Safe and Sound at Last. Landfall in France

5 Aug, 2210 UTC, or just after midnight French time, we finally dropped anchor in a bay off a nice beach in Camaret sur Mer, near Brest. We had forgotten that French time in the summer is UTC +2 hrs. That coupled with a later-rising moon and heavy clouds and mist, meant for near pitch black conditions coming in.

After starting the engine I found it wouldn’t shift. Quick diagnostics showed the cable not attached somewhere. Turned out it was broken at the shifter. I showed Marlein how to shift, but it was pretty awkward. Really glad I didn’t have to come into a dock. We found a nice spot with several boats at anchor and some crab pot floats and I rigged an anchor and dropped it in 35 ft. There is a 6m tide here so should be about 45-50ft at high tide.

Simone made another great tomato sauce for pasta and we ate our fill, and toasted our arrival with a bottle of Champagne I’ve been saving for a special occasion. This was it! Then we slept, with nary a thought to being thrown from the bunk. Ahhhh.

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