L'Aber Benoit

We had hoped that the wind would abate on Tuesday 28 August. It did a little but came back strongly in the afternoon when the tide would be heading south. It also stayed firmly in the SSW sector; exactly the direction we wanted to head. Wednesday’s forecast looked grim with Force 7 winds and thundery showers.

The rather grey view between rain showers

We did set sail on Tuesday afternoon but the wind was as forecast so we simply moved one Aber south, picking up a mooring buoy in L’Aber Benoit; another location we had bypassed previously. L’Aber Benoit is more populated than the wilder L’Aber Wrac’h and has more of a holiday atmosphere with nice beaches on its southern shore. It also had the temptation of the viviers. Unlike at L’Aber Wrac’h, none of the navigation markers or buoys are lit though, so approaches and departures have to be by day which is why, I guess, L’Aber Wrach tends to be the staging post for yachts waiting for favourable conditions to pass through the Chanel du Four and the Raz de Sein.

Nicky planing our passage through the Chanel du Four

These two infamous tidal choke points are not to be underestimated. With the right conditions they provide a helpful tidal ‘conveyor belt’ which zips you around the Brest peninsular into the Bay of Biscay with a good handful of extra free knots of speed. However with strong wind against tide (as was forecast), the seas can pick up to be very dangerous and there are few easy boltholes. 

L’Aber Benoit therefore provided a pleasant haven for us as the next depression marched in from the west on Wednesday. A high pressure and pleasant westerly winds were on the cards for Thursday so that is when we planned to make our move further south (which also left enough time for another bowl or two of moules).

The lovely Breton stone cottages looking fantastic in the sunshine