After an enjoyable early Spring in and around the Solent, Spellbinder has spent most of June attending a long RYS cruise in the Channel Islands and Brittany.

Crew for the initial trip to Guernsey was elder son Tom, who skippered, and Bash. We met up firstly with Rob and Zöe on their lovely Holman-designed Hustler 36 in Lymington, before heading across in light conditions.

After berthing in Saint Peter Port we spent a couple of days socialising. Bash is friends with the Governor, and we had a very enjoyable drink with him and his wife in Government House. Friends Chris and Tory hosted a lunch the next day in their lovely Italianate house above Saint Peter Port. The food was ‘French rustic’ and utterly delightful. Some not very serious pétanque was also played.

Jersey was next, but before we set off we availed ourselves of the very well-priced diesel fuel in Saint Peter Port. We then had a good sail down to Jersey, passed very quickly by friend Sandy and her crew on Owl.

On Jersey we berthed in the main marina in Saint Helier, and Sue joined us by ferry from Poole. The following morning visited the war tunnels, which were very interesting, explaining the difficult period for Jersey in WW2. Later, despite a bit of a downpour, we managed to enjoy a club dinner with the Jersey governor in a marquee in the grounds of his Government House. Walking off the previous evening, the next day we were hosted by another member who lives on Jersey, walking his local beach, and by yet another for dinner. It was all very social.

It was also great to catch up with old friends Auberon and Monika, with their son Eudo – the weather had improved, and we enjoyed a delightful Sunday lunch.

Sue, Bash and Tom left, and new crew (and father and daughter combo) Rupert and Rose joined me. Wanting to explore some of the smaller Channel Islands, we first anchored in the Minquiers for lunch, in company with Jemima. There is not much to these rocks (which belong to Jersey), with just one old house there, and with their significant tidal range they deserve respect. We had calm conditions though, and anchored in a lovely spot.

It was a great lunch, and afterwards we headed to Granville in France, to check in. We were accompanied by several other Squadron yachts.

New crew François joined us, and we shopped and explored the gardens of Christian Dior, perched high above the beach.

We managed our check in, and headed out to some other delightful islands, this time French possessions. The Îles Chausey are quite expansive, and the largest one has quite a few houses and businesses. We moored bow to stern in the stream, enjoying a walk in this beautiful place the next morning.

We would have loved to stay longer but the rather enticing prospect of a club lunch with friend Olivier (a French chef of great repute) at his beachfront restaurant was calling. We landed on the beach, enjoyed a stupendous lunch, and I presented Olivier with a plate to commemorate the occasion. It was a most generous invitation on his part.

The next day we experienced more generosity from the French – this time from another member, Géry, who owns a house and tower just west of Saint Malo. We anchored off his garden, and enjoyed a wonderful drink in the tower before dining under a marquee in his garden.

Thank you to Olivier and Géry – these were two very special and generous invitations.

We continued west the next day in company with Olivier, François and Pierre-Luc in Olivier’s delightful Cornish Crabber Sarah Louise.

We looked into the Tréguier river, as I wanted to anchor in a beautiful spot below a little castle just before the town. Thankfully we had the spot to ourselves. We wandered around the town, and had a great BBQ dinner of magret de canard on board.

We dropped François off the next day to make his way back to Paris.

The next blog will relate our onward travels to Southern Brittany, from which I have just returned. In the meantime I leave you with some of Rose’s artwork, giving a different and talented view of the travels related above. All the works shown below are copyright Rose MacInnes.