One of the great things about a centerboard boat is that you
can dry out. The tides here are among the largest in the world with a 9+ meter
fluctuation. So it is common to see boats propped up with stilts or sitting on
their flat bottoms in the mud when the tide is low. For us, going to Isle d'Er
to dry out was great fun.
We anchored as normal and the boys swam from the boat,
jumping in and swimming all around. And then it was pretty amazing to watch the
last meter or so of water disappear from under the boat. It goes out quickly,
that is for sure. And we were left in the middle of this white sand beach.
The boys spent the next 3 hours mucking about in the sand
and tidal pools- catching what we think were baby lobsters (not yet 2 inches
long) and other little minnow
like things, digging in the sand, jumping from
puddle to puddle. It was really cool. Plain and simple. And a little strange to
be on the ground. It feels all wrong in some ways to be sitting on a boat on
the hard. But Sila sits relatively level – bow tips ever so slightly down if
you are on level ground- as we were. So wild to watch the water go away and
then come back and lift you up again. 
We have also just said goodbye to our first visitors: Peter
Neill and Mary Barnes were in France and came to Treguier to see us. It was a
real joy to share the beginning of our adventure with them in particular as we
have sailed together many times in the last ten years. It was interesting to
see that they had the same reaction to drying out that we did.
Just in case you did not think it is a small world…Porter
and I were in the Laundromat in Treguier and heard a woman speaking English in
an American accent. (There are a lot of Brits on boats at the dock). So I
encouraged Porter to say hello and ask them where they were from. The couple
was from Vancouver but the woman was from Colorado. Here is how the
conversation went.
Porter: Are you American?
Her: Yes.
Porter: Where do you live?
Her: Colorado
Me: Where in Colorado?
Her: Golden.
Me: No kidding- until we moved onto a boat here just last
week, we lived in Leadville.
Her: Oh! Are you the High Mountain Institute people?
Me: What? Yes. How did you know that?
Her: I have a second home in Leadville, on East
10th street, and we read about you in the Herald Democrat a couple of weeks
ago.- Molly
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