Portbail

On Tuesday I went to Portbail with my in-laws, Angie and Mick. Mike had to work so could not accompany us. Our boat is moored in a floating marina which means that we can only access the boat 3 hours either side of high tide. On Tuesday the earliest we could leave the marina was 9:15 so it did not entail a very early start, unlike some boat trips! After filling up with diesel we were on our way. Portbail is about 1.5 hours from Jersey so we arrived around 12pm local time.  In order to moor up you need to go over the high water as, unlike many of the surrounding areas, the makeshift marina dries out over the low water. I was glad that we did not have to make the trip to short in the dinghy! The market was almost over when we arrived so we went up to the supermarket and bought a few treats, bread and chocolate being amongst the purchases! I managed to limit myself to only 2 bars of Lindt chocolate. Me thinks the sun had gone to my head!  Fortunately the cake shop was still open so I was able to buy a lovely French chocolate dessert which I greatly enjoyed later.

Unfortunately the church was not open for us to go and visit.

One the way back we stopped at the Echreous, a reef of rocks between Jersey and France.  They are part of the parish of St Martin. As far as we are aware, there is no running water or plumbing on the island. The homes are holiday apartments but I would not like to come on holiday here! For starters there is no ice-cream van! ;)  On our approach here I noticed that there was water leaking over the top of the bathroom. Angie had left open the sea cocks when she flushed the toilet. Mick was less than impressed and the general impression was that here responsibilities had been revoked! We shall see what transpires on future trips and whether they will get reinstated!