La Turballe

We had considered going to La Turballe on the way down but we were on springs and according to the charts we would bottom out at low tide so we have waited until neaps to visit this place. before we departed from Pornic I called La Turballe to ask about access and sufficient water etc… and I was told that there os no need to worry they always have 3m of water.

We sailed all the way from Pornic and it was a great sail in really warm conditions and we were heading for a marina right next to one of the longest beaches in the region. naturally as we approached the afternoon strong wind arrived and we had 16 knots across the deck. So I called them on the radio to say we were arriving and it is supposed to be very narrow and tight for space. "Come straight in and we will meet you" was the reply. We were being very cautions so we put fenders on both sides as we had no idea what we faced. As we entered the harbour entrance (Which did not match up with the chart plotter), we discovered that they have built a new larger harbour around the old harbour and so we were able to enter and go around in circles without stressing until they had decided what to do with us. Finally they said that the wanted us on the inside on a long empty pontoon between two boats. I surveilled the situation and decided that I wanted to reverse in because their didn't seem to be an easy way to turn around and if the wind changed getting out might have been very tricky. The man in the dinghy asked me what I was doing I said I was going to back in and put the boat between the other two boats and within 30 seconds a giant floating fender-boat arrived. It was like a tractor tyre with a man inside it and a motor. You could say he did is best to get in the way but the reality was he realised he was i the way and cleared off out of our way. I had to drive to the end of the marina out the boat into reverse get some speed up to get some steerage then try to steer the boat backwards between a narrow gap go past the first boat without being blown on to it and the get the stern pointing towards the dock and the turn to bow in without clipping the boat I was parking being so that we kissed the pontoon without the stern hotting the pontoon. So after that all the people who ran out from the boat behind to help went back to their cockpit somewhat deflated by the lack of drama.

That evening we went to explore the village… well there was nothing there really, there were sone early 1990's flats that had seen much better days a very small number of shops and a sort of co-operative and a few restaurants and bars, it all looked rather run down and worse.

We went for a walk along the beach going east and there was this huge slab of rock with sand in between each platelet like a private beach or trapping water to make paddling pools for small children, it sounds bad but it was lovely. I couldn't get a shot because it was silhouetted by the setting sun. We turned around and walked back in the direction of the harbour and passed what look to be a smart restaurant then in front there were beach front bars facing the fisherman's factory or the children's roundabout. Linda was not impressed!

The next day whilst I was having a shower Linda went to the local boulangerie and bought what can only be described as the best croissants we have had in France for many years. We didn't have a quick start to the day but Linda made some lunch with a french stick and we packed our beach bags and off we went.

It was wonderful it was very warm, the sea was warm and it was slightly overcast at times so we were not in direct sunlight all day. When we had enough we packed up our stuff and walked back towards the harbour but from a different direction and this time I said to Linda lets stop for a drink, we had lots of booze on board but sometimes it is nice to soak up the atmosphere and so it was.

I don't think this is a place I would rush back to but I think it has more charm that you might see superficially. It does look run down, but the marina is brilliant. The shops look second rate but the bakers is fab, and there are a few rather nice restaurants amongst the run down buildings.