Uncle Albert

 

There's consternation on the quayside this morning. The sun beams and a benign force three breeze gently ruffles flags. Barometers have risen overnight. But most forecast sites predict a blow, intensifying over the next forty eight hours. It is definitely late arriving. Do we stay put, or make a dash to another port?

Paimpol offers secure shelter for Stargazer and multiple shore-side diversions for me. On a tip from the crew of  'T Wilde Rake, out of Nieuwpoort in Belgium and heading for the Med, I explore the back lanes, out of town.

I wander through a string of villages. The housing density waxes and wanes. Hamlets, comprised of original terraced cottages, are loosely linked by more modern homes, set in leafy gardens.

Housing gives way to woodland, with the occasional glimpse of a shimmering blue sea. We have crossed the neck of a headland. The ground begins to slope downward, towards the Anse de Beauport. Named after the abbey, which stands above it.

There is a tranquil beauty to the bay (anse). I sit on the beach, to eat my lunch, as the tide silently ebbs.

My view is of the rugged islands, which Stargazer sailed past, when we made port.

Back in Paimpol, Stargazer has a new neighbour alongside. Another thirty one foot Hallberg Rassy. She is named 'Albert' and is out of Dunkerque. She is as far from home as Stargazer. The two smallest boats, on passage, in the harbour are both Hallberg Rassy's and are both on thousand mile plus cruises.

Albert is a Kutter 94. Designed as a motor sailer and built until the mid nineties - with a snug wheelhouse, large engine and modest sailing performance. Stargazer shares her seaworthy traits, but inherited her sailing genes from a different branch of the family. Albert is her uncle, rather than an elder sibling.