From Pornic we bounced north into the waves and wind, as per usual, and arrived at Penerf. This was a new harbour for us and the entrance was not the easiest with shallows and oddly placed buoys, which added to the fun. But once in, we were treated to a stunning sunset accompanied with the freshest oysters ever from a harbour stall at just £8 for a dozen, as long as you don’t mind chucking them yourself.
And then our dinghy and outboard got pinched…
Well, pinched is a strong word, so please indulge me and let me know when your honest trust and belief in a fellow sailor has diminished. Penerf only has walk ashore pontoons for the smallest of boats. For us bigger boats, there is a mid-river pontoon which requires a dinghy or water taxi to reach the shore. The joy of these pontoons is that they instantly become small, unique communities of trapped sailors which will never be repeated, and as such no request for assistance is ever refused.
A young couple arrived late afternoon, when the water taxi had long since gone home and they politely asked if they could ‘borrow’ our dinghy to take their friend ashore; they were coming straight back. There was no reason why I should say no, so I handed over some £3k of kit and wished them well.
Five hours later when they still hadn’t returned, it was somewhat obvious that they weren’t exactly telling the truth about ‘straight back’ and as dark arrived, I could see my treasured dinghy loosely tied to the walk ashore pontoon seemingly with a ‘help yourself’ sign on it. As 1am passed I decided that enough was enough. I donned my wetsuit swam over to it and dragged it back.
When we saw them in the morning, they claimed they had been looking for it since midnight. To this day I still have no idea how they got back to their boat however I suspect that someone else was looking for their dinghy that morning.
A cycle ride around Le Tour-du-Parc and a very lazy lunch was the last day of our 2024 travels and with heavy hearts we headed back to Arzal, into the jaws of hell and the awaiting Barrage lock for the last time this year.
As we rounded the bend, Nina saw a gap at the back of the lock and encouraged me to drive in and were even complemented by the ‘Shouty man’ lock keeper. Briefly stopping to fill up with fuel we headed over to K pontoon which would be our home until next year. Whilst executing the final parking exercise of the year, I promptly messed it up and put the first scratch on LJ in years which is always a great way to end a season – final word for 2024 ‘bugger’ !
10th – 16th August 2024
Trip Mileage 58 miles
Mileage Completed 2519 miles