A Club Sailing Race in France

by Han
(Brittany, France)

Saturday last I went to Dinard (on the Brittany north-coast) and, as I can't walk any long distance, I sat on a bench in the sun some 100 feet above the Rance and had a fine clear view on St. Malo. Apart from sunny it was rather windy too, and it was a nice surprise to see there was a club-race going on. They sailed the triangle, of course, and I think they sailed 420's; but I'm not completely sure of that, because the distance was about a mile (nautical) and I'd forgotten to take my binoculars.

This is not a great story, I know; but I was so glad to see that another new generation of sailors is being educated in the very old traditions of proud Breton seamanship, as I hope it is in England. We in Holland only have a sea-fisherman tradition and sailing tradesmanship all over the globe; all pleasure-sailing happened on our countless canals and lakes. Sea-sailing as a sport only came up some fifty years ago and now we're proudly represented in the Volvo Ocean Race.

But I'm not a patriot; I just like to see sailor's traditions passed on into the future, for all to benefit.