A perfume of adventure
The rias, the abers (in Breton), the rivers and the coastal rivers are treasures unknown to the general public. Often in summer, the anchorages are crowded and the sea breeze heckles the boats while cooling the water and air temperature.
While slightly inland, a short distance from the beaches, peaceful navigable rivers meander through the forest, sheltered from wind and crowds. An arm of the sea, a ria or a river, just as well marked and mapped as they can be, always remain small explorations with the scent of adventure.
Morwenna at anchor
What's the difference between a river trip and a boat trip?
In fact, it doesn't make much difference to the boat, except that the fresh water makes the hull sink a little deeper into the water, and yes, the salt helps us float a little bit. But compared to the open sea, river navigation imposes new constraints. You have to be wary of the charts themselves, the shallowness, the strong current, the markings that must be respected, crossings with other vessels or even drifting objects.
Can we sail?
Depending on the size of the river and the size of the sailboat, it is sometimes impossible to sail. But many other times, it will be a very exciting chalenge. Sailing on a river is an artist's game and you have to know its ranges. The wind conditions are perfectly unstable, it swirls and sometimes seems to blow from all directions, driving anyone who tries to find out where it comes from crazy.
In the meanders and narrows, currents can become stronger, sometimes creating eddies that change the boat's course. You have to deal with silted banks and the unfathomable path of the river bed.
But when you start to feel the subtleties of the game, it becomes truly exciting. There's a lot to be learned by sailing in the forest rather than between 3 buoys, following a ripple in a bend rather than a shoreline, or turning when herons are on foot.
What precautions should be taken when flooding a river?
Although the rivers are admirable shelters from bad weather, access is often difficult in the event of an offshore swell. At the mouth of a river, there is often upwelling due to sedimentary deposition, so care must be taken to ensure that the height of water allows safe passage.
If one tries to penetrate at ebb tide which opposes the swell, a kind of breaking wave can block the way. This bar is dependent on the height of the bottom, the strength of the current and the waves that oppose the current. The ria d'Etel is well known for its famous and impressive bar, and it is guided by the semaphore that one can safely enter the channel.
For most rivers, by checking the water levels and opening the navigation guides you can easily avoid the dangers.
The famous Etel bar
