We had a brilliant but exhausting time at the boat show and spent an extra day lazing in the sunshine at Eze to recover before heading back to Zaffina in Port Camargue where we ended up stuck for rather longer than expected. Every time it looked as though things were about to improve, up came the wind again and any hope of moving on was delayed. Fortunately, we had Mark and Terri Bond with us and not only had they had the foresight to stock up on Pineau on the way down, which made hours spent on board slip away gracefully, they also had a car with which to explore the surrounding countryside. The Camargue was lovely; everything we had heard about it was true, from the wild white horses and pink flamingos to the fresh produce and crisp wines. It wasn’t a bad place to be stuck!
We had a couple more days in port after Mark and Terri left and then decided to try to take advantage of a brief window in the weather. Sadly, it was all too brief as we discovered about an hour out of port. The seas came up suddenly and we were being pushed around to such an extent that we decided to turn around. Instead of going back to Port Camargue, we went instead to Frontignan, a tiny port where we were moored in the entrance canal, well out of the wind.
We checked the Relais et Chateaux guide to find somewhere suitable to celebrate Frank’s birthday, only to discover that the choice within taxi distance was somewhat limited. In fact, there was only one – Jardins des Sens in Montpellier – so that’s where we went. And what a great choice it was! The food was unbelievable, one of the best meals we’ve ever enjoyed with impeccable service and enough “between course” courses (you know those little amuses bouches that they tempt you with?) to fill us up without any real need for the meal itself! Still, it would have been rude to turn away such beautifully prepared food so we laboured through it all. I could feel the calories scrambling towards my waistline even before we’d paid the bill, but for once it was worth it.
Our second attempt to cross the Golfe de Lyons was more successful than the first, and although it started out as quite a bumpy ride, things improved about an hour into the trip and from then on it was plain-ish sailing. We managed to get a berth in Bandol, near to Toulon, which was a lovely port and so much warmer than the last stop. However, it was just a brief overnighter and the following morning we were back at sea before it was fully light, heading to one of our favourite towns, St Tropez.
When we arrived, we were told that the wind was due to rise quite considerably and so they would put us in the old port. Good news, this is prime position, although it does mean that you have an audience on the quayside as you moor up by dropping the anchor in the harbour and moving into place stern-to. Last time we were in St Trop, Roberto Cavalli’s rather gaudy crimson boat was moored along here, so we feel we’ve brought a little style to the port (if on a slightly smaller scale)!
The wind rose during the night as predicted and although we’re well sheltered, we’re still getting quite a bit of movement, despite the many ropes stretching from us to the wall and also onto the boat alongside, a Pershing 115. Still, if the forecast is to be believed, this should soon blow itself through and we may even see a little sunshine in the next day or two. And if not, St Tropez is shopping heaven, so I’m sure we’ll find some way to amuse ourselves!
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