A few days in a beautiful town

Motoring into Vannes

A couple of hours further east of our anchorage off Gavrinis lies Vannes with its fantastically preserved and impressive walled old town.

Sailors approaching the city first have to wait for the opening of the Pont de Kerino and then make their way along ‘La Marle’, the very narrow approach to Vannes’s medieval port. ‘La Marle’ first passes through parklands interspersed with harbourside businesses, then through a lock and then into the long and even skinnier harbour proper that ends abruptly at the gates of the old city and a cluster of imposing old hotels.

Another Ovni, and an Australian one at that!

While motoring into the marina, we noticed another Ovni, something that always gives us a bit of a gee-up. This time it was a 445 and as we motored past it we noticed it’s home port, Brisbane! Needless to say, this being only the second Australian registered boat we’d seen in 16 months of cruising in Europe, we were going to have to go and say ‘G’day’.

Englishmen in France

As we walked down the pontoon we were hailed by the crew of an English boat, a trio of gentlemen ‘of a certain age’ who were lounging in their cockpit with drinks and snacks and who, for all the world looked like this was their natural habitat and habit. They had seen our flag and were very keen to know where we’d been, what we’d seen and where we were going. They were horrified to hear that we’d been to the Arctic and back and doubly so when we told them of our plans to sail to Australia. Any journey that didn’t start next to a good restaurant or pub and end next to another on the same day, and preferably early in the afternoon of the same day, was complete anathema to them.

Sailing was all about minimal exertion, “another wine, why yes, thank you”, and indulging in simple pleasures like eating, drinking, and friends – not sailing for goodness sake! They had spent the summer in the Spanish Rias and Asturias which they thought was just wonderful – “such good food, such lovely people”. Sadly, despite Vannes being their home port, they were falling out of love with France; “the French, you know, have forgotten how to cook. It is so sad.”

More on the Australian Ovni

Having filed away this information for future reference, we moseyed over to the Australian Ovni. Unfortunately, all but one of the crew members were asleep as they had a very early departure to catch planes the next morning. We learned that they had owned their Ovni for a few years, and had mostly sailed her along the Atlantic coast of France. Maybe one day they were going to take her back to Australia (!) but maybe also they wouldn’t. Meanwhile, they kept their Ovni in Arzal during the winter months which, according to them, was a great spot being away from the coast and associated winter storms. We also filed away this information, and then wished them a good trip and perhaps ‘au revoir’.

Exploring Vannes

While our primary goal in Vannes was to restock our dwindling supplies, the old city with its tall defensive walls, still almost entirely intact and bursting at the seams with lovely medieval buildings and laneways, demanded our attention. The couple of days we spent wandering around in the city were well worth our time

Aside from the old town’s beauty, by far the best thing we encountered in Vannes was the weekly marché. This is a French marché on steroids snaking through the town’s winding medieval streets, with stall after stall selling the most delicious fruits and vegetables, cheeses, sausages, fish, bread, etc. etc. What a delight! With this profusion of delicacies we had no trouble restoring our supplies to a more than comfortable level for the next few weeks.