home > Sailing holiday - Brittany and the South Coast - May/June 2002 If you know me at all, you know that there is nothing I like better than spending my holidays somewhere obscenely hot and relaxing. It was with some surprise that I found myself agreeing to spend two weeks of my holiday allowance sailing round the English channel therefore. What followed was one of the best holidays I've had in years, albeit with the usual liver damage... CLICK ON THE LITTLE PICTURES FOR THE BIG PICTURE Adam, me, Pat, Chris and Adrian (a.k.a Village, Veronica, Violet etc) a couple of days into the trip. I am assuming it took me this long to get my camera out because it was the first time the boat stayed still long enough to take a picture. We had left Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight for a 17 hour sail through a Force 7/8. While less hardy souls were "feeding the fish", Pat was heard to say "I'm just going down below to the forepeak to read the paper". Complete lunacy... A fairly standard picture of the lot of us. Could have been taken on almost any night, judging from the fact we were generally pissed, but our lack of tans (and in my case freckles) implies it was taken in the first few days. The night before the Helford - L'aberwrac'h cross-channel race. Please note ultra smart team strip which was meant to give the impresson of skill and eptitude. Before I spilt red wine down mine, I am sure it was quite effective! Inevitably, the quiet pre-race drink turned into another messy night on the sauce. After a night making pot noodles, having the occasional kip and having random run-ins with unlit supertankers, not only did our motley crew cross the channel, but we did it faster than the rest of the fleet. Yes, you guessed it. We only went and bloody won! This picture is the sun rising behing the L'ile Vierge lighthouse, which also doubled as the finish line. Nous etions les gagnantes! The winning team in L'Aberwrac'h. Having collected our cup at the prize-giving ceremony we all went out and got l'aberwrecked. A word to the wise - make sure you pronounce the 'p' in 'soupcon'. The alternative is french for love bite, which I found out the hard way... Adrian and Tad touting for business on the streets of Treguier. The cafe on the right of the picture did the most gorgeous crepes known to man.... The viaduct in Morlaix. Originally this picture was taken for Tad, who wanted it for a project he was doing to light the Clifton suspension bridge. It looked so pretty though it seemed a shame not to show it. Tad and the cruising shoot. We loved the colour coordination so much we had to take a picture. The action shot. Note the look of sporty concentration as Claire looks for all the world like a proper yachty. FYI there was absolutely no squealing involved, despite the boat being all tilty! Louise on the helm. Louise seemed to spend more time behind the camera than in front of it, and this proved to be the only picture I had of our trusty teammate. Pat. Come rain or shine, nothing came between Pat and her cigarettes or Pat and her siestas. Le Skippeur.... Chris takes a break from the rigours of yet another hangover to contemplate his fate while we take charge of the boat. PS. It was Chris that awarded me my Day Skipper certifictate at the end of the two weeks. I am qualified! woohoo!