Upon the unfortunate realization that sounding like a broken record is something I have become rather skilled in lately, I'll spare the details from this week's round of repairs. Although twice as slow as we hoped, progress is still being made.
Weather in the north Atlantic ocean becomes more and more unpredictable and powerful as summer closes out and turns to fall, and with that has come to the realization that we really need to make our way south as soon as humanly possible. What originally could have been a really pleasant seven day passage last week is now more like ten, with extreme waves and wind gusts topping 60 miles an hour. Hardly conditions to be out in.
On Wednesday, I took a day trip to Nantes to visit an old university friend, who happened to be in the country. It was about the nicest day of the week, and a perfect opportunity to get off the boat and walk endless miles discovering a new city.
Working on some mainsail clew lashings, as well as new sailbag lashings to tidy things up and help reduce chafe
Gitana, the maxi ultim trimaran skippered by Charles Caudrelier, peacefully sits at the dock
Paul Meilhat's Imoca Biotherm, with the full moon and historic World War Two era submarine bases in the background
Jeremy Beyou's Charal sits at sunset
Taken over by Nazi Germany during World War Two, Lorient became a large submarine base. Here, a restored submarine stays on display, serving a reminder of its dark past
A pleasant view from the top of the mast...
...and the slightly scarier view down, on my climb up for a routine check of the rigging
Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Nantes
Once populated by France's upper class of the 19th century, these covered outdoor malls offer a historic view
The waterfall from Le Jardin Extraordinaire in Nantes
