We think we know why there are no popular YouTube channels cruising the North Atlantic coasts. It’s not been easy cruising! We have seen amazing views, had a lot of dramatic weather, and moved from point A to point B. But not so much good sailing or summer-type weather. However, we have spent over 40 days out and have really enjoyed living and travelling on Lulu. Sometimes you have to re-set your expectations – so we have accepted that this part of the journey isn’t about sun or fair sailing, and looked for what we can enjoy.
Guernsey was a beautiful island with a very English countryside flavor. Although they are independent in some respects, as a visitor it felt like entering Britain. On our first night, Neal at Beaucette Marina recommended a place for fish & chips that was so great we went back. Beaucette is worth a mention, as it is one of the nicer marinas we have stayed at. It was removed from the city, so it was very quiet in the evenings and the only movement around was people staying at Beaucette or walking the coastline.
A short walk away from the marina was the bus stop, and as a visitor it was special to ride the bus in Guernsey. They just have the word “BUS” painted onto the pavement, no signs or timetables or anything, so the first attempt to ride resulted in the wrong direction and almost an hour wait for the next bus – we walked instead, it took the same amount of time. The streets are very narrow, and people have high garden walls around their houses, so it felt like there was barely enough space for the rear view mirror between the bus and the wall. Traffic that met us often climbed the curb and drove on the sidewalk while passing the bus, and there were traffic mirrors everywhere so you could see what was around the corner behind those big stone walls.
Fuel is either not taxed or taxed very low on Guernsey, so buses were much cheaper than in Gothenburg and we saw a lot of the island on the bus. Assumedly because of the extremely low fuel prices, we didn’t see any electric cars there. I have posted pictures of Guernsey on our AnderssonSailing facebook account; and some film clips are posted on Instagram (also AnderssonSailing).
In France we have also been staying in Marinas, due to both the tides and also the strong winds that have been accompanying us for almost our entire trip. It’s hard to anchor somewhere when you have strong winds whipping up the seas and possibly changing direction in the middle of the night. So far our favorite French city marina has been Dieppe, it was a lovely harbor with restaurants lining the streets around the harbor. There we walked all over town looking for stainless steel screws to replace a broken screw in the floor, which gave us a nice walking tour.
Roscoff is a pretty little city, and during the tourist season they have a free bus that stops by the marina and goes into town. We walked into town but took the bus back, it was easy and also offered a bit more sightseeing. It is fun window shopping, seeing things that wouldn’t be found in other places I have lived or visited. The storefront full of fish patés was fun, and the sweets, pastries and chocolates have been fascinating. We have only bought a few croissants and pain chocolat, so I think we are doing well.
Tomorrow onwards, soon we will approach the Bay of Biscay. Lots of exciting things ahead of us!