In the space of a day's sailing, a scenic switch is thrown. Or so it seems. Terracotta roofs shimmer beneath clear cobalt skies. Announcing Stargazer's arrival in the Vendee.
We sailed, from Crousty, at dawn. Riding the last hour of the Golfe de Morbihan ebb, out of Quiberon Bay (The Morbihan is the one area, on this part of the coast, where the tide runs hard).
The last remnants, of the stormy weather system, soon dispersing; as Stargazer reaches south and east.
Skimming the granite outcrops, atop which the sand fringed isle of Hoedic perches.
The early morning reefs are out, the breeze down to eight to ten knots true. Stargazer's cruising chute aloft.
For twenty nautical miles Stargazer strikes a seesaw balance: Endeavouring to sail high enough for the cruising chute to draw; and to stay clear of the Plateau du Four and Plateau de la Banche reefs, to port. But low enough to keep clear of the large wind farm, currently under construction, to starboard. An undeclared exclusion zone (which seemed to be around a mile), around its perimeter, vigilantly patrolled by supply vessels. All the while seeking to harness the energy of 'la houle,' which is rolling in from a little west of north.
The bold black stripes, of the Phare de la Blanche, signal that Stargazer is free to resume her rhumb line course, for the Ile de Noirmoutier. Sails comfortably drawing. Surfing the swells at six knots over the ground.
Threading her way through the lines of anchored shipping, off St Nazaire. All, seemingly, gas tankers; perhaps a response to Putin's imperialist escapades? (Note the head down, stern up attitude, as 'la houle,' makes its presence felt, even on quite substantial craft).
Until, across the shimmer of sun spangles on turquoise sea, Stargazer makes landfall off the fishing port of L'Herbaudiere. Picking out its channel markers against a could-be-in-the-Mediterranean backdrop.
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