Arthur has to stop in Brest for one night. We enter in the castle marina after calling the port. There is room at the visitors' pontoon, on the linear along the dike. The weather is nice, the wind is moderate.
We do not foresee any difficulty and we prepare ourselves quietly. The fenders are in place, the mooring lines on both sides. At first, we think of going to starboard, in the direction of travel. But after thinking about it, we decide to turn around and go on the port side in order to facilitate our departure the next day.
A big boat not always easy to handle
During our turn, the boat starts by going perpendicular to the dock. We reverse and then finish turning forward. Unfortunately, nothing happens as planned. The boat does not turn fast enough and refuses to face the wind. We were too much in front of the pontoon and too close to the boat already moored.
In slow motion, we see our dinghy hanging off Arthur's stern, getting closer to our neighbor's front balcony while our bow hits the dock. And it does not miss, we touch both sides! While we lean on our neighbor's balcony to keep Arthur's stern out of the way, we try to move forward as much as possible before jumping on the pontoon to moor the boat at a reasonable safety distance. At first sight, there does not seem to be any damage but we are very embarrassed!
The damage report
Shortly afterwards, the owner of our unfortunate pontoon neighbor arrived and we immediately reported the incident to him. When he invites us on board to see the damage, we discover only a slight scratch on the wall. Our neighbor takes it very philosophically and we are quite relieved that the consequences are so minimal.
The rest of the stopover
Fortunately, the rest of the stopover continues in a much more pleasant way. As we already know Océanopolis, we try this time the national museum of the Navy which is located in the castle of Brest. Unluckily, it is exceptionally closed because of Covid!
Then, we take the cable car, to the delight of the children, to discover an exhibition on the Bel Espoir du Père Jaouen at the Capucins. These former industrial workshops have been magnificently reconverted into a third place where it is good to stroll, watch, listen, play or have a coffee. We also pass to greet la Recouvrance .
An unexpected encounter
And to top it all off for the children who have been dreaming about it since we left, we unexpectedly met a grey bottlenose dolphin that had taken up residence in the port! We stayed for a long time to observe him rubbing against the moorings. He let himself be contemplated and even seemed to make eyes at his little admirers.
The time passed quickly and we left the harbor without making any wave this time, to join an anchorage in front of Roscanvel.
