Tuesday 8/9

We started early today to beat the heat and to beat the lunch hour closure of stores. Early, as in 8:30, since the stores do not open until 0900. We broke out the bikes for the 2-mile ride to the bigger stores. We discovered a bike path along the estuary so we do not need to ride on the road with the cars. The estuary is controlled by a dam that empties the estuary down to a mud flat. We see people out muck raking for shell fish. When the water is retained people wind surf and paddle on what becomes a big bay.

Estuary full

Estuary empty (the aroma reminds me of my youth on the eastern shore marsh)

We shopped until I dropped, Brico (The Home Depot of France), several culinary stores for more pots and pans and some groceries that only are available at the big grocery store. I can work on a project all day non stop, but 30 minutes of shopping and I am wiped out! We stopped at an Italian restaurant for lunch; Lemon Spritzer and pasta salad. Refreshed, we schlepped our wares back to the boat on our bikes. Stopped by SAS, the commissioning yard, to see if my solar panel parts came in and they did! The heat was again oppressive, but I had to get the solar panels mounted. Lots of water in and sweat out, but we got the job done.

Suzette decided that we were done with the heat, so she closed the boat up and turned on the air conditioning. We are so unaccustomed to air conditioning, our home in CA is near the beach so we do not need air conditioning. The AC made for a great night’s sleep.

Wednesday was another hot clear and calm day. Continued with little projects; rerigging the dinghy davits, installed a fan in the master stateroom, finished the solar connections, etc. Starting to feel the pressure of a looming departure day.

In the afternoon the new dinghy arrived. It is a 320 Plastimo with an inflatable floor. It was a bit of a puzzle getting it inflated on the aft deck and hanging it from the dinghy davits. In the evening, once the sun was below the buildings, we took the new dinghy and electric outboard for a spin. It is so nice cruising the harbor with no noisy engine.

Thursday was dedicated to boat cleaning and preparation for departure. The Grill parts finally showed up so I diverted and installed the grill, grilled vegies for dinner! By the end of the day the boat was ready to go, in spite of there being a few items left on the punch list and more than a few items on my list.

After months, maybe a year, of planning the boat came together well. Everything always takes longer than you think, but it seems that I buffered enough time. Cost budget is another matter, but with the strong dollar and avoiding some of the high VAT tax on larger purchases, the budget over run is manageable.

Tomorrow, we set sail south to parts unknown. First stop is La Rochelle, about 35 miles south.