20 July
We had all decided that we would do one more push East, so at 1100hrs Escapade and Shades of Blue left Vannes to motor through the Gulfe du Morbihan. When out to sea, Lily would leave Le Crouesty to join them. At midday Lily left the marina set her sails and with the wind directly behind us a preventer was put on the main. The genoa was poled out and the kettle put on. That was the easy bit…
Because of the strong winds we arrived a little early. The entrance to the river Villaine is similar to crossing the Deben bar, with only 0.3 m of water at low tide. Lily cautiously motored through, arriving at the lock at Arzul with an hour to spare. Escapade followed shortly afterwards and it wasn’t long before the lock appeared to be full. When Shades arrived Chas held back not wanting to moor against the lock doors, so Suzanne asked the lock keeper if they would be able to fit in another boat? When the lock keeper finally took a break from ordering everyone around, he stopped and said ” yes room for at least 5 more boats “Maximum lock, Maximum lock” then waved Shades forwards and made them tie up to the lock gate.
A 1800 hrs a bell rang, the road bridge crossing the lock was raised and the lock keeper started barking more orders to everyone making all the boats shuffle up to allow the last four boats in…
When you finally thought there was no room for anything else, a kayak with a Union Jack on it paddled in and grabbed hold of a yacht.
The Villaine river has a dam with a lock in it and is used as a supply of fresh water. There is a water treatment plant near the dam. This makes the river ideal for anchoring, with no tidal height changes and beautiful scenery it is heaven. Our destination for the first two nights was the small town of La Roche Bernard, and even though mooring up was tough with the strong wind behind us, a walk into town that evening made it all seem worth the trauma of lock(keeper) and strong winds.
Music in the town square 
More French Cuisine; The Duck.
The French take their ducks very seriously, and everything gets used, one way or another. It must be said that all this duck is largely a by product of Fois Gras production, which I know disturbs some people. Whilst respectful of such views it is fair to say that battery hens probably have a much worse time of it, and supermarket chicken does not seem to attract as much adverse reaction. Anyway each to their own….
The prime bit of the duck is probably the breast, or magret. These tend to be big – sometimes very big, and one will usually feed 2 people easily.
You simply salt it generously ( especially the skin side) and plonk it skin side down into a cast iron frying pan ( preferably ) or you can put in a boat oven just above the flame.
Anyway, cook until the skin is nicely brown, then flip over to seal the underside for a short time. It is far better served rare, or at the very least while still pink in the middle. It becomes dry and tough if overcooked. It can be simply sliced and served over salad leaves, or you can make a sauce with orange, mushrooms or honey, or whatever you fancy.
Another method of preparation for various bits of duck is confit. Here the duck pieces are salted for several hours, and then cooked slowly in duck fat until meltingly tender. This is easy to do at home, but in France, it can be bought just about everywhere, either fresh from the markets in batches, or in tins from supermarkets. Legs are the most popular, and just need to be heated in the oven or under the grill.
One of the best known ways of using confit duck legs is in Cassoulet, the famous baked bean dish of the South West. This takes all day to make ( but worth it ) or is also available in tins, which is very good.
Another excellent form of confit is Gesiers ( Gizzards,I’m afraid) – No, stop screaming out there,and suspend disbelief! They are really succulent and tasty little morsels, and consist of dense, lean muscle similar to heart. Fry them up with a little garlic and mushrooms, deglaze with some red wine, a splash of balsamic vinegar and perhaps a little mustard and you will be amazed, I promise !
As well as the above, there is an endless variety of sausages, pates, terrines and of course, Fois Gras about – which I have probably said too much already, Although I could be persuaded…………???
After the second night we all went for a motor up the river, it was quiet and beautiful just as we had been told it would be by our friends. But with the temperature at 38’c, and absolutely no breeze, it was swelteringly hot.. So in the evening it was definitely the place for one of Erik’s now famous BBQ’s.
After a quiet nights sleep at anchor – notwithstanding the mosquitos…(puces,) in the morning after sailing a total of 744nm to date, we would turn back for England.
Of course the journey home would still involve new adventures, there are plenty of different ports, not to mention wonderful food and drink for the journey back….
Cruising to Brittany 