Departure!

Up early with the excitement of departure. The boat was ready to go. We walked the recycle and trash up to the bins and marveled at how many boats were on the shore being commissioned. A lot of the boats in the water were preparing to leave just like us.

When we got back to the boat the SAS guys showed up to fix the 110v power for the water maker. When I was testing the water maker, I discovered that the 110v for the water maker was nonexistent. It worked fine on 12v power, so it was not critical to leaving. So, at 0830 they started tearing the boat apart. It was a good opportunity to see the inner workings of the system. They buttoned it up at about 0930 and we said our good byes.

We spent most of our time in Les Sables working, but we did enjoy the waterfront and seeing the many boats being delivered. Les Sables is best known for being the starting point for the Vendee Global, single handed sailing race around the world.

We departed as planned at a about 1000 with the tide rising. The morning was clear with a light breeze that we took advantage of for sailing. We turned to about 120^o M and made about 6-7 knots. When two sailboats are heading same direction there is a race. So, we picked a boat that was near by and set about over taking him. The wind was up and down, but we did finally pass him. He looked to be a little smaller and had more sail up.

As we made our way between Ile de Re and the mainland the wind died so we motored with the main up. We could see our first way point, the Bridge to Re, very similar to the Coronado bridge in San Diego. As we passed under Suzette judged that we had less than 10’ to spare. The chart said 30m clearance, our air draft is 21.95m, plenty of room. It was hot and we were a little early for our arrival so we anchored off Ile de Re and went for a swim. The water temp is about like ours at Catalina Island, 66^oF.

The entrance to La Rochelle was abuzz with every kind of boat. The tide was 2 hours from high. With the full moon we would have 18’ of tidal swing. We needed a high tide to get into the port. We had made a reservation in the old port nearest the old part of the city. This would be a last opportunity to it a few stores and finish provisioning and buying spares. In order to access the basin for the deep draft boats you had to arrive at high water. When the tide was sufficiently high, they lifted the bridge and opened the lock doors to allow passage into the marina. At low tide the lock doors keep the marina at a higher depth. We were right on time for the 1615 opening. The port captainerie greeted us on her skiff and led us to our slip. It was a slip with a finger on one side. We set up the bumpers and backed into our spot for the next few days.

Once we had the boat squared away, we set out to find an internet café as I needed to conduct some business. We needed to apply for our MMSI number and I thought it would be easier on a WiFi rather than my mobile hot spot I have been using. We found a place where we had a G&T and a cheese board. There was no WiFi, but they had computers for you to use. The French key board is very different, yes, the letters are the same, but there are 2 layers of symbols on the keys. On line with the FCC I was unsuccessful as I do not have a Coast Guard Documentation number yet, it takes several months, oh well, we tried.

Off to the port office to pay for our slip. We wondered around for a while, but we could not find it. The streets were filled with vacationers and there was a huge Ferris wheel giving a carnival feel to the whole town. Back at the boat we enjoyed a sundowner on the foredeck as we took in our new surroundings.