A lovely small island

Another tidal stream

We left Vannes on a sunny morning and motored down the river to the Golfe du Morbihan. Out there, on the slightly more open water, the wind was light but promised the possibility of a run between calms and downstream with the dropping tide to the open ocean. We sometimes ghosted and at other times skipped along at an easy pace through the southern side of the Golfe past mudbanks, low rocky skerries and forested islands until we hit the main channel back at Gavrinis. Here, the wind died but where the wind left off the tidal current took over and we were whisked along seawards, twisting and spinning like a cork in the flow through the last miles of the Golfe. At one point we hit 11.7 kn over the ground while our sails hung limp and the log read 0 kn through the water!

Off to Île d’Houat

Eventually though we reached the mouth of the Golfe where we caught a light SE breeze which allowed us to cross the 10 or so miles to Île d’Houat leisurely close hauled.

This Île came recommended by the French Douaniers, and while the weather was calm we were keen to explore it.

We certainly didn’t break any speed records on this trip, but after a couple of hours we slipped in amongst other boats and dropped anchor at Tréac’h-Salus in a couple of metres of water and just off the beach. With rocky cliffs at either end and high dunes backing onto the beach it was a lovely spot to end the day.

Unfortunately, this was also where an unfortunate meal in Vannes caught up with one crew member and there followed a day or two of enforced confinement on the boat before we could venture ashore and too far away from the head. Enough said.

A beautiful island without cars

When we did manage to make the break though, we found a beautiful island; windswept and with as remote a feel as anywhere that we’d found along the French coast.

Most of the island seems to be given over to grassland, dunes and rocky cliffs while the one town boasts a small store (open a few days a week or by appointment), a pub, a mob of B&Bs, a hotel or two and a very small fishing harbour.

A series of walking paths and tracks allowed for an easy circumnavigation of the island that visited the town, beautiful cliff top outlooks, the remains of a Vauban tower, Napoleonic forts and secluded beaches.

At the time of our visit at least, outside French holidays and tourist season, it had a feeling of being a long way from the rest of the world. It would be a magic place to be during winter storms.

Left alone at the anchorage

On our last day at Huoat we went off for a walk and came back to find that we had been abandoned by the half dozen or so other boats that had been in the anchorage with us.

It turned out that the forecast had changed and our bay was now exposed to the incoming weather. We decided to wait it out and spent an uncomfortable but not bad night bouncing around on anchor.

The next morning, we spotted all of our erstwhile neighbours in the bay on the other side of the island, and, given the forecast, decided that it was time for us to lift anchor and move as well.