Having extricated ourselves from the mayhem of Isle de Croix, it was a short hours sail across the straight to Lorient, with its many marinas, and sheltered waterways. Lorient is South Brittany’s sailing capital with thousands of expensive looking craft of all shapes and sizes. We chose a very nice marina called Port Louis (turn right as you go passed the fort). A lovely marina with friendly helpful staff. Since we were flying ‘The cruising Association flag’ all the neighbouring British occupied vessels came to say ‘hello’. The marina included a laundry facility and as ‘wash day’ was well overdue this was our first job!!
Wash day on Money Penny!!
Fort Lois at the entrance to the Marina 
What a stroke of luck, a music festival on the quayside that very night. Two ways of looking at this, one is food, drink and music, the other is the French tend to like their music LOUD and late, so no chance of an early nights kip. As it turned out, Peter and Urika arrived in the marina with their friends on-board Yoho, and soon met up. Ok, so its food, drink and music then. We had a great evening, eating oysters, drinking beer, white wine and finished off with a very good band a stones throw from Moneypenny. During the festival we encountered the local dance. It doesn’t matter what style of music is being played the dance is the same. It consists of the dancers joining hands in sets of ever increasing circles and dancing in opposite rotation to each other if you get my drift. What is lovely to see is that at these festivals people of all ages get involved with old , young and all in between joining in the dancing. Something unfortunately you don’t see at home these days.
The following day, we took a river taxi into Lorient. What we found was a very busy largish city which as per the normal was full of chain stores and impersonal businesses. Ok, time to move on! The water taxi ride back was interesting, taking us passed the World War 2 ‘U boat’ pens. These colossal concrete edifices bear testament to the power of war. They are apparently so well built that nearly some 70 years after construction they are still in daily use. (Not as submarine garages I might add!!)
In a neighbouring marina was a brand new trimaran. Gitana 17 - Wow, what a machine, some 45 foot long, 30 foot wide and capable in early sea trials of speeds approaching 45 knots, powered only by the wind.