La Rochelle and crossing Biscay

I am not sure which port the French would choose as their 'capital of sailing' as there are too many to choose between. But, La Rochelle, home to Beneteau, Lagoon, and Fountaine Pajot catamarans, has to be in with a shout. Certainly, if you need to source parts or get work done there is no better place.

Skyfall also needed work done but work which Chris and I had decided to take on as soon as we found somewhere warm. We also chose La Rochelle because we have family there which meant we could count on help ferrying materials to the boat. What work? Well Skyfall's beautiful tinted wrap-around window had started to leak at the end of 2019 (long story) and had to be removed and re-glued to make her watertight.

Unfortunately the headlining had suffered badly and needed to be replaced. As the headlining panels were properly glued to the moulding the only way to get them down was to destroy them. So we first had to make templates in order to cut new plywood panels which we would attach the headlining to..

The work took five days. We stayed in La Rochelle much longer because Biscay is not a straightforward crossing and we waited a week for a good weather window. Fortunately, La Rochelle and the surrounding area is a great place to visit...

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Double click on a picture to get the story behind it. Enjoy!