Blog 04: 2-5 July – Further South via L'Ile d'Yeu

Ile d’Arz to Pornichet

We left the Morbihan at about 6am on a rather grey day.  We had to wind our way through the narrow channels – sometimes it looked as if we were heading straight for an island and likely to hit it, but the deep channel turned away just before we got there!

Out at sea, it was still grey, but there was a good breeze and we were able to sail all the way to Pornichet.  The wind was behind us and it was a bit of a rolling motion – nice to be able to sail though …

By the time we got to Pornichet, the weather had started to perk up – this is the view in one direction from the marina …

… and this is looking the other way.  Pornichet is a seaside resort in a vast sandy bay, with miles of sand, but also miles of seaside development of hotels and holiday accommodation …

This is the view of the seafront as we approached Pornichet and there was similar development all round the bay …

The marina in Pornichet is not a natural harbour – it’s a new man-made marina built out into the open sea and connected to the mainland by a causeway a few hundred yards long.  Nothing quaint about it, but a very efficient, safe place to moor and with all the facilities that you might need – chandlers, restaurants, laundrette etc

We went for a walk through the older parts of the town, though, and found a quite different atmosphere.  This is the Town Hall …

This house has some very fancy brickwork …

Many of the older houses had turrets, balconies and other interesting and colourful architectural features …

Most have their house names displayed high up on their gables …

Sometimes it’s hard to get a photo without the electricity cables in the way – in UK we’re lucky that they’re generally buried underground …

Many of these older houses are in roads called Sea View or Beach Road, and presumably were originally on the sea front.  Now their view is obstructed by all the new development, such as this – I can’t imagine they were pleased!

This is La Bidule, famous as the oldest bar in Pornichet and something of an institution - unfortunately closed!

… but mostly Pornichet is famous for its miles of sandy beaches, which are impressive …

Lovely evening light …

Pornichet to L’Ile d’Yeu

We had a lovely passage in the sunshine to L’Ile d’Yeu – sailing or motor-sailing all the way –  past a dozen anchored tankers and container ships waiting for permission to enter ports on the River Loire …

Here we are approaching L’Ile d’Yeu – a low-lying island less than 10km long by 5 km wide …

This is the narrow entrance into the busy marina …

… a very popular spot on a day like this …

We had one full day on L’Ile d’Yeu and it was absolutely beautiful weather – just perfect to explore this lovely island on my folding bike.

This is the main street in the capital, Joinville …

Joinville seems to be quite a busy fishing and commercial port as well as a holiday resort …

I set off on my bike along the coast road …

This is looking back towards Joinville – interesting cloud formation …

There are many lovely sandy beaches along the north-east coast – this is Plage des Sapins …

I stopped at the Plage de la Raie Profonde for a couple of hours to swim, read and sunbathe …

Absolutely idyllic – until I returned to my bike and discovered my cardigan had been stolen!  It wasn’t new or particularly nice and I can’t imagine who would want it on such a scorching hot day – I only hope they were disappointed!  L’Ile d’Yeu had seemed such a safe place, I was really surprised and not pleased!

Ah well, nothing for it but to get back on my bike!

I carried on to Sainte Sauveur, which is supposed to be a typical island village …

… with a large white church …

… and rows of white houses all with different-coloured shutters …

It was very quiet and dozy in the middle of a hot afternoon, not a soul about!

These are some more island houses with whitewashed walls, red-tiled roofs and brightly painted shutters …

Many of the windows have these locally-made dainty lace curtains, more as a decoration than to stop people seeing in …

I rather liked this ancient stone outhouse being overtaken by nature … 

… and this lovely row of hollyhocks …

I carried on cycling to the south of the island – this is the Chapelle Notre-Dame de Bonne Nouvelle (the Chapel of our Lady of Good News) which is perched high up on the clifftop …

There are fantastic views along the coast in both directions …

The church itself is tiny …

… with a simple wooden altar, and rather attractive, modern stained-glass windows in various shades of blue.  It was lovely and cool in the little chapel – and it was open!  There were quite a few hot cyclists and walkers inside enjoying the peace and cooling off!

This is looking down from the clifftop at Port de La Meule, a delightful little harbour …

I cycled down to Port de La Meule and this is the view of the harbour at ground level.  In a way I think it looked more attractive from the top of the cliff – but best of all, it had a bar for a refreshing and very welcome drink!

Back to the boat on my trusty folding bike and a glass of wine in the cockpit …

This is a great island for cycling as it’s low and pretty flat with not much traffic, and I must have covered a fair few miles – I certainly deserved our delicious dinner at ‘Restaurant le 09 rue Georgette’, which we can highly recommend!

L’Ile d’Yeu to St-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie

We were so lucky with the weather yesterday, and certainly enjoyed L’Ile d’Yeu at its best.  Today dawned grey and we even had a few spots of rain on the passage across to St-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie.  The wind was against us too, so we had to motor – but it was a nice easy passage and only took 2 or 3 hours …

St-Gilles and Croix-de-Vie are two towns on either side of the River Vie, joined by a bridge …

The marina is a good, safe place to leave Astraia for a couple of weeks while we return to UK for Charles to have a cataract operation, and the station is only a 300 yard walk away, so it’s very easy and convenient to get to Nantes airport.  This is looking across to Croix-de-Vie from St-Gilles at 10 o'clock at night – I’m looking forward to exploring more when we get back.