An ethereal hint of autumn mist hangs in the air, as Stargazer sweeps through the Goulet de Brest. The ebb, funneling through the constriction, of the channel, speeding us on our way.
The joyous prospect, of a passage making day at sea, once more before us. After nigh on two weeks in port. The sun is rising noticeably later now, as we near the equinox. Sparkling the dew, which lies thick upon Stargazer's deck.
Off the Pointe de St Mathieu, the tide is running hard. Southbound. Stargazer has arrived early, at the foot of the Chenal du Four.
Warily, I feed Stargazer into the adverse stream. Hugging tight (on the down-tide side!) around the Vieux Moines channel mark. Unsure whether we will simply hold station, be swept south, or make headway north.
Stargazer inches north, for an hour, at two knots over the ground. With the tide slackening all the while. Turning fully in our favour off Le Four. Stargazer flies past making seven knots.
North and then east. Turning the tide swept corner, off L'Aber Wrac'h. Our mark, the Ile Verge light, nestled amongst the saw-toothed reefs.
By evening, Stargazer is off the Ile de Batz. The tide about to turn. We tuck in, as tight as we dare, to its rock girt shores. Shaving the eastern corner close, as our speed inexorably slows. Seeking an advantageous eddy.
Stargazer slips into Roscoff, across a burnished silver sea, at sunset.
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