Pembrokeshire

Sailing around Pembrokeshire this autumn

Return to the UK

We arrived at St Mary's just as dawn broke and due to an increasing north-westerly wind decided to anchor on the east of the island at Watermill Cove. The winds eased overnight, the relatively clear skies provided memorable sunrises and sunsets, we enjoyed our very brief stopover in the Isles of Scilly.

The customs regulations prevented us from sailing direct from France back to the UK with our dog on our boat. However, we found out that we could sail from France to Ireland and then back to the UK! So, we didn't land at the Isles of Scilly and early the following morning set sail for Waterford on the south coast of Ireland.

The sail to Ireland took us about 36 hours, arriving at the wide estuary at the mouth of the River Suir that leads inland for 14 miles to the oldest city in Ireland, Waterford. We followed the marked channel past castles, wooded hillsides and railway bridges to the marina pontoons in the centre of the city. We carefully secured our boat alongside another large yacht and dashed ashore for take-away fish and chips!

The city of Waterford was first settled by the Vikings over 1000 years ago, we explored the narrow streets in the city centre and drank Guinness, which is now brewed in the city. We stayed in Waterford for three nights before heading back down the river and out across the Irish Sea towards Pembrokeshire.

Dolphins escorted us at numerous times along the way, right up to the Islands of Skomer and Skokholm. We arrived off the coast of Pembrokeshire in the early hours of the morning and decided to anchor in the south haven of Skomer to wait for a favourable tide. The seals and puffins very quickly appeared, so we spent a few hours watching them before continuing to the Milford Haven estuary.

We had sailed in through the Milford Haven estuary on previous occasions on charter yachts. Now we were sailing in on our own yacht at the end of a 5000 mile voyage! We had arrived back into the UK.

South Brittany

We spent several nights at anchor in the upper reaches of the River Blavet enjoying the peace and tranquility. However, we had arranged to meet up with Hannah's cousins who live in Brittany, so we headed back down the river to find a suitable anchorage near Port Louis. The anchorage at the Anse de Goerem was fine overnight in the calm conditions, but the following morning we decided to go into the marina at Port Louis.

We met up with Hannah's cousins, enjoyed an excellent lunch ashore and walked around the town and citadel walls in the warm afternoon sunshine. We limited our stay in the marina to one night and headed out to the anchorage at Larmor Plage before sailing Northwest the following day. The anchorages in the entrance to the estuary were great for watching the numerous boats sailing through the narrows and past the citadel.

With westerly winds we had to tack our way up the coast past the Ile de Groix, the Iles de Glenan to the River Odet. Arriving at 2am we decided to anchor in the Anse du Trez before proceeding up the river the following morning. We motored past the busy holiday towns of Benodet and Sainte-Marine, under the road bridge and found a quiet anchorage on a branch of the main river at the Anse de Combrit. Spotting a footpath on the banks of the river, we rowed ashore and walked through woodland into the small town of Combrit.

The following day we rowed ashore with the bikes and cycled down to Ile Tudy, opposite Loctudy, for lunch in one of the cafés. The afternoon was spent cycling, walking along the banks of the River Odet near Les Vire-Court and stocking up on food at a nearby supermarche.

With a good weather forecast we decided to set sail towards the Isles of Scilly and Ireland, our plans were nearly scuppered when the engine wouldn't start! Fortunately the problem was only a loose wire at the starter motor and we were soon on our way. We motored down the River Odet and set sail, rounding the headland of Pointe de Penmarc'h, the Ile de Sein and the Ile d'Ouessant before crossing the shipping lanes and heading for the Isles of Scilly.

Bay of Biscay

With our time in Spain coming to an end we sailed to the Ria de Muros and kept an eye on the weather forecast for an opportunity to sail across Biscay to Brittany. We arrived at the Ensenada de Esteiro, where we decided the late afternoon sunshine was hot enough for a swim. The following morning we were awoken to the noise of numerous fishermen and at least 20 boats working along the shore just a few metres from our boat. We were clearly in their way, so decided to move across the ria to Playa Aguieira, a delightful bay, so we decided to anchor for another night rather than head into the nearby marina. Finally we were running out of food and water so headed for the marina at Portosin, the helpful marineros guided us into a berth next to a large Spanish race yacht!

The prevailing wind direction along this coastline is northerly, not much good for sailing north. So with a weather forecast of southerly winds for a few days, we decided not to head to A Coruna, but sail across Biscay starting from Portosin. The distance of just over 400 miles to South Brittany would take us at least 3 days. We made an early start and motored to the end if the Ria until the wind picked up and we could sail north past Cabo Finisterre. Dolphins followed us for many miles, the sea was fairly calm and the light winds made the sailing easy.

As we approached the end of the third day we could see the Ile de Groix near Lorient. We had decided to explore the River Blavet that is navigable for several miles inland to Hennebont. However, we arrived at the entrance to the river at Lorient at 2 am, so decided to anchor for the night and continue the following day. The River Blavet was amazing, similar to the Helford River in Cornwall, we enjoyed several walks along the wooded banks. The weather was hot and sunny, with the river water clean enough to swim, just what we needed to recover from the trip across the Bay of Biscay.