challenging and in France world class yachtsmen are as big stars as top football players. Remember when Alex Thomson led the Vandeé Globe for ¾'s of the race he received no publicity on the BBC at all, it is a real shame because with publicity British Yachtsmen cannot attract financial sponsorship and support. No Englishman has one this race and it costs millions to take part.
Our berth was allocated on the Vandeé Globe pontoon right amongst them so we felt as though we were on show. There was a constant stream of French tourists wandering along the pontoons to look at the boats.
The next day we had a mooch around the town, it is about a one mile walk and it was really nice. We walked to the beach and managed to find the most awful restaurant and then we located a shop selling sim cards so internet has been restored to the boat and then I managed to get some new new pumps. The deck shoes I bought in the UK before we left have fallen apart and they are going to refund me so overall it was a successful day.
The next day we went to the indoor market in the town and had beef skewers at the Oyster bar, we also bought some fresh fist, langoustines and fruit. That evening I walked around the other side of the marina and there was a pop-up market so I called Linda to join me. We enjoyed the market and had a cocktail in one of the bars, it was not up to the standard of the Carribean! Afterwards I said lets walk to the point which was another miles along the north bank (The town is on the south bank) as we approached the point there is a tower and around the tower there was all sorts of sculptures, including one of Poseidon and another with David and Goliath and lots more. There wasn't one of Neptune. It turns out that this is a visiting exhibition and we were in the right place at the right time to see it.
This morning we decided to rent some bicycles and cycle to the beach through the forest and past some salt marches. However as I hopped down from the navigation table I knocked the frame of my glasses with my finger and the lens popped out. After a frantic unsuccessful search for the screw that holds it in I decided to find an opticians first. Unfortunately the opticians informed me that the screw hadn't come out but it had snapped off and a stub was stuck in the frame. Alas they were unable to extract it and the frames need to be returned to the manufacturer on return to the UK so for the rest of the holiday I will take on the Jack Nicholson look and sport sunglasses even at night.
The cycle through the woods was lovely a bit up and down and the hire shop was a mile walk. It look us about an hour of cycling to get to the beach whereupon we realised we only had about 30 minutes before we had to return because the hire shop would be shut. When we arrived we were pretty horrified by the state of the sea neither of us fancied a dip even though many others were in the sea. Overall we have been getting in our exercise one way or another.
Tomorrow we are going to La Rochelle which is only about 30 miles and it is as far south as we plan to go but the further south the better the weather…finger crossed.
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Entering the harbour -
Narrow streets in the packed town after a dodgy lunch -
Cathedral or church in the town -
The indoor market - you could go broke in there! -
How muchg cheese do we need? -
Sculptures -
Golieth (And me) -
Linda but we have forgotten the names of the subjects -
Not exactly what was expected - som esun woud have helped. -
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Huge dunes at the popular beach.