Year 3 -16 June 2026 -La Reunion

It was another lovely sunny day and Hisham decided to make fried eggs and tomatoes and toast which we all enjoyed. Carolyn and Joyce packed up and before long they were getting in their car and heading off to a hotel not too far away and then in 2 days they are going to a hotel in the centre of the island where they can walk on some trails. We all said our goodbyes and had a crew picture which is the picture of the day. They have been on board since the Maldives and they will be missed and I hope they have a good time in Reunion until they return home about the time we leave.

We were therefore back to 4 until the 2 new crew arrive on the 20th June 2026.

We decided to go into Le Port and the tourist office to get some maps and ideas of what to do. We went via the Captanarie to find out about laundry and there is no service here where you can drop it off so shock horror we will have to do it ourselves.

We went into Le Port, the nearest town.  

Le Port is a commune in the French overseas department of Réunion. It is located at the extreme northwest corner of the island of Réunion. It has a population of 33,969 (2023). It hosts the main harbour of the island.

Le Port features a hot semi-arid climate due to being located on the leeward side of the island, Le Port does not receive as much rain as Saint-Denis and the eastern part of the island. There is a wetter season from December to April and a drier season for the rest of the year. The warmest month is February, with a mean of 28.4 °C (83.1 °F) and an average high of 31.9 °C (89.4 °F). February is also the wettest month, receiving 118.3 millimetres (4.66 in) of rain on average. The coolest months are July and August, which have a mean of 22.9 °C (73.2 °F). July is also the driest month, receiving only 5.0 millimetres (0.20 in) of rainfall on average. On 6 March 2004, Le Port recorded a temperature of 36.9 °C (98.4 °F), which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Réunion. Le Port receives 2670.6 hours of sunshine annually, which is evenly distributed throughout the year. February is the least sunny and July is sunniest, although all months receive between 205 and 232 hours of sunshine on average. We have found it warm but a little cool at night.

We headed into town to the tourist office and it was closed and the nearest one was at St Gilles some 20km away. This was annoying but what could we do so we collected Hishams glasses from the optician and set off for St Gillies. We went on the N1 which is an impressive dual carriageway which goes inland and on the side of the mountains and which had an impressive view looking down to the sea some way below. You could see the white of the surf crashing on the shore and bits of rock and reef.  This joins up with the road I talked about in previous blogs.

As we drove we could see the mountains way above us and there were a number of ravines that came right down to the coast and so the road traverses them and there are a number of tunnels which we passed through. We also passed many commercial estates and there were also crops which we could see- mostly sugar beet.

We came off the N1 to get to St Gilles.  Saint-Gilles is a village located along the west coast of the island of Réunion, in the commune of Saint-Paul. It is the site of the island's most popular seaside resort. Boucan Canot and Roches Noires are popular surfing spots. Hermitage Beach is protected by a coral reef and is part of the protected area of the marine park of Réunion. It has other attractions namely:

·       the Casino of Saint-Gilles

·       The Garden of Eden - a botanical garden

·       the sea aquarium inside of the port of Saint-Gilles

·       the waterfalls of Saint-Gilles river at Bassin Cormorans and Aigrettes

·       whale watching targeting especially for Humpback whales, organized by the OMAR (Observatoire Marin de la Réunion) and Globice (Groupe local d'observation et d'identification des cétacés)

·       the Grand Boucan - a carnival-like popular party that takes place in June.

·       Grotte de l’Autel, a cave discovered in 1980. Known for its subfossil remains of extinct birds.

 St Gilles had a seaside feel and we parked centrally and went into the tourist office which was open thank goodness. They were very helpful and armed with maps and leaflets we retired to have a coffee in the square and to decide what we should do. I suggested we went on St Pierre about 40km along the West coast going South. However, before we left Hisham, John and I then walked around the marina which had restaurants and dive shops. We passed the aquarium and were interested by the entrance into the harbour which was horizontal to the sea coming and in and boats had to negotiate the surf coming in and do a quick right turn behind the sea wall. There was some surfing going on and lots of people on the beach.

We returned to the car and set off again on the N1 West and after about 45 minutes came into St Pierre.

Saint Pierre is a commune in the French overseas department and region of Réunion. It is the third-largest Commune in Réunion. Saint-Pierre is located on the southwest side of the island. It is the capital of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. The commune began as a port built from 1854 to 1882. It was used for the trade between Asia and Europe. It has 400 sites for fishing and private boating. Most of the commercial boats have moved north to Le Port.

The town of Saint-Pierre is at the beginning of the only major road across the island. The road leads to Le Tampon, La Plaine des Cafres and Bourg Murat. There is also easy access to the Piton de la Fournaise.

We drove initially on the front and it was a large beach along the town with a sort of lagoon as the reef edge is about 100m offshore and people swim in between. However it is a little rocky. It was quite a large town with shops and the type of restaurant and bars of a typical French seaside town. We reach the end of the beach and parked under an enormous Banion Tree. We wanted a fish lunch and found a charming restaurant, run by a madame, right on the edge of the harbour. It was in fact opposite the entrance to the harbour and there was quite a swell which crashed on to the breakwater either side of the entrance. The gap in between would be quite challenging in a boat and you would have to get your timing. We did not see any boats come in and out during our lunch but what we did see was windsurfers and sail surfers both with foils. They would sail a bit around the harbour and then head out of the entrance into the swell and quite windy and challenging conditions outside. This was clearly for those with the right experience.    

We had a very nice lunch -dorado with salad and roast potatoes creole style which was delicious and made even better by the breeze and surfers’ demonstrations on foiling boards. Once we were satisfied we then walked along the beach a bit and there were not many swimming probably because of the Nobby Clarks (cockney -Sharks)!

We decided to drive back along the coast and saw an area where Kite surfers were surfing in the lagoon and some enjoyed taking off over the surf as it came in. If I was younger I would like to have had a go at that…

The coast road went through various towns and skirted the shore with the white line of surf crashing on to the coast. We came to a viewpoint where we parked and at this point there were about 80-foot cliffs down to the sea below. Even at that height there were a number fishing. The we suddenly saw some teenagers jumping off into the water below- crazy. 

We drove on and had to join the N1 back to the Stormbird. We had had a great day and sat on the aft deck and enjoyed the light breeze. We had eaten enough and did not fancy any supper so we switched on some Tahitian music and chilled in the cockpit. We were continuing to check the weather to calculate when we could depart. However, it is too early yet to determine.

We plan to go North tomorrow.   

The picture of the day is of the 6 of us before Carolyn and Joyce departed.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

I am now in Mauritius and will be going to Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK. 

I have now found additional crew for Mauritius to Durban. There may be space from Durban to Cape Town from about the beginning of July and we should arrive in Cape Town on about 25-30 July 2026. If at all interested contact me on my email below or WhatsApp +44 7931360372.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com