6th - 10th June, Piriac-sur-mere and the river Vilaine

On the 6th we enjoyed a good sail back up the coast to the little holiday town of Piriac-sur -Mere, in anticipation of the forecast of several days of strong winds. Piriciac has a small marina, with some nice shops and cafe's; the nearest it gets to Blackpool in the carousal  on the harbour wall. We went for a walk to a near deserted sandy beach 1 mile out of town, so unspoilt we had to walk back to find any food or drink. Dave was desperate for an ice-cream. Several hundred runners were out for some organised event, they looked to be even more in need than Dave.
 We then had a 17mile evening sail back to the barrage and lock on the River Vilaine, arriving at 10.00pm just as the sun was setting. It's wonderful that you can have daylight until 10pm!
Tuesday morning we were up through the lock at 9.00 and then spent a couple of hours trying to tack up river against 20knts of wind, very hard work if you haven't tried it, the engine requires much less effort. The Vilaine passes through lovely countryside, initially wooded, with gorges, but by the time we stopped at Foleux, it was becoming a wide flat valley. Foleaux is just a smallish marina on a river junction, delightfully quiet, Biddy spotted an otter swimming within yards of Cara Mara.
On Tuesday the wind was even stronger, up to 30knts on the river, we stopped for lunch at a swing bridge and Cara Mara was being blown so hard onto the pontoon, we struggled to get off when it was time to leave.
We spent the night just south of the regional town of Redon, at a pontoon near a really pretty campsite at Rieux, note for anyone thinking of heading down this way.
Tomorrow Biddy, now much healed, is heading to Nantes Airport from Redon railway station, we will be sad to see her go.

River Vilaine at Rieux

Sailing until sunset

Passing through the lock

Reiux