After two nights on a mooring in the river Auray it was time to move on. Having used most of the petrol we had on-board we definitely needed more. Navigating the Auray river we decided to exit the Morbihan on an outgoing tide and come back in on the next flood. What a good idea! Just outside the entrance on the port side is the enormous marina of Port Du Crouesty. The boat pontoons are contained in 6 separate basins, and the fuel pontoon has 9 individual fuel pumps! Port Du Crouesty became known on-board as Port Crusty, it was easier. After we fuelled up with Gas-oil and petrol for the dinghy we were asked to move and rafted up alongside a brand new 47 foot Wauqiuez yacht. Very nice indeed. No-one on board we tramped our footprints over the decks, and felt obliged to wash the the yacht down when we eventually left.
France has a huge flourishing business in chartering yachts and boats. This effectively means that any French man who played with a plastic boat in the bath as a child can legitimately hire a yacht or boat. He/she does not require any formal qualifications to hire said yacht. Nowhere was this more evident than in Port Crusty marina. My goodness, there were boats going every where and no-one seemed to be in control of the majority. Such was my (our) concerns for the standard of boat control displayed, that we decided to get out of the marina tout flipping suite.
Once out we anchored in a nearby bay and soaked up the sun for a couple of hours, waiting for the tide to turn in the Morbihan. Again the Armada congregated at the entrance for the mass entrance. Again Lindsay was in the starting blocks ready to go in case the armada took all the anchoring spaces in the 50 square miles! We were early with our attempt and quickly found that a 55 HP engine which powers the yacht along at about 6.7 knots doesn’t fair very well against an 8 knot tide. Out of the tidal race we waited and again pounced when another yacht successfully passed us. Huston we have control, and slowly made our way into the Morbihan and a mooring for the night.
Sunrise in the Morbihan 
Beautiful houses on the waters edge
Wow, what a delight the Morbihan is, with its collection of individual islands the majority of which are privately owned. Once on a mooring we dinghied (!) ashore for an evenings walk pasted a variety of homes (some already closed up for the winter!) on a very quiet Ile Aux Moines, and taking in the stunning sunset as we returned to Moneypenny for a night cap and bed. The following day we toured the inland archipelago and eventually anchored to the North of Ile d’ Arz, close to another British yacht. T
The following morning the skipper off the other Brit yacht came over and introduced himself. Mark and his wife (who we didn’t meet) had been at anchorage in the same spot for the last 10 days because they both liked it!Anyway Mark was on ‘a rubbish run’, or so he said, and offered to take all our rubbish ashore which was very kind as we didn’t hesitate in filling his dinghy with allsorts . We later went ashore ourselves and walked the paths and byways of this picturesque island. A beautiful summers day and all was rosy in most of the gardens, with an array of colours. We walked a long way that afternoon and it was with enthusiasm that we returned to base for a cuppa and a rest in the late afternoon sun. Within minutes of sitting down I saw three sailors in some difficulty. Their 17 foot catamaran had capsized and one of the crew was seen to be swimming after the yacht he had obviously fallen off. Jude and I watched as no passing motorboats went to their aid and the crew were attempting to right the vessel. Eventually I shouted across to Mark on his yacht, (who’s dinghy with engine attached was already in the water), to come and fetch me and we would assist. So International rescue was launched, powered by a 2.5hp Suzuki outboard engine. It took a while, a long while to catch up with the up turned catamaran which was drifting away from us in the wind. As we sped to assist our fellow sailors at about 1 knot full speed a guy saw what was happening and came across in his 250hp rib. (show off!!!!) The result was that the rib guy pulled on the upturned boat as I held up the catamarans mast above my head and the crew balanced professionally as the ‘cat’ returned to its normal upright position. Many ‘Merci’s’ later we departed to make the long trip back to our respective mother ships.
With a change of top as I had got soaked, I sat down again to a well earned rest when a very inconsiderate ‘Frenchman’ motored passed Moneypenny at full speed in his pride and joy motor brick. The result was that the wake caused by the motor boat rocked Moneypenny from side to side nearly causing the red wine to spill! If said Frenchman could only have heard the expletives as he continued on his merry way. We both watched as he and the boat full of youngsters went to pass a yacht at high speed only for there to be a very sudden decline in his boat speed as he hit ground at full bore. O’ dear, another job for International Rescue? No, what use would 2.5 HP on a dinghy be in attempting to tow him off the hard stuff. We continued to watch as he tried to cover his embarrassment and re-float his boat. With much revving of the engine, he eventually managed to detach himself from the ground, coming passed us much slower than the first occasion and trundled off into the distance without even waving good bye. What an eventful day.
Tomorrow we would make our way further into the Morbihan to Vannes.