Two weeks in Treguier

 Two weeks of boat work

When we picked up Positive Waves last summer, Boreal sent a team of workers to the boat every day to tie up loose ends in the commissioning process. Systems checks, a brief introduction to all the workings on board, a test sail, etc. At this point I don’t remember what was done in those first two weeks aboard, only that the kids had new tablets and we told them that whenever the workers were aboard they could play on their tablets. The workers loved the ecstatic welcome they received from the kids every time they showed up. We sailed out of Treguier with everything in working order and a plan to return in a year with a list of changes, additions, and repairs that might come up in a year.

After a year of living aboard and sailing a little over 2000 nautical miles, we generated a list. Hans tackled some of the projects on an as-needed basis, others we added to our list. Our list of spares was huge since we figured that the easiest place to pick up spares was from the source. Our Boreal to-do list included both warranty and non-warranty jobs, including:

• Deal with the chafing on the spinnaker halyard when we fly the code zero,
• Install a hanging bar in the forward head for hanging wet foulies, laundry, etc.,
• Install bars to keep the freezer and produce bins secure whilst sailing,
• Fix a couple electronic glitches,
• Wire an additional shore power plug for our Honda 2200 gas generator,
• Install vents in the aft lazarette for the Eberspracher diesel heater,
• etc.,
• etc.,
• etc.
  

Boreal had a change in ownership/leadership/management over the past year, so we were also able to meet the new owners in person, Fred and Eric. It’s always nice to put a face with a name. Every day or so Eric would stop by the boat bearing gifts like a new light, a small piece of interior wood, a fitting for the aft shower, and more. Little odds and ends that we had been missing, just like the Big Lebowski’s carpet, really tied the room together.

And also two weeks of socializing!

The crew of PW having some snuggles with Malin & Adam (aka Chewy)

It certainly wasn’t all work in Treguier. Like always in the Boreal home port, there was a quite a flotilla of Boreals needing attention from the yard. Adam and Cindi on s/v Bravo were there again; we first met them when we commissioned PW in 2020 and they had been on their brand new boat in lockdown in France for months. Diana and Randy on s/v Randonnee arrived after spending a couple months in Ireland and the UK. We were so excited to meet them because we’d been conversing over Messenger for over a year about all things Boreal. Molly and Dee were docked next to us on s/v Wings, also new owners and veteran kid-boaters—they went cruising when their daughter was about the same age as Matilda. We met and said goodbye to a former owner and met the new owner of another Boreal. And Mike on s/v Boreal Flyer hosted a real sailors’ happy hour complete with sea stories and rum sampling. And just to add a little diversity to the Boreal crowd, friends that we met in Sweden arrived on their Amel, s/v Leia, and politely listened to all of us talk on and on and on about our boats. Malin and Adam are also heading to the Caribbean so we have plenty to talk about outside of aluminum boats.

The start of the dinghy ride to the restaurant "just around the bend in the river" according to Hans, which turned out to be at least 5 nautical miles up the river, with wind against current conditions. We stayed dry in our fancy pants new dinghy...

unfortunately, the crew of Bravo's dinghy can't say the same.

the view from the restaurant was spectacular.

Pre-dinner drinks followed by a fresh, locally sourced meal.
Pretty much like every meal in France.

In and around Treguier

A fall sky: dramatic colors, dark clouds, bright sun. The weather definitely switched from summer to fall when we were in Treguier.

A bike ride and picnic through the countryside.

Treguier's tourism office rented out electric bikes for 15 euros a day. We borrowed a couple, packed a picnic, and headed to the sea.

The geology reminded me a lot of the west coast of Sweden, especially where you could see the patterns in the rocks continue from rock to rock.

Back in Treguier

shellfish feast!

Oysters for sale at the weekly market.

We also fit in a good amount of homeschooling, including some outdoor work and “field trips” which were necessary since we had workers on the boat. Sorry kids, it's not unlimited tablet time this time around. Treguier has a great weekly market with food and crafts; we rented bikes for a day and cycled around the gorgeous countryside; rented a car and filled the boat with food and wine; and the kids spent a couple glorious days with two siblings from Guernsey, Meghan and Digby. The kids were all the same age and ran around the park and the dock and hoisted each other up and down the mast. Our kids loved the British accents and we marveled at how they became such fast friends. Our dock neighbors likely marveled at how loud four kids can be.

So after two weeks at dock and all the work completed, it was time to leave Treguier and dry out the boat and our livers. We sailed out the river with s/v Randonee and we both anchored in very shallow water and waited for the tide to rush out. It did, leaving both boats high and dry. Like true boat geeks, we ran back and forth between the two boats exclaiming on this and that feature and complimenting each other on our bottoms.

Hans and I left the kids on the boat and went for a walk. We returned to find this note.

"swimming" off the boat.

As the tide flooded out, we found fish floundering in the shallows.
Hans grabbed the net and scooped two up for dinner.
Freja grabbed the net from Hans and scooped up every fish she could find and rescued them to deeper water.

Maxing and relaxing at anchor.

Exploring the north coast of Brittany

Hans and I went out for oysters and wine at sunset and had to quickly leave to get back to the boat before the water got too deep. Life lessons!

We sailed west from Treguier and hopped along the north coast of Brittany for about a week. We were ready to sail across the Bay of Biscay but needed the right weather. So we patiently sailed about 20 miles a hop and took advantage of the tides and our centerboard boat and anchored/dried out in every harbour. We hiked on pink rock islands and spent a couple days at I’le de Baetz just north of Roscoff. Matilda and I went on a big coastal hike, at least five miles which is pretty long for Matilda’s short legs and minimal enthusiasm for hiking. While we were gone, Hans and Freja went fishing and met a young Swedish/Australian couple on s/v Artemis. We made fast friends and went hiking together the next day and had a magical beach barbecue complete with a rather competitive game of freeze tag. Pro tip: adults stand no chance against kids in tag.

Hans and the kids, way up there.

Dried out with all the fishing boats. Almost every boater in this part of the world knows the Boreal and we get a lot of smiles and waves.

I'le de Brehat has field after field of agriculture, and a few farm stands.

Climbing on rocks and "making mamma's heart beat" is one of Matilda's favorite activities.

Thank you Emma!

smoked mackeral hand rolls.

Staging for the Bay of Biscay passage

We kept sailing west toward Brest, a good jumping off point for Biscay, and ended up in the tiny town of Lanildut. Not a typical spot to wait, nor provision, but the harbour was calm and we were able to tidy up and get ready to go with little stress. We had a perfect window to go within two days and after getting the dinghy on deck and the Watt & Sea hydro generator mounted on the transom, water tanks filled, snack locked stocked, we were ready to go.

Bored and listening to an audiobook (or music) while sailing.

Hauling groceries down to the dinghy.