Category: Travel Stories

Getaría is one of the many picturesque fisherman’s harbors of which there are so many on this coast. Whale fishing went on until the eighties which is hard to imagine nowadays. In the newspaper I read that two blue whales have been spotted this year, the first since many years. The small ports are famous… Continue reading 11 Breathtaking coastline and beautiful little harbours

The port of Bilbao is situated in Getxo, some 10 km east from the center. When in Bilbao you cannot skip the Guggenheim of course and so we headed by metro to the astonishing and slightly confusing building of Frank Gehry to admire the work of Richard Serra, Anselm Kiefer, Mark Rothko and others. We… Continue reading 10 Bilbao – Modern art in an ancient city

After quiet Port Médoc and tiny Pasaia it was nice to visit a major city again. San Sebastián or Donostia in Basque really lives up to the part with narrow old streets featuring tiny restaurants, boulevards with luxury shops and the best: a beautiful beach and turquoise water in the midst of it all. In… Continue reading 9 Mooring in San Sebastián

It is time to make the final stretch to the Spanish coast. Or more precisely the Basque coast. Unfortunately the forecast anticipated a heavy Atlantic swell in the next two days, so we made an extra stop over in Port Médoc, a nice small village and marina in the top of the famous wine area.On… Continue reading 8 Spain here we come

Dear blogpost readers & sail- (or Appie) enthousiasts. This is a guest-post by Albert & Indra. Already two weeks ago we joined the two pensionado’s in La Rochelle to take off to the French islands Ile de Ré, Ile d’Aix, Ile d’Oléron and Rochefort. Soon we found out about the smikkelvacation; no normal eating –… Continue reading 7 New captains on board

From st Martin on Ile de Ré we sail to la Rochelle where Albert and Indra will join us, our youngest son and his girlfriend. Entering the passage to la Rochelle is tricky because you have to make sure there is enough water under the keel so we have to calculate the best time slot… Continue reading 6 Cruising around the Charente-Maritime hotspots

Belle île, Vannes, Golfe du Morbihan and Ile d’Yeu The beauty of Brittany is both found at the Coastal Islands like Belle Île and Ile d’Yeu as in the natural harbour of the Golfe de Morbihan with over 40 islands and the medieval city of Vannes. The Golfe has an extreme current , at it’s… Continue reading 5 Inland and Islands

Still enjoying favourable winds to make progress towards the southern coast of Brittany, where we will be spending some weeks to enjoy the french coastal life. A nice combination of old favourites, like the wrecks of old fishing boats in Camaret and breakfast on the terrace at cafe de la Cale in Ste Marine, and… Continue reading 4 L’ Aber Wrac’h to Ile de Sein, entering the Bay of Biscay

During a 20 hour overnight sailing trip from Cherbourg we passed the British channel islands. Very strict UK Covid quarantine rules made us sail past our favourite Sark anchor bay and Guernsey’s St Peter Port before arriving in a dense fog at Roscoff early morning. When the sun opened up the day at lunchtime, the… Continue reading 3 Roscoff – a first touch of Brittany

First stretch was to Nieuwpoort Belgium. To meet up with long time friends Dartel and Spicy Lady, both on their way to the south. Time for a ‘pintje’ and joint sail to Boulogne sur Mer. Followed by an overnight crossing to Cherbourg where Quatorze Juillet fireworks were waiting for us.