I felt pretty exhausted so had a relaxed rest day on Île de Re. I went for a cycle ride and successfully got lost trying to find my way back home. The white gravel tracks and tiny roads are lovely to cycle on, but rather disorientating!

We had a very special seafood supper to celebrate the birthday of Francoise, a friend of Denise. Thank you so much Denise for looking after me so well!

The next day (15th) I left Île de Re at 9 am. The day started with a gym session – staggering with my boat over a few hundred metres of vicious rocks to the sea. One way to get warmed up.

The water was oily calm and the sky cloudy as I headed out, the skyline of La Rochelle just visible through the morning murk. I aimed for an anchored tanker and upon arrival, was greeted by its crew. I shouted up to the two guys on board, who seemed ecstatic to see another human, and told me they were from the Phillipines.

I then aimed for a mysterious cube on the horizon. It turned out to be the imposing Fort Boyard. Built in 1857 to protect Rochefort from the Royal Navy, apparently it is now the setting for a French game show.

After a few hours, I stopped at Le Château-d’Oléron and looked around the citadelle.

I then continued under the Île d’Oléron bridge, the tide pulling me, to the Bay of Biscay proper. I heard what sounded like an aeroplane, but was actually the swell booming as it crashed down on a sandbank, maybe a kilometre out to sea. I paddled for a couple of kilometres in the shelter of the sandbank but came ashore on the Côte Sauvage (wild coast) when I saw the swell churning on the beach further ahead.

From here to Biarritz is basically one 270km sandy beach. Today, although there was very little swell out at sea, the surf was fierce. In a spec ski it would be OK, but accelerating my fully laden boat through the surf is far more challenging.

The sea has made my decision – for the next section of my trip, I’ll go inland to Bordeaux and navigate the rivers to the Mediterranean.