Around 10 a.m., there was a gentle northeast breeze as the Saint-André moved slowly down the middle of the canal at the mouth of the Seine. Jean Marin Le Roy waited for favourable winds to leave the river. Head winds meant slow progress. He did not have time to dwell on the bad memories of previous fishing expeditions. Instead he focused on the manoeuvres he would later note in his log, indicating the direction and force of the wind, time elapsed or distance travelled. During the first part of the voyage, on the way to the saltworks of Aunis and Saintonge, Le Roy followed the rules of coastal or visual navigation. He plotted the position of islands and capes he could recognize from a distance. By 5 p.m., the ship was managing just four leagues, E1/4NE of Cap de la Hève, near Havre-de-Grâce. It sailed all night.

At 8 a.m. on January 24, Le Roy headed south in a moderate breeze. The outer jib, the mizzen topsail and the staysail were taken down at 10 o'clock. At noon, the sailors took in a reef on each topsail, folding one of the horizontal strips and securing it with reef points ¹⁹ to reduce the total surface area of the sails. Late that afternoon, at 5 p.m., the ship was tacking south and north, and at the same time Le Roy noted the position of Cap de la Hève to the southeast, a mere five leagues behind the ship. The Saint-André sailed on.

During the night, until 4 a.m., a cool breeze and rain gave the younger members of the crew a taste of life at sea. The ship tacked south under full sail, NNW, in a moderate breeze and rough seas. It sailed SW and WSW.

This is best recounted in Le Roy's own words.

Friday morning at 5 a.m., tacked ENE, Cap Lévy ²⁰ to the WSW, 7 leagues away. Then until 8 a.m., in a light NE1/4 wind, we sailed E1/4NE for about one and a half leagues.

Saturday from 3 to 6 o'clock, winds WNW, a gentle breeze, brought a bit of snow then became a moderate northerly gale. We beat this way against a westerly wind until Sunday, January 27, always within sight of Cap Lévy, at 5 1/3 leagues, in a moderate breeze.

On Sunday, around 4 a.m., Le Roy observed and plotted the Casquets, ²¹ Anglo-Norman reefs, about 3 leagues to the SSW.

Until noon, there is a moderate NNE breeze and we sail W1/4NW for about 5 2/3 leagues. At 11 o'clock the Casquets are behind us, about 5 leagues to the SE.

From Sunday, January 27, to Monday, January 28, 1754

The winds vary from a gentle breeze to a moderate gale and we continue to sail WSW, covering on average 4 leagues in each four-hour shift.

From Monday, January 28, to Tuesday, January 29, 1754

On Monday, a moderate NE breeze made it possible to increase the speed to 5 leagues per shift. At 4 o'clock we saw and plotted the island of Ouessant for the first time, to the S1/4SE, at a distance of 4 leagues.

During the night, there were variable ENE winds, a moderate gale. The sea became rougher and the wind began to blow the foam of the breaking waves.

From Tuesday, January 29, to Wednesday, January 30, 1754

At noon on the 29th, there was still a moderate northeast gale. Having lost sight of the coast of Brittany, Le Roy took the ship's position. The observed latitude was 47°28´, so he continued to sail southeast in a gentle breeze, at three leagues per shift.

From Wednesday, January 30, to Thursday, January 31, 1754

On the 30th, we had a moderate NNE breeze and sailed ESE. At midnight, we sounded with the 3 pound lead south 1/4 SE of the island of Yeu. ²² We found 26 fathoms of water and a clear glistening bottom composed of coarse reddish-brown gravel. Since there was a moderate easterly breeze, we hove to until 7 a.m. then set a SSE course. We sailed SE until noon then tacked north towards land on a starboard tack. ²³

From Thursday, January 31, to Friday, February 1, 1754

On Thursday, from noon to 5 p.m., we sailed NW for about 6 leagues. Then at 5 p.m., we observed the cape east of Yeu Island, E1/4NE, at a distance of about 3 2/3 leagues. At that point, we tacked NNE then ESE in a moderate NE breeze.

From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., we sailed E1/4SE in a moderate gale for about 5 leagues. Then from 8 p.m. to midnight, in a gentle ENE breeze, we maintained a SE course for about 3 leagues. From midnight to 4 a.m., we sailed south another 3 leagues in a gentle NE breeze. At 4 a.m. we sounded 2 leagues SE of Olonne. We found 12 fathoms of water and a bottom of red sand with black spots. Then we tacked NW1/4NW. At 6:30 a.m., we tacked in the opposite direction, and entered the Pertuis breton ²⁴ between 11:30 a.m. and noon, having followed the coast since Olonne, a distance of 2 or 3 leagues. ²⁵