Exeat, Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45.2, Cowes, Isle of Wight

With the new sailing season fast approaching, anyone about to take to the water will be starting to think about their kit. Where are those thermals they invested in last year? Will their oilskins last another season? And how are they going to keep their feet warm and dry, whilst being able to nimbly negotiate their way around a boat. For an answer to the last question, look no further!

Having spent last season (five months of it living on board our sailing yacht Exeat) in an unsatisfactory variety of trainers, flip-flops and bare feet, I decided that this year I would splash out and get some proper nautical footwear. Not only would this be more comfortable for the occasional downpours at sea, but it would also be an advantage to wear waterproof boots for when we dinghied ashore and I didn’t fancy wading in bare feet through cold Atlantic water to drag the tender in.

Luckily, living in Cowes, there is no shortage of shops and chandleries selling sailing boots – and I tried them all! But, spoiler alert, in the end, I had to cross the Solent to buy the boots of my dreams. Read on to find out what I made of some of the most popular sailing boots for women.

Musto

This was my first port of call, mainly because it was the first shop we came to on Cowes High Street, but also because their sailing gear is well-made, smart and just expensive enough to feel like it will live up to its promise. I tried their Gore-Tex Race Boot (£325 for sizes 4-11) which are made from a combination of black leather and ballistic nylon to provide “unrivalled durability…complete waterproof protection and continuous climate control”. I really liked the look of these boots but unfortunately I was between sizes and for some odd reason Musto only do one half-size, a 7.5. The size 5 was just a little too snug, hence I found it incredibly challenging to slip the boots off – something one may need to do in a hurry. So these sadly weren’t for me, but if they happen to fit you, go for it, they look like a great sailing boot.

Helly Hansen

Next stop was the HH shop in Cowes, which is well stocked with great sailing gear – but not sailing boots! They sell a good range of trainers/deck shoes designed for wearing whilst sailing, but they were decidedly lacking in ladies’ boot options. The only choice here was a basic pair of rubber boots – sweet in their own way, but not what I was looking for; whilst they would certainly be waterproof when wading to shore, they’re not terribly flexible nor are they warm. On the plus side, they’re a pocket-friendly choice at just £57.

GUL Fastnet boots

Across the High Street, Shipmates sell the GUL Fastnet deck boot for £180-200, also available online from Shipmates and GUL (see link). It’s a smart-looking boot in tan leather and navy blue mesh panels. It’s also pretty comfortable and feels like they would be a warm option (this may be down to the “Aquatherm waterproof membrane technology to keep feet dry and warm whilst wicking away perspiration”). My only gripe was that the heel of the boot lifts as you walk – apparently this is a deliberate design so that the boots can be easily pulled off, should you need to do so quickly (ie: if you end up in the water rather than sailing on it!). I didn’t like this aspect, but I can see the benefit of it, and it is a well-priced mid-range boot. 

Dubarry

Widely considered the Rolls Royce of sailing boots, I had to try these out. And….I was underwhelmed. Yes, they’re smart and comfortable. But are they really worth the £329 price tag? Possibly the best thing about the Dubarry range of sailing boots is the choice of sizes and colourways: they’re available in brown leather, black leather, and a dashing navy and brown colourway from sizes 35-48 (European sizing) so you’re bound to find a pair that fits. As well as being made in Ireland from high quality, waterproof leather, their boots have a solid non-slip sole which feels sturdy and safe. I personally found them tight on my calves (which admittedly are on the muscular side) so I wasn’t won over on the comfort factor, but they looked great and felt like the real deal. If budget isn’t an issue, these could be a good investment. 

Orca Bay

The lovely guy who runs Pascall Atkey in Cowes suggested an alternative to the Dubarry boots – a brand I’d not heard of before, Orca Bay. Their leather and oiled nubuck Storm Boot retails for around £200 in unisex sizes 37-47. This was the most comfortable boot I had tried on to date: it fitted well, felt warm (apparently it’s triple-layered) and the non-slip rubber soles had a decent grip. These would probably have been my ultimate choice if I wanted a mid-range pair of well-made, good-looking, comfortable sailing boots. 

However, with a birthday approaching, my budget was a little more generous than it might otherwise have been, so I was tempted into crossing the Solent to try on a pair of Le Chameau sailing boots at a chandlery in Port Solent.

Le Chameau

At £280 these weren’t the most expensive boots I tried on but they were without doubt the best all-rounder. The soft, supple leather was a dream to slip into, and the boots easily came off when I gave the gentlest of tugs (they also easily accommodated my calves, with a more forgiving profile than other styles). Made from a waterproof and salt-resistant grain and nubuck leather, they’re a good-looking boot that is as at home walking around town as it is on board. The 4-layer inner membrane is made from recycled ocean plastic and felt supremely comfortable. I was smitten, and knew instantly these were the boots for me. I have yet to wear them sailing, but I can’t wait to put them through their paces. I feel confident they’ll live up to my expectations of being waterproof, warm and quick-drying.  

Like Cinderella finding the matching slipper to her missing shoe, it’s such a relief to find boots that fit perfectly. There are lots of choices out there, at all different price points, but my one recommendation would be to go and try them all on as every brand has its own unique pros and cons, and you can’t rely on your shoe size being the same as your boot size!

Thank you for visiting our logbook!

We write a log on Sailing Networks for every day’s sail that we make in Exeat – each post includes a Navionics track of our route, so you can see precisely where we have sailed to and from. You’ll also find lots of gorgeous photos of the places we visit, as well as details of on-shore facilities such as launderettes, restaurants, marina costs and any other useful things for visiting yachtsmen to know. There’s also a few of our favourite galley recipes sprinkled in between the log entries :-)

There are over 100 posts in our existing logbook detailing our sails along the West Country, across the Channel (Plymouth-Roscoff) and our summer in France sailing down the coast of Southern Brittany, the Vendee, Morbihan, Charente, islands of Quiberon Bay and on to La Rochelle and the Ile de Re.

You’ll need to register as a Sailing Networks user to see all these posts, but it’s free to do so. Then click “Follow” and you’ll receive an e-mail alert when we next post.

Why not start your own logbook and share your journeys, photos and videos of your adventures with the wider sailing community or just with family and friends (you can choose your privacy settings). It’s the perfect way to share content and keep a history of your days afloat.

Next week, we start some of the upgrades on Exeat that will hopefully make her more comfortable to live on for months at a time, as well as more efficient and environmentally friendly. Solar panels will be fitted onto a new steel arch, and several lithium batteries will replace the previous inefficient batteries that we’d installed last spring as a quick and cheap option while we got to know our new boat. And, of course, we’ll be fixing the fridge, as well as fitting a new freezer in the adjacent locker, which will be something of a game-changer…along with the new mini-dishwasher that I (Anna) have insisted on for the new sailing season. It might sound like a luxury but when we’re cooking three meals per day on board, for 4-6 people on any given day, the washing-up rota had become something of a contentious issue.

Before then, we thought we’d upload a short video to show you what she’s like now. Follow for her winter transformation!

Video of our last sail of the season!

After a lovely few days sailing between the Île d’Arz and Île-aux-Moines in the Morbihan, then back to Vannes to drop our children and friends at the train station, it was finally time to bid goodbye to Southern Brittany and begin our journey north in earnest. Skipper wanted to be in Roscoff in five days time, ready to cross the Channel to Plymouth, so there was no time to hang about. As soon as the teenagers were safely on a train to Nantes airport, we jumped back on Exeat and made a dash for the lock gate before it closed for the afternoon. We will really miss the many delights of this beautiful, ancient city, and sincerely hope to return next summer.

We exited the Morbihan at a brisk 9 knots, then sailed out into Quiberon Bay as a passing shower gave the boat a thorough clean. As we rounded the Quiberon peninsula, the sun came out and the tide pulled us along, speeding us along the coastline that we’d last sailed past nearly two months ago. The white sands of Houat gleamed invitingly at us across the Bay, and as we passed the north-eastern shoreline of Belle-Île, we fondly bid farewell to the beautiful islands of Quiberon Bay that we’d so enjoyed discovering this summer.

On the horizon was the equally stunning Île de Groix but, much as we liked the idea of anchoring there for the night, we needed to fill up with fuel so had to head to a marina for our first pitstop. In addition, Exeat’s electric windlass (which makes easy work of hauling in the anchor) had just gone on strike so we didn’t fancy the idea of anchoring until we’d managed to get that fixed.

We arrived in Lorient’s Kernével marina at 7.30pm and, once again, were blown away by how friendly and helpful the port staff are here. They were on hand to giide us into a Visitors’ Berth, and once we’d paid our dues (at 55 euros, twice as much as their June rates!), we settled down to French Shepherd’s Pie (Hache Parmentier) picked up earlier that day from the fantastic butcher in Vannes – a final taste from our favourite French city.

Unbelievably (time seems to go so much faster at sea!) we were nearing the end of our time in France. We had one last week on board together, then our children would fly home while we sailed Exeat back across the Channel. As a last hurrah, our daughter had two friends coming out to join us on Monday and, with its good transport links (and for old times sake!) we’d arranged to collect them from Vannes. That meant staying in the Morbihan overnight Sunday (to access Vannes’ lock gate the following morning) – which left us just enough time to squeeze in one last visit to nearby Houat island.

Ile d’Houat has many beautiful anchorages but, with a predominantly northerly breeze blowing, we opted for the sheltered bay of Treac’h Salus where we’d last stayed exactly a month ago. I counted over eighty boats anchored alongside us, but luckily it’s a huge bay with an equally vast beach so it didn’t feel crowded. When the day cooled down a fraction (having been hovering around 31C all day), we rowed to shore and walked up to the little town twenty minutes away to buy a few supplies. The corner shop here is fairly well stocked with essentials, as there’s always a steady stream of holidaymakers from the nearby campsite. Sadly they’d run out of ice but promised us some if we tried again in the morning, when we returned to buy breakfast croissants from the excellent boulangerie.

As we ate supper on board, the full moon – a red supermoon – lit up the bay, outshining the myriad anchor lights from the yachts scattered around us. It was an even more spectacular sight than when we’d stayed here in July – again, when there had been a full moon. We would all miss our monthly Houat habit when we left Southern Brittany next week.

As the sun rose over Port Joinville’s marina, we prepared to join the mass exodus of boats leaving Ile d’Yeu on the morning’s tide. We planned to sail all the way to Belle-Ile – an eight hour sail according to Navionics. But with the tide with us all the way, and a brisk north-easterly, we had a smooth fetch at 7-8 knots all the way – reaching the ‘Beautiful Island’ after just seven hours, and raising our Breton courtesy flag en route! In the past three days, we’d sailed from the Charente region, through the Vendée, and were now back in Southern Brittany.

The picturesque cove of Port Kérel, on the island’s southern shore, has become a favourite anchorage of ours this summer: the combination of a sheltered bay, clear turquoise waters and a long sandy beach (plus coastal path for the daily dog walk) is hard to resist. True, there are no facilities on shore for some considerable distance (the town of Bangor is a good 40 minute walk uphill), but so long as one is prepared to be self-sufficient, it’s a dreamy place to overnight.

We barbecued spicy whole squid that we’d bought in Saint-Gilles market (inspired by the memorable grilled calamari we’d enjoyed at La Rochelle’s Le P’tit Bleu seafood shack) and watched a full moon rise over the headland, bright as a spotlight. Belle-Île is aptly named, and this particular cove might just be the most beautiful corner of it.

We couldn’t leave the Île de Re without visiting its capital and port of Saint Martin, accessible through a lock gate 3 hours before High Tide and 2.5 hours after.

This quintessentially French town clusters around the port with so many chic boutiques, appealing restaurants, and elegantly dressed holiday-makers strutting along the quay that it feels like Paris-on-sea. On a Sunday in August the town was busy, and we were rafted three boats abreast in the marina. On top of that, it was our most expensive berthing to date, at an eye-watering 60 euros for the night. But we had access to dockside electricity and water, nearby showers, and a single, in demand Miele washing machine and dryer.

In the evening, we strolled into the nearby park and ate grilled seafood platters and oysters at Ben-Hur Char à Huîtres – a casual but atmospheric eaterie under a marquee, with a live jazz band on hand to entertain diners (and very patient staff serving our table of eleven).

The next day we would begin our sail back north along the French coastline, in order to reach Roscoff by the end of the month and then back across the Channel to Plymouth.

Despite the light winds, we had a fantastic sail to Les Sables, spinnaker flying and whizzing Exeat along at a steady 7 knots.

We’d last been to Les Sables in 2009 to meet a friend returning from the legendary solo yacht race, the Vendée Globe. Our kids had been tiny then – the youngest still in a pushchair – so didn’t remember much of the place, other than making sandcastles on the beach. In truth, I can’t say I remembered the town very well either – it looked so different when it had been full of Vendée supporters, the press, and all the different sailing teams taking part. On the evening we arrived in Exeat, Les Sables looked more like Venice, with lights from all the riverside bars and bistros shimmering over the still water, and water taxis the only nocturnal traffic.

Before entering the marina, all visitors are required to stop at the waiting pontoon and go to the harbour-master in person. This meant only a small delay to berthing, and we were soon settled in Port Olona in the Port de Plaisance (marina). Better still, the Capitain traded five bottles of our (now defrosted) fridge water for newly iced bottles – only sailors with a broken fridge in the height of summer will know the joy this brought to us! Another joy for me was the automated lavarie (washing machines + tumble dryer, open 24/7) a short walk away, near a Carrefour supermarket – enabling me to kill two birds with one stone, and put a 10kg wash on while I shopped for a few fresh ingredients. I realise it must sound like I’m obsessed with laundrettes but, honestly, with four of us on board full-time, in hot weather, the laundry bag is never empty!

Tempting though the town’s many lively restaurants looked, we had tasty supplies from Port Joinville to barbecue, so ate on board while we planned the final leg of our journey. It’s strange to think our destination is now almost in sight, and that once we reach it we won’t be sailing any further south…on this adventure anyway.

The anchorage at Treac’h er Goured on the eastern edge of Houat was busier than ever (now that we were in the middle of the summer holidays) but no less lovely. Buddy was in raptures at being able to run the length of the glittering white beach, and the teens spent the afternoon diving and swimming off the boat. After a barbecue of some excellent lamb kebabs from the butcher in Vannes, we settled down to sleep…only to be woken at 2am by the boat rocking and rolling in some very heavy swells. A northerly wind had blown in during the night, and was due to pick up further the following evening with gusts of 30 knots forecast. After a restless night, we raised the anchor at first light and decided to make for the shelter of the Vilaine river.

When we reached the lock gate in the Vilaine, we realised we weren’t the only ones with this idea – the gate entrance was crammed with yachts and motorboats all jostling to get through when the gate next opened at 2pm. We tied Exeat alongside a holding pontoon, and waited for instructions from the harbour-master. As the different vessels threw lines round chains on the lock walls to keep them in some sort of secure formation, we were beckoned over to join the throng. It was all hands on deck (in lifejackets, as per the Capitain’s orders) to move fenders where they were needed, throw lines, and gently steer Exeat into the tightly-packed bundle of boats. Then the lock gates were closed and the water level raised. Our son was fascinated by the mechanics behind it all, and watched with interest as the boats were lifted up by the rising water, and released when the lock gate at the other end opened. Eventually we were out the other side, and sailed in short tacks up the Vilaine to La Roche-Bernard.