Accompanied by numerous dolphins, we drop anchor in the first small welcoming bay (Portacloy) in order to lower from the mast what remains of the scraps of our mainsail.

Then a refreshing sea bath in 13°C water relaxes us from this crossing!

The next day, we stop by our friend Mélanie’s place, always as welcoming as ever. Her crepe truck is a hit in summer, and her little house in front of the idyllic bay of Ballyconneely is open to us. The sea is warmer there, the oysters before departure are excellent, and the cows wandering on the beaches are quite a sight!

Keen to attend at least one session of Irish music — and have a pint of Guinness — in a pub, we then go down to the picturesque town of Dingle, and indeed, music is everywhere, even in a square where about fifteen young people, with their teacher, give their session!

Playing as best as we can with the weather, we still cannot pass south of Ireland in one go and must take shelter at Castletownbere, a very active and well-protected fishing port. However, as happened to us in Greenland, our anchor does not hold… We are allowed to moor at the quay, also having a problem with the helm. While waiting for this gale to pass, we enjoy the land, its trees, delicious blackberries, and one last Irish session in a very “family” pub.

When we set off again, it is for the bay of Brest! On a beautiful sea, close-hauled, suddenly the genoa halyard point breaks and it starts to descend on its own! So it is with the engines, helped by our only staysail, that we spend the last 24 hours.

Pleasure of arriving at dawn in sight of the Pointe de Saint-Mathieu. We are right on time to take advantage of the tidal currents when a call from CROSS Corsen announces that the Brest strait is “restricted,” that is, closed! No indication of time or cause… An Ultime catamaran tacks around us, a French Navy vessel asked us to deviate due to a group of divers… Fifteen minutes later, we discover the Nuclear Ballistic Submarine that was occupying the strait. Our turn! The bay of Brest is very lively in this squally weather; all kinds of boats are sailing, from windsurf boards to magnificent classic yachts, all sails out.

At the end of the bay, we enter the Faou channel, and Google Earth is useful to supplement the few channel buoys! As long as we keep one meter under the hull, it’s fine; any deviation would risk grounding! It is while stirring up the mud that we make the final turn to moor Vagabond at the pretty quay of Faou, and it is Serge Hilbert, my former director at the Douarnenez Maritime Festivals, who takes our mooring lines! Ten minutes from our home, the place is charming. We even continue to live aboard for a few days, extending the list of maintenance points for Vagabond; we are going to pamper her!