Camaret in the morning light...

Yesterday was a fabulous last sailing day. Departed after a breakfast in a café in Cameret; we left a little late, and the wind was too weak, so we motored our way to the Raz de Sein, the last big point of land we needed to pass before heading home. We got there about 10 minutes too late: the reverse tidal currents had started, and no matter how much we tried, we simply could not go against it; we decided to wait out the tide in the "Baie des Trépassés" (the bay of the dead); it was a perfect shelter, and after lunch we read for a few hours before we had to head out again.

I found 2 books that explain the name given to the bay, each has it's own interpretation. The first claims that this bay was the site at which the bodies of deceased Druids were cast to sea. The other claims the name comes from the many wrecks lost on the Raz, as the bodies of those who perished were washed upon the bay's shore... The conditions we had made it hard to imagine the bay in any other setting, but given a good westerly gales this place would of been indeed very dangerous.

The "Raz de Sein" on the second attempt!

At about 5:30 we headed off, passed the Raz de Sein without any problem, and sailed our way down to Loctudy. The night was splendid, with the moon rise around 9:00. The night navigation was a real pleasure: going from mark to mark in the night, searching the horizon for the distinct flashing lights indicating their position.

Last sunset at sea... for this trip

Before going to bed I spent a little time sitting on deck under the moon... it's been 100 days since I left Loctudy; I managed to sail 1700 miles (nearly 3150 km), and see places and things I'd only dreamed of...

So what happens to this log now? Well, in the coming days I'm going to be posting many things to this site: the completed map of the trip, pictures of my numerous fellow travellers (many people have been asking for this, rightly so), and various other things... So stay posted for a few more days!
10:37:19 AM    
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