I was sitting on a bench overlooking the harbour of St Quay when I met Carla and Pauline. They asked if I wanted to come to Brittany’s best discothèque and well, I could hardly turn that down.

Once again I was taken in off the streets. I met Carla’s friends and family and we had an entertaining dinner with plenty of croque-monsieurs, wine and laughter. By the time we retired from discotheque Kasino, the narrow streets were filled with a sweet scent, drifting from the shutters of the boulangeries. Thank you to everyone for such a fun night.

A few hours later I snuck out of the sleeping house and walked to the centre nautique, demolishing a baguette laden with a whole jar of Nutella on the way. By the time I’d packed and chatted to the guys working at the centre it was almost 1 pm. Perfect timing with the tide.

Usually, I stick to the sounds of the sea but I left St Quay with Ocean Alley in my ears and the wind on my right cheek. On the way out of the harbour, I found a fishing rod floating and handed it to a rather ungrateful fisherman.

I turned left and paddled parallel to three yachts for the first hour, feeling a connection with the sailors on board but not really knowing if they’d even seen me. I then watched their sails disappear, the wind taking each of us somewhere different.

The waves nudged at me from the side and I settled into a nice rhythm. I enjoyed the change from downwind, not having to accelerate to catch waves. Soon enough I arrived at Île-de-Bréhat where the sea appeared to change colour, becoming a mesmerising deep blue. Île-de-Bréhat is an archipelago of over 100 islands. The shoreline is littered with rocks, kelp beds at their bases and 15 metres above, a charcoal smear at the high tide mark.

I sought solitude and found it on my own private island. Hopefully, I can catch up on some sleep tonight. My island has a carpet of wiry grass and a stack of rocks at its centre with succulents sprouting from its base. The tide is now flooding in like a river, swirling around the islands that haven’t yet been drowned.

Tomorrow looks like a downwind so should be another good day!