Thursday 18th June ☀️🌥️⛈️
The Boulogne marina is edged by a weir that is also an eel hatchery. The tidal range is 7.9 meters which means as the tide falls a lot of water from the river behind is pushed into the harbour and marina. This causes sea foam which is a little alarming at first but harmless. This area of Boulogne was heavily bombed in WW2. We saw pictures of elegant Edwardian terraces that have ben replaced by flats. There are derelict buildings to the right of the harbour entrance where wooden shelves have been attached for seagulls to nest. It prevents them nesting on other buildings. The beach was very clean and near to the largest aquarium in Europe. I visited here nearly 25 years ago on a school trip. My first teaching job at a school in Kettering 😬
We walked from the marina towards the old town. We stopped in a lovely square for coffee then looked around the chateau and museum. The Château de Boulogne-sur-Mer is the centrepiece of a fortress built in 1231. The fortifications of the earlier Roman city are visible in underground passages.
The Boulogne-sur-Mer Museum, within the chateau, was founded in 1825. There are over 100,000 objects from ancient Egypt to Alaska, from pre-Columbian Peru to the English Channel coast. There were paintings of the Boulogne region and an Arctic Worlds art exhibition.
In a picturesque street we had soup des poissons for lunch, lovely, has been a while 🐟. We walked to the beach, lay on the sand and paddled in the sea. Dark clouds started to appear so we found a bar away from the sudden downpour and storm. We returned to the boat for a curry meal.
Friday ⛅️ 🌬️ 5-15mph
We departed from Boulogne at 7am after buying some fresh croissants near the harbour office. We had a steady motor sail. It was interesting near a new wind farm where we were asked to move slightly away via VHF radio. France seems to have different rules for distances around wind farms.
We arrived in Dieppe around 6pm in time for a quick shower and an evening meal ashore. Unfortunately we were reminded of how good the chips were in Belgium and the Netherlands 😬 We returned to the boat and Maisie. She has settled well to the sailing routine again. Tonight she enjoyed a few evening laps of the boat.
Saturday Dieppe ☀️⛅️
We had a wander around the street market that wound itself along many streets. After stopping for coffee we visited the Chateau musée de Dieppe.
We walked back and stopped for lunch near the harbour. We enjoyed gallettes cooked the Breton way (with buckwheat flour). After our delicious lunch we wandered along to the beach. The beaches are shingle similar to those opposite across the channel in Brighton and Eastbourne.
After a little food shopping we returned to the boat and caught up with family at home. I accidentally pressed voice chat on my family WhatsApp and lots of people answered, which turned into a video chat. Was lovely seeing you all 🥰 We had our evening meal on the boat with the brave Maisie.
Sunday ☀️☀️⛅️
We left Dieppe at 6am heading west. We originally planned to go to Honfleur today but tides made it very complicated. We have decided to stop at Fecamp tonight then head for Le Havre tomorrow. We will visit Honfleur by bus.
With the tides helping us we were motoring at nearly 7 knots most of the way so arrived a little early. We anchored in the bay for lunch.
We motored into Fecamp harbour at 1:30pm when there was plenty of depth. Fecamp is a fishing port and has a ruined abbey. We headed towards the ornate distillery, Le Palais Benedictine. Here the merchant, Alexander Le Grand developed the gothic style distillery in 1863, to manufacture and market Benedictine herbal liqueur using a monastic recipe. We enjoyed exploring the building and were told where to wait for the distillery tour. An hour of waiting later the tour commenced in very rapid French followed by a tasting. It smelt and tasted like brandy. We were relieved to escape to the beach afterwards.
In the evening, after several recommendations, we ate at La Boucane restaurant, opposite to where we were moored. Tender and meltingly delicious lamb shanks (cooked for 4.5 hours). There was live music serenading us when we returned to the boat. Maisie enjoyed the music too, upping her step count by doing at least 10 laps of the boat. I think she was looking for gaps in the netting we have added since her attempted escape in Eastbourne. 😼 A lovely evening.
Monday ☀️☀️
We left Fécamp at 7am, heading for Le Havre. A warm, calm and sunny day. We were sailing closer to the shore and saw the cliff archway at Etretat called the Falaise d’Aval.
We arrived at Le Havre after lunch and wandered to the nearby beach to have a swim. Was a really warm day, mid thirties, the beach was not pretty but we were glad to cool down. We enjoyed our evening meal on the boat with every available hatch open. It was so warm we were sitting outside until 11pm.
Tuesday ☀️☀️🥵
After a cooling shower ashore we departed Le Havre at 7am for a full days sailing. We decided to head for St-Vaast-la-Hougue, and a beach. Honfleur was more complicated to get into being up the river. We had a good sail but arrived an hour later than expected as the tide slowed us down towards the end. We arrived in time for an evening meal in the marina restaurant. Another warm evening. Maisie enjoyed her evening stroll around the deck so much that she was reluctant to return to the cabin below. Over 10 laps tonight, we lost count, I still think she’s searching for escape routes.
Wednesday ☀️☀️
We had hoped to take the amphibious boat to the Île de Tatihou just off the Hougue coast. On arrival we were told to buy tickets at the tourist office but after walking into town we were told all the tickets for the day had been sold. We saw so many other people turned away, it seemed strange they were only offering the 10 minute crossing hourly. As the tides are presently neaps, meaning low tide is not very low we thought it unwise to cross the causeway to the island on foot. The causeway was not visible at 11:15 but the oyster beds alongside it were, low tide was 1pm. In hindsight we may have been able to cross but would not have had much time there. Instead we walked along the coast away from the oyster beds. We headed for the Hougue tower, walked around (along with many French tourists) but discovered that it was only open at weekends 😬 The beach beckoned and a cooling dip in the sea. We enjoyed a delicious gallette lunch followed by ice cream sundaes. 😋.
We returned to the boat for a siesta. We cooled Maisie down by wiping her with a wet paper towel, she really likes it. 😻
Late afternoon we returned to the town for a few provisions. We found the emporium Gosselin, which was recommended by several guide books. We also managed to buy postage stamps at a Bar Tabac. We have had difficulties buying stamps and finding postboxes. We unfortunately missed two birthdays (sorry again Carly and Stanley) when in the Netherlands and have been unable to send many postcards home to the grandkids.
