Chinook spent the summer in La Grande Motte. We arrived on October 8, splashed on the 9th, spent several days taking inventory of the warranty work done (and not done) and worked through the long checklist prepping Chinook for the trip.
Splash Day
La Grande Motte – getting Chinook ready.
Marseille
October 14 – 17, 2019
Winds were strong and seas were high as we left La Grande Motte. We spent the first night in Port Napoleon and met up with friends Bob and Joanna (Flying Fox). Weather the next day was again very sporty as we made our way to Marseille where we spent 3 nights in the Vieux Port Marseille (SNM docks).
We enjoyed Marseille – the fish market, another grand Notre Dame Cathedral, Le Panier, a great restaurant La Boite a Sardine and the France/Turkey soccer game made for good entertainment one evening at the bar across from our boat.
Sporty day travelling to Marseille
En route to Marseille
Chinook in Vieux Port Marseille
Marseille – Notre Dame
Port Marseille
View from Notre Dame in Marseille
Port Miou and Cassis
October 17 – 21, 2019
We fueled up at Marseille and made our way to Port Miou which is in a long calanque close to Cassis. The strong SE winds prevented us from entering other calanques close by. We used 2 mooring balls due to the strong wind and stern tied to the rock. Beautiful spot but the rolling waves made for a very uncomfortable stay.
Strong winds continued as we left the next day for Cassis (just around the bend). We spent 3 nights (one longer than expected) due to the weather. Chinook was close to the harbour entrance which made for rolling waves. It was a challenge maneuvering the narrow passerelle (made from old canal fender boards) from Chinook to the dock.
The small town of Cassis is a gem with buff and rose coloured houses crammed onto the waterfront overlooking the harbour and a restored 14th century castle on a rocky bluff overlooking the town.
Port Miou
Port Miou
Port Cassis
Chinook in Port Cassis
Cassis
CFD hose to the rescue
Narrow streets in Cassis
Port de Porquerolles
October 21 – 24, 2019
We had a one day window in between the strong winds to reach our next destination. We decided to sail to Port de Porquerolles (one of the Iles d’Hyeres). We arrived in calm water and chose a spot along the quai before many other boats arrived to wait out the storm. We spent 3 nights in Porquerolles with constant wind and gusts up to 54 knots. The whistling wind through all the rigging on the boats was deafening.
We did not explore the island, apart from the small town near the harbour, since we did not want to leave the boat too long in the strong winds. The island had a Caribbean look with palm trees, one story buildings and open air bars and restaurants. Once in town the wind was not noticeable but a stark contrast when you went back to the port. Only late on the 3rd night did the wind die and the next morning we made an early departure onto the calm seas to Saint-Tropez.
Wind Speed/Direction Graph – max 54 knots
Town of Porquerolles
Fashion statement in Porquerolles
Saint-Tropez
October 24 – 26, 2019
We had light winds all the way to Saint-Tropez but the large spread out rolling waves were not to Charlie’s liking. We docked in the new part of the harbour for only $95E per night. The old part of the harbour was $250E per night and you had to pay for showers. Mon dieu!
Little did we know our arrival coincided with the ‘Grande Braderie de Saint-Tropez’. This is the French version of Black Friday. Hordes of people filled the narrow streets as stores were clearing their stock for the season. Despite this, we found Saint-Tropez to be a wonderful quaint town. We walked up to the Citadel (great views), visited the Marine museum, tasted the famous La Tarte Tropezieme, ice cream at Barbarac and dined at La Port des Anges on a narrow street a step away from Notre Dame d’Assumption.
Docked in Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez
Citadel
The passerelle challenge
Sunset in Saint-Tropez
Dinner in Saint-Tropez
Cannes
October 26 – 28, 2019
A great day sailing to Cannes. Warm, sunny and close-hauled. The port was full – we lucked out with one of the last spots on the floating dock. Capitainerie was very helpful and only $47E for 2 nights! Big change from Saint-Tropez.
In port was another ‘Chinook’ – a beautiful classic 18 meter sailboat from NYYC. She was docked next to Manitou used by JFK (and Marilyn Monroe) during his presidency.
We enjoyed Cannes – the daily market was plentiful, we toured the old town, strolled the beach, walked up to the castle (great views) and walked the promenade with high end shops. Charlie was thankful it was Sunday so the shops were closed.
Arriving in Cannes
Oysters and white wine in Cannes
Cannes Market – great produce
Port de Cannes
Another Chinook – a beautiful classic sailboat in Cannes
Nice
October 28 – 31, 2019
Nice is the capital of the Riviera and the second largest city on the French Mediterranean coast. We spent 3 days exploring this great city.
We arrived to find only a few visitor spots available in the old harbour. An octopus greeted us on the rock wall where we stern tied. Another passerelle challenge! Our dock neighbour was born and raised in Edmonton – small world.
We had fun exploring the old town, castle hill, Musee de Chagall, walking the Pomenade des Anglais and rocky beach, stopping for oysters and wine along the way.
Trip to Monaco was overcast with wind on our nose. We kept close to shore due to heavy offshore wind. Torrential rain started shortly after our arrival and lasted for several hours. Found some new warranty issues after the rain 🙂
Visited the usual – casino, opera house, walked up to the old town to see the Prince’s palace, Oceangraphic Museum and cathedral. Overall not impressed with Monaco – too many tourists and bad weather put a damper on this stopover.
Chinook docked in Monaco
Monte Carlo Casino
Port de Monaco
Climbing up Castle hill to the old town
Monaco Opera House
Oceanographic Museum
Villefranche
November 2 – 3, 2019
Sailed most of the way to Villefranche – an overcast day. Once in the Rade de Villefranche we set anchor and enjoyed a great view of the town. We toyed with staying the night on the hook but due to the overnight forecast of high winds we moved into port. We’ve been plagued with high wind this entire trip. There seems to be no middle ground.
It was a tight squeeze into our slip but we nailed it.
Villefranche is a quaint town rising from the harbour with narrow streets up and down joined by paths. We had a great dinner (and house wine) at Le Serre. A favourite dish of ours on a cool rainy night is the Daube de Maison. The showers at the capitainerie are the best in all Cote d’Azur!
We left the next morning in order to make some headway and beat the bad weather coming our way.
Tight quarters in Villefranche
Great dinner at Le Serre
Enroute to Villefranche
Antibes
November 3 – 4, 2019
It was a short but very unpleasant trip to Antibes. The storm arrived earlier than forecasted and we motored for 2 hours in torrential rain, thunder, lightning and poor visibility. It was a good test of our radar settings (sea and rain clutter).
Fall has definitely arrived and we are having to break out the long underwear and foul weather gear to keep warm.
Antibes is a very large port filled with huge yachts. From a distance we could see Dilbar – a 157m yacht, the largest (by volume) in the world.
We docked in the rain but waters were calm. We toured the town and had dinner at La Casa di Luciano. We made it an early night for an early departure next morning.
Antibes – view from Chinook
Antibes Harbour – Dilbar in the background 157m yacht
Saint-Raphael
November 4 – 6, 2019
Finally a sunny day and lots of wind. We had a good sail down (with our usual 2 reefs) until we rounded the corner to St. Raphael with wind on our nose.
We docked just inside the harbour entrance next to a dive boat which fortunately was not active during our stay.
Next day was overcast with rain and lots of waves inside the harbour. The capitainerie assisted us (with their dinghy) to straighten out our bow laid lines.
We walked into town to get some supplies at the small market and picked up dinner for onboard dining.
30 knot winds to St Raphael
Enroute to St. Raphael
Market time
Saint-Raphael
Le Lavandou
November 6 – 7, 2019
Heavy wind in the morning made for a difficult exit from St. Raphael. We got the sails up right away and had a good sail down the coast (15 – 20 knot winds). Once we turned west, bigger waves with 30 knot winds made it more sporty. At one point a French fighter jet screamed over at a very low level – cool!
After a long day, we stopped at Le Kilt for a pint and had the best dinner yet at a cozy french restaurant L’Auberge Provencal. Perfect ending to a great day.
Only one night in Le Lavandou to take advantage of a good travel day in between days of bad weather.
Enroute to Le Lavandou
Enroute to Le Lavandou
Docked in Le Lavandou – sail wash day
Le Lavandou
Our vote for best restaurant
Toulon
November 7 – 11, 2019
We motored all the way to Toulon and along the way saw 2 French naval ships (one with its water cannons spraying) and 2 military helicopters. There was a strong military presence as you entered the Toulon harbour. The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier was in port and could be seen at a distance.
The visitor’s dock at Darse Vielle was damaged due to a bad storm but we were lucky to get a spot on a floating pontoon at the harbour wall right beside the statue of the Sailing Genius. Water was available only a few hours each day due to the storm damage.
We spent 4 nights at Toulon and enjoyed touring the town – market, naval museum, beautiful cathedral, opera house, happy hour at Le Neptunia with the French sailors and we took in a Rugby game watching Toulon tie Montpellier.
Docked in Toulon in front of the Sailing Genius statue
Docked in Toulon
Toulon opera house
Toulon rugby game
Bandol
November 11 – 15, 2019
It was a good exit from Toulon on November 11, 2019 on an overcast day. We saw the rest of the French Toulon fleet including Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. Weather was calm until we turned at Cap Cepet and then the sea got rough at Cap Sicie with large waves in all directions. There was not enough wind to sail but we still managed 6-7 knots.
We stern tied at Bandol. The wind at our stern was favourable for our moorage however our neighboring boats were moving wildly so we put on some extra protection.
During our 4 night stay the wind and rain continued. Gusting and changing wind caused additional concern with the neighbouring boats and the setup with our bow line.
We had our first visit from the Doanes (customs). Four officers boarded and checked registration, passports and logs. Fortunately all was in order and they seemed to be more interested in tobacco and large sums of euros.
There was a great flea market at the end of our docks. We cycled to Sanay sur Mer where we found a boucherie providing some great dinner options (Canard l’orange and Daube Maison).
Church beside the Bandol square
Bikes off the stern – cycle to Sanay
Please stop raining!
Waves crashing over the break water
Chinook moored in Bandol
Cassis
November 15 – 16, 2019
We motored all the way to Cassis and stopped at La Ciotat harbour to check out the 143m Sailing Yacht ‘A’ which could be seen from a long way off. West of Ciotat were great rock cliffs at Ile Vert.
The surge was too much to enter the nearby Calanques and there was a huge surge at the entrance to Cassis. Skipper did a great job timing the entrance in between surges. On the way into the harbour we passed a sunken boat that was not so lucky.
We had a nice dinner at Vielle Auberge which was dry and warm as it was cold and pouring rain outside (again). We prepared for departure the next day to Marseille. Calm weather was in the forecast.
