Recently we had one of the longest, but most enjoyable, days we have had for a long time.

It was a day of three halves, so to speak

The Storm and the Slow Start

It was another hot and humid start which could only mean one thing – thunderstorm!

No “raindrops on roses” moment here though, as Lisa and I both slept through it

So it was a slow beginning to the day. The weather forecast showed storms all down the west coast for most of the day, and our excitement about a day at Les Sables d’Olonne was starting to fade. We had visions of trailing round trying to find shelter from the rain, not something that we relished.

We had our elevenses of coffee and croissant and assessed the situation. The sky in Foussais was clearing and with the blue sky our hopes for a decent day returned, so we bit the bullet, packed up our picnic, gathered the beach gear and set out for Les Sables.

Baking on the Beach

After a leisurely lunch in a local restaurant (mmm…I love anchovies on my pizzas ) we trekked back to the car and gathered our bags for a lengthy stay on the beach. It was certainly very busy – the busiest French beach we have seen for a long time. We are used to being only one of a handful of families on the sand and the bank-holiday crowds were quite a surprise.

But still we were able to find a spot to set out our pitch. The sun by this time was blisteringly hot, so Molly and Joe took to the sea on their body-boards, while Lisa, Rosie and I soaked up the rays.

And there we stayed for a good few hours. The sea was warm, as I can confirm having ventured out into it to play with the kids! We watched the tide come in to within a few feet of our toes, but luckily we had Joe on hand to dig us a trench which he assured us wold stop the advance of the Atlantic, should it dare to come any closer!

And as the tide went out, so the sun began to dip in the sky. As we were all starting to feel a bit fried, we decided to pack up and head back to the car for something to eat.

Tea was a picnic eaten in the car park, for our day wasn’t finished yet. We were fuelling ourselves for a long night ahead at the main attraction of the day – the Vendee Globe celebrations.

A Fabulous Feu d’Artifice

From the car we trekked the full length of the beach to get to the stage area that had been set up at the far end. Here was where the presentations would take place of the prizes for the skippers in theis year’s Vendee Globe.  Huge inflatable screens had been erected to show the proceedings to the massed crowds. all surrounding the spectacular stage.

As night eventually fell, the proceedings started with the dignitaries and celebrities filing past up to the stage. Sadly we didn’t have a clue who most of them were (apart from a couple of the skippers that we recognised) so we could have actually seen someone really famous!

Then the show began with a huge firework display for 5 minutes. This really took us by surprise and was a great start to the occasion. As the sparks faded in the sky the stage lit up with an amazing projected wave effect. Out stepped the presenter for the evening (not sure who he was!) to introduce the night’s programme.

The evening continued with the skippers coming on stage in groups of 4 (for the lower-placed finishers) and then individually, to receive their trophies and be interviewed. Most skippers told of how hard it had been, but what a great experience.

As each skipper came out, the screen behind the stage was filled with their photo, and the screen to the side showed the details of their boat.

In betwen the interviews, short films showing highlights from the race were shown on the big screens. On this scale we really understood the extreme harsh conditions the skippers had to endure as part of the race. The size of some of the waves made it look more like a Hollywood movie – rather scary to think that it was all real.

Of course we saved big cheers for the British skippers Dee Caffari and Sam Davies (who are, incidentally, soon heading off on a record-breaking attempt around Britain). We noted that although they both spoke very good French, their accents were terrible, so there’s hope for us yet!

As we got to the top 6 skippers, the entrance of each one was heralded by a short volley of fireworks, each getting more and more impressive as we approached 1st place.

And so, as the winner, Michel Desjoyeux, stepped out onto the stage, the sky errupted with an enormous explosion of fireworks, accompanied by a stirring soundtrack that thrilled the 120,000-strong crowd gathered on the beach.

It was an incredible experience. Just knowing what these skippers had gone through over the three months that they were sailing round the world made their presence there that night a real privilege. It was very special for us too to see the excitement on Joe’s face as the night wore on. He had studied the race at school and it really captured his imagination. He knew everything there was to know about the race and the skippers. He was so thrilled to see it all culminating in this amazing celebration.

And rounding off the evening was another spectacular firework display, which, combined with the music, lights and huge crowd, made for an astonishing end to an amazing day.
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Check out all the photos from the day here