Sunset on our first liveaboard cruising season, 10th October 2010
Our patience was rewarded - after a few more wet & windy days in Crouesty, the forecast for Wednesday offered a glimmer of hope and, although it was still wet and
very windy when we went to bed on Tuesday, we awoke to calm and dry conditions. So we crept out very slowly keeping an eagle eye on the depth sounder as it was just
about low water springs, and lo - up went the sails and out came the sun! We had a lovely sail for a couple of hours, more pleasant than we were expecting. Once we
turned east towards the Vilaine, the wind was right behind us and, because of the shallow water, there was quite a bit of swell and the genoa wouldn't quite fill, so
we motored for the rest of the way in order to get to the Arzal Barrage in time for the lock opening.
A more pleasant sail than we were expecting.
Our last view for a while of the open sea. :-(
We arrived at the barrage about 45 minutes before the lock time but, as the lower gate was open, we were able to go straight in and join another two boats already
waiting, and rafted alongside a French boat. We thought it was all going a bit too well, and it was. Soon, quite a lot of boats arrived and, once the middle gate
was opened, we all had to shuffle forward. Now our genoa was about two feet away from one half of the lifting road bridge, and suspended under the other half
was scaffolding being used for maintenance, right in our exit path, forming a chicane. Anyway once (half) the road bridge was lifted, our slalom egress around the
scaffold went without incident, and we were at last in the tranquillity of the tideless freshwater Vilaine. We had mixed feelings about this, sad that we were leaving
the open sea behind a metaphorical and physical barrier for a number of months, but with every twist and turn of this beautiful river happy that we had made the right
choice for our winter home. If you zoom in on the Track & Current Position page, you can see just how far inland we are. We were
allocated a berth, had showers and then relaxed over a beer at the quayside bar watching the stunning sunset, before going
to Le Sarah B, a converted grain warehouse and venue for concerts, for a lovely meal - a
celebration of our arrival at LRB and time to reflect on our first season as liveaboards.
Approaching the Arzal Barrage.
We're going in....
Sardines in the Vilaine?
Who put that there?
At last the non-tidal Vilaine - or is it the Dart?...
Nearly there....
LRB.
Beautiful.
And this one deserves a prize...
Thursday was market day in LRB, and what a market - possibly the best one we have encountered in all of Brittany. We had a coffee and croissant in a cafe before
doing a bit of shopping and returning to the boat. As it had turned into a beautiful autumn day, we set about thoroughly cleaning Pipit, inside and out before, erm,
enjoying a few more beers at the quayside bar again - we know it will get cold and wet here during the winter, but our first few days here have been idyllic. We have
been invited to drinks at a house in the village tonight and tomorrow there is a chestnut festival, which we believe may involve music, food and drink - we do like
Brittany, and LRB in particular...
