I am returning to Brittany in just over a week, but this time with my wife for our summer holiday. We will be going to Loctudy, shown on the map by a white circle, and in the aerial photo.

It is not very far from where I went with my boat to the Route du Sable at Chateaulin and downstream towards the Rade de Brest. We will be only 12 nautical miles from the Glénans Archipelago where I went in 2009 for the sailing experience of my life. The sand is white and the water is transparent. It is a little paradise in summer that attracts sailors and holidaymakers. We will be at a stone’s throw from the place my family and I went the first time we ever came to France in 1966 – Beg Meil.

I am studying the feasibility of sailing to the Glénans, but 12 nautical miles of open sea is daunting in view of tidal currents and drift errors. I will probably not attempt it this year without a GPS set to compensate for drift and current. A compass and chart alone are not enough, though I’m not too bad at coastal navigation with a Portland plotter and sighting compass. I’ll study it all the same, especially if the visibility is perfect and the tidal current is low. If it really is impossible or too dangerous by sail (in a boat as small as mine), my wife and I could go by motor launch. Those islands will bring back some lovely memories.

Inshore on the mainland, there will be many deep bays (anses) to explore and islands. I could also go some way up the river towards Quimper. There will also be non-sailing days when my wife and I will explore historical monuments and places of natural beauty.

We will be camping in the tent and enjoying the good life – but this year, we only have 2 weeks!