At Sea off the Coast of France
A well-deserved day at sea was welcome today after full first days of our voyage—climbing Mont Saint Michel, visiting the full length of the D-Day landing sites, viewing the Bayeux tapestry, and touring the medieval towns of Brugges, Honfleur and Saint Malo. With Lady Fortune looking down on us, the seas were much milder than the previous night’s looming forecast and we enjoyed pleasant sailing from La Manche (‘the Sleeve,’ as the French call the English Channel) south into the Bay of Biscay.
The French coast we’re sailing is a wild and storied place, full of isles, battlements, resorts, fishing ports, navigational hazards, great tides and strong storm waves. Lighthouses line the coast; in some places multiple light towers of various eras stand in rocky waters like pieces in a giant watery chess game. We saw fortressed isles and seawalls protected by tall timber blockades at St. Malo yesterday, defense from seaward onslaughts of man and nature. Postcards there of huge storm waves striking the town’s esplanade and wrapping up and around island lighthouses, told of the force of storm and tide on these shores. Recently, intrepid surfers rode 60-foot waves along French shores. Great tidal change in the area is used to generate electricity. Our visit to Mont St. Michel was carefully scheduled; at another time of day our bus would have been floating instead of parked on the causeway. In addition to strong natural forces, medieval battlements stand along the coast testament to a history of military invasions that culminated in the Allied landing of War World II.
As sailboats and northern gannets passed us by outside, we enjoyed lectures indoors on Napoleon, the French Revolution, and a history of the city of La Rochelle, a destination tomorrow. Add rest and relaxation, wine tasting, Swedish pancakes, afternoon tea, piano music, a film, and cruising past Belle Isle, the largest Breton island, and we’ll call it a full, active, but relaxed day at sea.
A well-deserved day at sea was welcome today after full first days of our voyage—climbing Mont Saint Michel, visiting the full length of the D-Day landing sites, viewing the Bayeux tapestry, and touring the medieval towns of Brugges, Honfleur and Saint Malo. With Lady Fortune looking down on us, the seas were much milder than the previous night’s looming forecast and we enjoyed pleasant sailing from La Manche (‘the Sleeve,’ as the French call the English Channel) south into the Bay of Biscay.
The French coast we’re sailing is a wild and storied place, full of isles, battlements, resorts, fishing ports, navigational hazards, great tides and strong storm waves. Lighthouses line the coast; in some places multiple light towers of various eras stand in rocky waters like pieces in a giant watery chess game. We saw fortressed isles and seawalls protected by tall timber blockades at St. Malo yesterday, defense from seaward onslaughts of man and nature. Postcards there of huge storm waves striking the town’s esplanade and wrapping up and around island lighthouses, told of the force of storm and tide on these shores. Recently, intrepid surfers rode 60-foot waves along French shores. Great tidal change in the area is used to generate electricity. Our visit to Mont St. Michel was carefully scheduled; at another time of day our bus would have been floating instead of parked on the causeway. In addition to strong natural forces, medieval battlements stand along the coast testament to a history of military invasions that culminated in the Allied landing of War World II.
As sailboats and northern gannets passed us by outside, we enjoyed lectures indoors on Napoleon, the French Revolution, and a history of the city of La Rochelle, a destination tomorrow. Add rest and relaxation, wine tasting, Swedish pancakes, afternoon tea, piano music, a film, and cruising past Belle Isle, the largest Breton island, and we’ll call it a full, active, but relaxed day at sea.
