St Malo to Lezardrieux; Surfing the Granite Rose Coast

No photos due inclement meteorological conditions (Fog)!

Chris and I would probably give rather different accounts of the voyage to Lezardrieux, his along the lines of an exhilarating reach in a strong breeze surfing off the back of rolling waves and mine more a journey which had to be endured, often feeling ill, as I was rocked around in the rough sea!  I can see what he means though.  The top speed of 7.8knots is our best yet on this adventure, and we sailed the whole way, with no engine chugging along, and a very favourable tide.  It’s just that I still seem to get a bit “queezy” and Chris doesn’t.

We had stayed in St Servan a couple of days longer than planned, waiting for an improvement in the weather and better tide times.  If we had left when we first wanted to move on we would have had to get up at some awfully early hour, and that is not what this cruising lark is all about!  The forecast was for a north-easterly force 4-5, backing easterly and visibility moderate.  Just right we thought, and spring tides to boot. 

Visibility was poor as we departed Anse des Bas-Sablons at 0945, but we could see far enough ahead to follow the buoys along the Chenal de La Petite Porte, one coming into view as the last disappeared into the mist behind!  To be on the safe side we kept the engine on until all major dangers were passed and with the sails hoisted we were away!

Apparently, the coastline we were following is quite beautiful, but we could see none of it!  To keep my mind off the rocking motion (and with no land marks on which to focus I think my sea sickness worsened) we chatted about past childhood holidays.  Chris mentioned one in Trebeurden, which we have since checked out in the pilot, and a marina has been built there, so we may well visit in a week or so! 

Our progress was good and after about five hours we finally saw our first marker, a north cardinal buoy at which we altered course slightly to follow the Chenal de Ferlas through the rocks and islands of Brehat.  My recovery was almost instantaneous!  As soon as we were out of the swell of the waves and with rocks and buoys to focus on I felt better and very hungry!  Being near to low water many of the rocks were uncovered and it really was quite amazing.  You can see why this area is referred to as the Cote de Granite Rose; the rocks are a stunning pinky orange colour and the strata evident at all angles. 

To our amusement the final marker before turning into the Trieux River was called La Croix, and we had a sudden urge to call each other “Sweetie!”. The stunning scenery held our attention: the wooded river valley, the protruding rocks, the isolated pink stone cottages dotting the banks and islands.  Fantastic beacon towers marked the channel up the river so no risk of running aground, even though it was low tide.  We found an empty berth on the nearest pontoon and tied up.  Our passage to Lezardrieux had been very successful, even to the point of the tide turning just as we entered the river, in time to carry us up to the marina.  Perfect!  (But even better was to come - the laundry at Lezardrieux is in a bar!  No wonder all the yotties we meet rave about the place - more on this later.)