Benodet, Southern Brittany

29th June - 5th July 2019

After a short one-night stopover at Morgat due to Matt & Anna having auto-helm problems and the wind being fairly strong we headed for Benodet, a 12hr sail south.  The weather was fabulous and sea state fair.  It made for a brilliant sail through the Raz de Sein, which according to the pilot books can be quite treacherous.  We sailed through it noting that it was no different to The Needles off The Solent in the UK.

We reached Benodet mid evening.  We'd had dinner on route so were quite happy to settle down to watch Love Island on TV and then to bed (yes we are very sad haha).  We had anchored in the first bay on our starboard side, which overlooked a long sandy beach and directly up the river.



We launched the dinghy the following morning to go exploring.  Benodet is a cross between Salcombe and Dartmouth in the UK.  Very pretty with thousands of boats and few marina's. You can explore both sides of the river.  We joined Nomad & Thuro and decided to find a place to have a coffee.  To our delight we found a Sunday market and purchased the most tasty looking roast chicken dinner - rotisserie cooked chicken, roast potatoes and vegetables all purchased in separate dishes to take away and eat.  We dined with Matt & Anna that night and it was delicious.

Anna & Annette

We dinghy'd up the river to investigate what it had to offer.  The river like going up through Dartmouth to Dittisham with its banks of trees overhanging the rivers edge with stunning chateaux overlooking both sides. Such a picturesque place but apart from a place to run the dog there was not a lot else.

Chateaux on the river

We managed to purchase an electric outboard.  Being a lot lighter and only starts by placing a magnet on the top as a key, it means I am able to take the dinghy ashore if needed. There is no way I would be able to start the 15hp Yamaha we have.  It's a lot slower but will do me fine.

Unfortunately Kev & Emma in Thuro had to go back to work so they decided to make their way back to the UK on 4th July.

Along with Nomad, we fuelled up and topped up with water, did a quick provision runs ready for our passage across Biscay.  The weather window looked okay with light winds and warm breezes.  Perfect as Nomad had bought their dog 'Blue'.

8am on 5th July we set sail to cross Biscay heading for A Coruna, Southern Spain. The passage is going to take 3 days.