On passage today we did a bit of mackerel fishing, and I mean a bit! Paul lost his tackle! and Mike managed one fishy for his little dishy! We ended up with 4 mackerel which was enough for tea, and very nice it was too.

Low tide and high tide!

The intrepid travellers on the dinghy!

We left Ploumanach at 5.30am, saw the sun rise and were in Treguire by 9am for breakfast, not sure what the Hayes' made of it all!

Today we left Treguire after a very pleasant stay. Yesterday was market day there and in the evening there was another music festival, so much going on.

This morning we got up at 7.30 to go in the little dinghy up the river to La Roche Derrien, we had to go with the tide, had an hour to look around and back with the tide, we had our breakfast on the way and it was very pleasant and peaceful little trip.

We are now in Paimpol discussing where to go next probably St Quay then Dahout, but time is going on and we have so much to do.

Hi guys, well someone is watching the blog and wants to know what the skipper is up to. Well the answer is his precious rocna anchor is hitting his precious Rowena, and there are chunks taken out of the front so hence the 'cushion' for the anchor to hit!

Irene and Mike had to wash feet and boots after putting the dinghy in the water, we had to walk ankle deep in mud to reach any water, no wonder there is no one here, and we paid 70 euros for the privilege.

Who pulled the plug out?

Yes a very low tide and lower tonight, we have .4m under Rowena! At the moment tanks are being filled and we are off to the little beach for a snorkel/dive, we are not sure how much water will be there! Today we walked around Ploumanach and showed Mike and Irene all the big stones, they were suitably impressed.

The sill and channel at low tide!

Paul got Mike cleaning as soon as he could! This is just before we left Treburden for Ploumanach. We arrived at Ploumanach at 6pm after a good journey, 10 knots! all the way. Irene not too good with the swells and spent some time with the bucket on the back deck!

Bit of trouble trying to tie off to the funny dumbells arrangement they have here to moor against. Even when the skipper interfered we could not do it right, in the end the two marina men had to come and help. Luckily we are the only British boat here, all the visitor places are empty we wondered why until we came to pay! 70 euros for two nights, no pontoon, loos a bit questionable, no electric and as you will see later hardly any water for Rowena to sit in!

We picked Mike and Irene up from the airport yesterday (Sun), slight confusion, they nipped through customs so fast we missed them, Paul was convinced they had missed the flight, they thought we were late! and went into the car park to try and find us, in the end we did find each other.

Off to Dinan for a picnic lunch and to show them the old town. Medieval Fete on! Everyone dressed up, Knights jousting, pigs roasting and so much going on. We left there and drove back to Treburden via the standing stones Mike wanted to see. As it was so hot we decided to go for a swim in the sea, then we had Cragg chicken for tea, and took them dancing on the car park. There was a band playing, violin, flute and a couple of other instruments, and communal dancing which we all joined in with! Great fun and what a busy day to start the holiday!

Hurrah back on line now, don't know what I did but its working now!

As we could not dive I took Paul on an archaeological tour of the area's standing stones, how excited was he!

Actually we had a very nice bike ride around all these monuments, 8 in all, so thoroughly deserved our pre dinner drink in the evening!

Well what do you think the skipper is up to now? He bought all these bits from the chandlers and spent a happy hour sorting them out. Answer later in the week!

It was time to leave Paimpol, we had been there for 1 week almost, though the boat we were rafted against had been there for 5! when we started to get invited on board for drinks it was time to go, we are not used to entertaining, never staying long enough in one place to get to know anyone!

Here we are in Treburden,see photo, past Ploumanach, so the furthest we have been so far in Rowena. We had to pick up a buoy outside till the tide came in and we could go over the sill. We had a good journey here, sunny all the way with just some big swells now and again. We are staying here till we go and pick up Irene and Mike on Sunday, we have hired a car and will drive to St Malo to meet them off the plane, bring them back here then weather permitting travel back to St Malo visiting, Ploumanach, Treguier, Paimpolo, Binic, Dahout, St Cast (a new marina to us) and then St Malo.

Yesterday was really hot, we swam in the sea before breakfast, walked up to the village of Treburden, then went on the beach in the afternoon and had another swim to cool off, it was a lovely evening, we went to a nearby bar and sat outside overlooking the beach and had some moules for tea, very civilised.

Today we tried to organise a dive, we saw a big french dive boat full of divers coming in and out of here so trotted off to see them. They said we had to go to the centre wihich was 2 kilometres away so today we set off on a walk to see them. It was the biggest dive centre we have ever seen, camping, pub, cafe it was a bit like valley of the rocks used to be (memories). Unfortunately not even PADI or BSAC cards could persuade the french that we could dive! You had to be member of their federation, have a medical and then be certified by them, but most of all be able to speak french! So we gave that up and will have to plongee on our own!

Bon jour mon ami! Le pleu (rain to you and me) is pouring down in very heavy showers! Also the gale is blowing itself out, you can tell the Jones' are on holiday, the weather has changed! However the weather is looking good to move to Treguier on Sun then either Ploumanach or new marina to us Treburden, on Monday. We have been in Paimpol nearly 5 days now and need a change, we are in danger of getting marinatitus. We need to stock up with food as there is not much in either of the two places we may end up in. As we speak the skipper is making checks on his engines, both of which are behaving very well.

Photos are of the approach channel to Paimpol.

I thought we might have a new feature of lighthouses we have been too close too!
Here's the first at the entrance to Paimpol Bay.

Also Galley window is of Paimpol marina.

Well hello from french France. We are here in Paimpol waiting for the fireworks which will happen at 11pm as it is Bastille Day and the french always celebrate that.

We left Jersey on Monday and had a lovely voyage here, the last time we attempted to cross the sea in this direction was from Paimpol to Guernsey, with the Craggs, and it still rates as the worst journey we have ever had in Rowena, this time however all was calm and sunny! We had time to waste before we could get through the lock in Paimpol so we fished and caught 4 mackerel for tea, and dropped the anchor in a bay for a couple of hours.

When we got to Paimpol there were two other grandbanks here! We are usually the only grandbanks around so we are having to share the limelight. We are rafted up against one of them, it is a 10 year old one, but from a distance both boats look the same! The other grandbanks we know from Lymington so it has been nice to say hello to them.

We went on a long walk today about 14 miles to see the Brehat Islands. Legs are aching now.

We are hoping to leave here on Friday and head further west to Ploumanach or Treburdden weather permitting, it is quite windy here at the moment.

Our congratulations must go to Natalie on the birth of her baby son, and to Pete and Sandra on becoming grandparents! I am having a nice time looking for a french present for the baby!