The Peace and the Peril

My plan was to sail up the River Goyen from the sea, to spend a night at the ancient town of Pont-Croix in western Brittany, sleeping aboard my little cruising dinghy in the saltings beside the river, under the storied roofs of the historic settlement. But I had reckoned without the deep Atlantic swell that was sweeping into the entrance of the river, by the fishing town of Audierne. INTERESTED IN DINGHY CRUISING? Read my book, 'The Dinghy Cruising Companion' for much more information about dinghy cruising and order my new book of nautical yarns 'Sailing the Shallows'. www.bloomsbury.com And join the Dinghy Cruising Association: www.dinghycruising.org.uk AVEL DRO - my own boat. Avel Dro is an Ilur designed by François Vivier, and built of clinker plywood by Les Charpentiers Reunis of Cancale in 1994. I bought her in France in 2003 to import her into the UK, and more recently returned her to France again., and to French registry - hence her Tricolour Ensign. The design is based closely on the traditional inshore fishing boats of Brittany in the early years of the twentieth century – which explains her simple boom-less lugsail rig and lack of a mainsheet horse, (sometimes controversial among my viewers). Although rare in Britain, Ilurs are relatively common in France. Modern Ilurs are slightly different from mine however, as they have more built in buoyancy. The name Avel Dro is Breton: Avel = wind, Dro = to turn – so it means a whirlwind. Length 4.44 m Sail area 12.2 m² Beam 1.70 m Draught 0.25 / 0.86 m√ MUSIC From now on - Jon Björk Footprints in the Sand - Roots and Recognition featuring Melanie Bell from Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com more of Melanie here:    • Melanie Bell performs Overview (alt) at th...   Video copyright Roger Barnes 2026.