Sailing, sailing, sailing, we used to do something water-based near on every weekend! On this occassion Mr P was sailing at a dinghy regatta with a friend in La Rochelle and I was studying for my chartered accountant exams. So I took the study to the sunshine and worked while he sailed!
La Rochelle is a lovely town! I think we were blessed with Mediterranean-esque weather for our visit and it only heightened the love for it! The sailing club was a short ferry ride away from the old town which is stunning. Here there were numerous places to eat and some lovely little shops and boutiques. I remember searching hard for an antique map shop as Mr P is a big fan. I found one that was closed for lunch – however given how confusing the street layout was I sat outside until it re-opened, busily preparing my French to ask to see maps…. The thing is – I must look English, as the proprietor opened the door and before I even spoke greeted me in English!
The surprise highlight of this trip was actually due to the arrest of someone we didn’t know! Another boat was as a result looking for a crew – and I willingly stepped up, asking the helm if he had much experience… He said he had some, but not in this class! That made me nervous, however ‘some’ was actually a rather gilded youth career in sailing – so I discovered in the first race when in a fleet of about 40 boats we reached the first racing mark first much to the surprise of Mr P and our friends and that didn’t even know I was on the water!!
And the moral of that story is to always take sailing kit to a regatta even if you don’t plan on sailing!
La Rochelle RS Eurocup July 2005
Most humorous moment of the trip? A large group of us were out for a civilised dinner on the last evening after the regatta prize-giving. Being British, we were of course going to enjoy the wine… The waiter didn’t know what to do when we ordered 6 bottles at the same time (he wanted to pour a glass at a time as required) – potentially we had not picked the ideal restaurant for a final supper…
This has reminded me – we have never been back! We should – and we should also visit the nearby islands which are said to be even more stunning!
