The day dawned bright again and I enjoyed a relaxed morning. Benoît and Angie joined me on the water and we paddled out of Le Pouldu at midday. A light headwind blew as we followed the rocky shore, but it was a pleasure to have some company. We left the Finistere department and entered Morbihan. 10km flew by and then we waved goodbye. Thanks again guys, I look forward to seeing you at races in the future!

A friend of Benoît and Angie, Eric, had kindly offered to host me in his home at Étel, where he runs a surfski coaching business, surfski.co.

I continued around the Kerroch headland, Groix island on my right, and the wind dropped, leaving the water smooth and mirror-like. Passing the town of Lorient, I received a message from Eric telling me to avoid a military area in the bay.

After successfully negotiating that, I scanned the shoreline for Étel. The river mouth was difficult to locate and I became a bit disoriented. The curve of a bay on the horizon is distorted, appearing far more stretched than reality. I asked a yacht for directions but they looked at me blankly. I pronounced Étel in every way possible but frustratingly, they had no idea what I was saying. I studied the map a while longer and headed to the shore. Soon enough, an orange dot appeared and Eric grew into sight. We paddled into Étel on the flooding tide, the sun beating down, 30 degrees now.

I’m so grateful for the kindness and generosity of people I’ve met on my journey. Meeting people is one of the best parts of the trip and I had a lovely evening with Eric, Lucie and Malo. A delicious BBQ and conversations I’ll remember forever.