Fair Winds

Le Renard (the Fox)

Another Christmas present we received last year, was tickets for a ride on a sailing vessel out of St. Malo. Our family likes giving the gift of an adventure, which I appreciate very much. I told you about our local dinner adventure last time. This week I'm going to take you out to sea on our gift ride from Jos and Emily. Which we also waited for the spring to redeem.

We were ferried to our ship in shifts by a Zodiac that we caught at the port.

After living in this port town for the last six months, watching the ships come and go, it was very nice to have a chance to get out on the water and experience the city from a different point of view. As we sit on the port each morning, I often try to cast my mind out to sea and imagine what route these vessels have taken. There is something rather fascinating to me about the channel. Where does the Bay of St. Malo stop and the Channel begin? What is the boundary between the Channel and the Atlantic Ocean? Borders are so much more difficult to conjure on the sea than on the land.

I love a map

Our voyage was four hours long, so we were able to get aways from shore. On a ferry, one can get to Jersey Island in an hour and a half. A sailing boat goes much slower and we didn't get nearly so far as that. As I look at the map I think we probably didn't get outside the Bay of St. Malo itself.

The mainsail was already hoisted before we arrived on board.

The ship was built about thirty years ago, a reproduction of an older model. It was made for the purpose of giving people a taste of the golden days of sailing ships, now long past. 

We were a group of ten, plus two crew members. We were asked to participate in hoisting the auxiliary sails and taking them down and storing them away at the end of the afternoon's adventure.

As we were leaving port, the smaller sails were hoisted.

The ship had an engine, which helped lead us out of port. We left on a very low tide and calm weather. The engine remained on until we were well out to sea.

St. Malo as seen from the bay

This area, as often described before in this blog, is full of rocky islands. Many of them have the remains of forts used in days of yore to protect the mainland, for most of the history of France and England is a tale of invasions from both directions. St. Malo itself was never breached.

The crew were very knowledgeable about the history of St. Malo.

The Channel is the smallest shallow sea in Europe, it is also the busiest commercial lane in the entire world. At its widest it is 150 miles across and at its narrowest, only 34 miles. 

There were lighthouses all along our route. I have no idea if they are still in use.

The rigging on an old sailing ship like this one is very complicated and sailing is a very active affair.

There were yards and yards of rope aboard.

450,000 years ago, or so, England and France had some points of attachment. A catastrophic flood is responsible for England's island status. In Brittany before the Revolutionary War, the population spoke Breton, a language which is from the same Celtic roots as Welsh. 

Rocky islands fill the waters off St. Malo.

The furthest fort from St. Malo, about 5 km from town, is the Fort de la Conchée. It takes up most of the island Quincé, on which it was built in the 15th century by the famous architect to Louis XIV, Sébastien Vauban.

Fort Conchée

The fort saw a lot of action in its time. During its construction, the Dutch and English navies working together, captured all the workers. A few years later they attacked again, but not before the French had installed nine gunners, who saw the Dutch and English away, badly damaging their fleets in the process. It was decommissioned at the end of the 19th century. The Germans used it for target practice and the allied forces bombed it during WWII. Even though there is no use for this fort now, no one lives here and tours are not offered, it was rebuilt after the war nonetheless. I find this quite remarkable. The residents of St. Malo are proud and protective of their history.

Rocky islands.

Saint Malo’s motto is “Ni Français, ni Breton, Malouin suis”, which means “I’m neither French nor Breton, I’m Malouin” (an inhabitant of Saint Malo). Very independent spirts live here.

Rounding the fort on our way back to port.

After a very pleasant few hours, we headed back to the port. What a nice time we had! It took me about twenty four hours to get over the rocking sensation that accompanies one at sea.

Home port ahoy.