PART FOUR (Sauzon Belle-Île to Île de Noirmoutier, and then to Pornic)

I sailed from Sauzon to Île de Noirmoutier on Wednesday 1 August (48NM 11:20-18:35) and anchored in the bay off Pointe des Dames, near Allan & Claire Foster (also from Sutton Harbour, Plymouth) whom I had previously met in Camaret. We shared a nice evening meal (thanks Claire!) onboard Moonstone. On Thursday I sailed the dinghy+bike round the headlands to the harbour at L’Herbaudière and had a nice day out. There was a lot of racing in the bay (lots of very expensive Dragon class?) but by Friday afternoon with worsening weather it was getting uncomfortable at anchor, so I decided to head for nearby Pornic marina, just south of the mouth of the Loire (9NM 18:10-19:50) Pornic was nice - I realised I hadn’t been in a marina for 15 days (= my Personal Best and Olympic Gold!) so I stayed three comfortable nights! I cycled around the nearby coast quite a lot, and enjoyed the holiday atmosphere of the town and amazing ice-creams at Rêve de Glace!!