Current Position
47 31 16N
002 18 43W
La Roche Bernard, River Vilaine
A very attractive holiday town which was once an important river port and boat building centre but today it is the main tourist destination on the Vilaine. It has quaint medieval streets and many houses have been beautifully restored. We had a lumpy 28 mile ride from the Morbihan with F5/6 winds from SW and we managed to out run the showers right up until the last half hour. Entrance to the river involved going through a barrage and into a lock and just when we thought we had missed the 6pm opening, the lock keeper saw us coming and waited for us. We have done so many locks on this trip we feel much more confident now. The key is to put fenders and lines on port and starboard as in most cases, instructions on which side of the lock we need to be, come at the very last minute. The Vilaine is the 10th longest river in France and as we do like a nice river we were keen to explore. We took a berth in the marina just downstream from the first road bridge (which has a 50m clearance). Our friends Andy and Karen were touring Normandy, Brittany and South Biscay with their caravan and as they were close by we arranged to meet up with them the next day for Sunday lunch. After a couple of hours on board Stiletto catching up with news and gossip, we headed off to a local restaurant where Andreas and I had the absolute best Moulles et Frites we have ever had, washed down with plenty of vino. It was great to see Andy and Karen, they are always good company and it was a treat to see familiar faces. Both have taken early retirement and now share their time between caravanning (or land yachting as we like to call it) and touring the canals on their newly acquired narrow boat. Andy has crewed on Stiletto several times for the Round the Island Race and we have also all taken part in several rough shoots down in the West country.
Song for this post : Bridges Crossing Rivers by the Bee Gees
Thought for this post: Good friends always make the effort to meet up
Highlight for this post :Spending time with Andy and Karen