Today is a great day – my new crew arrives! Jessica and her boyfriend Alexander is coming down for a couple of weeks. I get an AirBnB apartment in the Bordeaux city centre and go out to the airport to get them. Good to see them again and we take the night out on town with dinner and a then a stop at the wine bar. The concept of trying small sips of good wine is appreciated and we stay for a while.

Next day we have decided to dedicate to the wine museum. I said that it is really worth spending a day and we had seen the city centre the evening before. We have an early breakfast and take the tram. We spend the day here and order a taxi to take us to the bus station to go north. The first taxi company failed to deliver, first tell me not to worry and then when it is too late tell me that they did not have any taxis available. The reception in the museum jumps in and gets us another taxi that drive like a madman so we can catch the bus to Pauillac. The bus takes the route through the vineyards and I can show the castles and sights that I had been experiencing last week. A very good day that ends with ”Moules” at La Salamandre.

Due to the constraints of tides, we need to cut the trip to Arcachon in two and we decide to go back to Royan. There is a gale building up so I thought it should be good to stay in a good harbour near the entrance to Gironde and wait for the weather to calm down.

We start early in the morning when the tide is right and start steaming north. The weather is fine at first but the gale and the rain is soon over us but as we are in the Gironde, the sea does not build. I notice that the anchor seems a bit loose as it hangs in its holder and before this has sunk into my brain, the anchor dives away on its own! Full stop on the motors but the anchor soon hits the bottom and stops us permanently. All of the chain is out and the remaining rope has been jammed into the winch by the sudden drop. We are in the middle of the canal and large ships are running around us. In combination with the gale, some adrenaline is generated sitting here.

The winch spins around and have no power and I find that the wheel has disconnected from the motor and as I tighten it up, it starts moving again. Since we are in strong current with the gale further straining on the jammed rope, it takes some time before I can unjam the rope and start recovering the anchor. We motor towards the current and manage to get the anchor into the boat before a freighter comes too close to us. It turns out that you do not need to exercise to get a good max pulse!

The sea over the last part of Gironde is pretty rough as it is exposed to the sea and it feels good to enter the harbour. We tie up and are greeted back to Royan. It is good to know that my new friends Martin and Ariane are in the same port so we go visit them. They have their stepdaughter and her friend on visit so later we continue out on the town.

Martin is an architect and explained how he sees the town. Modern but still timeless and very nice in its structure centred around the harbour with open spaces leading from the harbour and the market. No shops or restaurants in a “bad spot” but a good flow with easy access on foot. He also urges us to pay the market and the church for a visit. Last time, I just saw a lot of concrete. We spend some lazy days waiting for better weather and with these new eyes; I come to appreciate the town. The market is really a nice building – built like a shell with an open-air feeling inside. The Notre-Dame church is also very special. From the outside, it is very grey, but the inside with the large windows and high ceiling together with dark concrete gives a mighty feeling. As usual, knowing more usually leads to appreciating more.

Last time I was here, there was a world championship of frisbee. Now there is a country festival going on and we stop and enjoy the dancers.

We also take a walk to the west part of town down to the casino. Beautiful scenery although the sun is not shining.