At last underway. We left the harbour at 11h30 under brilliant sunshine and thus ended 4 years living in France. Friends waved us off and others telephoned to wish us good sailing. Originally we had thought to cover a little distance and anchor not far from the harbor to get our sea legs back again but the weather and wind were so right that we scrapped that idea and headed for our first port of call the lovely island of Porquerolles off the mainland opposite Hyères. We hoisted the sails after crossing the Baie de Fos and had a good 6 hours before it dropped in the evening and we finished the journey under engine. We arrived in Porquerolles at 00h15 (Caryn having slept a few hours) and proceeded to anchor. It was the first time that we had been here and discovered in the morning the reason we had had so much trouble (4 attempts before we got a grip) the seabed was covered in grass. Eventually at 01h15 we were able to turn off the engine and get to bed. It was the perfect day to unwind and get used to being able to do what we want with no constraints.
Next morning we woke to brilliant sunshine but the water was too cold to take a swim. Instead we wandered into the island in the dinghy to pick up some stores and odd items we still needed. We decided to treat ourselves to a lunch out and a beer (at the prices on the island not something we will be doing too often!).
Svein checked the weather forecast and the winds were not right to proceed to Corsica so we enjoyed the scenery and worked a little on the boat whilst Svein checked out the two outboard engines for the dinghy. The next day the forecast was still not good with too much head wind so we again went into town for a walk and in the late afternoon took the dinghy to the beach where Caryn had the first, if short, swim of the year.