Captain for a week on the Breton canals

Discovering a region by navigating on its waterways is a pleasure to be savored with all your senses: you can listen to the chirping of the water birds that nest on the shores, the rustling of the leaves in the trees that line the canal. We inhale the scents of hay, flower gardens. We feel the roughness of the mooring ropes. And, above all, we taste the local culinary specialties!

In search of a calm holiday while keeping a certain freedom, this is our fourth trip aboard a river boat from the company le Boat. The advantage: no need for a boat license. After the Canal du Midi, the Canal du Rhône à Sète and the Veneto, head for Brittany and the Canal de l'île and the Rance. The reception is, as in the other bases, professional and very kind. We have an appointment in Dinan where Loïc has already prepared everything.

Intarissable, il passe en revue le fonctionnement du bateau avant d'expliquer toutes nos futures étapes, avec beaucoup d'humour. « Environ 300 m avant une écluse, vous donnez un petit coup de klaxon pour avertir l'éclusier. Un seul, pas tout un concert comme les vacanciers italiens ! Respectez les limitations de vitesse, en voyant à quelle heure vous passez les écluses, ils savent très bien si vous avez fait des excès. Si vous prévoyez de vous arrêter avant de passer une écluse, faites prévenir l'éclusier pour qu'il ne vous attende pas inutilement. Ils aiment bien qu'on leur témoigne un peu de respect et dans le cas contraire, ils pourraient très bien vous faire attendre longtemps... »

As Dinan is a very pretty little medieval town, we stay on site the first day to visit but also fill the on-board kitchen. The next day, we cast off for a week's sailing from Dinan to Messac.

The banks and towpaths are perfectly maintained. On certain sections, part of our "crew" precedes the boat by bike, just to get some exercise! At each lock, discussions with the lock keeper (or lock keeper) are going well. They grab hold of the ropes to moor the boat in the lock (on the Canal du Midi boaters have to fend for themselves) and we take turns going down to help push the outriggers and open the lock gates. The surroundings of the lock houses look like remarkable gardens. As soon as we pass, the lock keeper warns his next colleague who opens the doors before our arrival.
Vigilance at the helm.

If on the Canal du Midi, boats without a license are legion, here the traffic is much less dense and, at each passage of the lock, small crowds form to watch the maneuver. Several bridges are so low that the pilot has to pass them lying on the bar! It goes without saying that the sunshade must be retracted beforehand and that the passengers squat!
For this fourth cruise, I finally dared to learn how to fly. If it is not difficult, it is necessary to remain constantly vigilant. As soon as you turn your head to admire the landscape or check the map, the boat does as it pleases to deviate from its course. With its 20 m length, the boat has a certain inertia which must be taken into account. No need to hold the helm with both hands (we are not on the high seas), light movements with one hand are sufficient. Thanks to Loïc's instructions, we are attentive to the buoys and signs which, on certain sections, indicate the navigation route to follow imperatively.

Despite the capricious weather, this week of navigation is a real pleasure. Apart from navigation, there is nothing to do except prepare the aperitif, the meals. We finally have time to chat, to read a book, to play board games, to play the guitar, to sing, At the locks, we exchange recipes, good addresses. At the Calandry lock, Patrick gives us a taste of rum syrup to enhance our ti-punch... At La Charbonnière, Didier offers a bouquet of roses from his garden and some cuttings... The welcome of the Bretons is so warm that we only want to explore the other channels!