11 July 2010; Lorient, France.

This is a less usual port for cruise ships to call at and those that are calling are those which are on the more “off the beaten track” such as the Prinsendam. Also the port entrance is really too small for the large cruise ships and thus the port is limited in what it can attract. However the Prinsendam called here for the 2nd time in her career with a morning stop. As mentioned yesterday, the entry into the port is dictated by the amount of current that flows through the entrance and thus it is a bit difficult to schedule. Our official departure was set for 1400 hrs. but the Harbour masters office decreed a 1300 departure as the current was expected to be very strong as it is around spring tide at the moment. Thus a 1 pm departure it was and I cannot say that I disagreed with them. The entrance is very narrow, about 180 meters wide of which 60 meters the pilot feels really comfortable with. With a big ship, that is only twice the ships width. So apart from the current it is also not advisable to go here on a windy day. The course angle as a result of wind drift would make the transit very precarious.

Lorient is an eastuary port with the tide going all the way through the harbour and up the connecting river.

However today it was nearly wind still and we arrived at the end of the flood tide so the transit was not much of an issue. When you enter the port, you see a large Fort, Port Louis, on the starboard side which we pass at a distance of about 300 feet. Built to protect the natural port and the hinterland it is quite an impressive construction. Next comes, on the other side of the bay, a large U-boat dock from the 2nd world war. After St. Nazaire, Lorient was one of the major submarine ports for the Germans during the Battle of the Atlantic. A big brownish concrete complex that still looks as if only recently built. I am quite amazed that the Germans were capable of constructing such large facilities in such short time periods, as WWII lasted only about four years in France. Lorient is a real cargo port and the reason we are here is for the tours into Brittany. Therefore there is no real passenger terminal, more a warehouse that is a combination of all sorts and by the time we had swung around, we had a great view of a scrap yard. Here a Dutch coaster was loading scrap for Turkey, but as it was Sunday, there was no movement. That was good, as metal scrap is very noisy when it gets grappled up and thrown into a steel cargo hold.

Exciting view from the bridge.

As the bay has an estuary form, there is a lot of water flowing in and out, hence the strong currents at the entrance and during our call the Prinsendam descended almost 14 feet while alongside. It gives you great respect of the water mass and its strength that comes churning through the entrance of the port. Thus when we pulled away from the dock I had the bridge team ready and focused on what was coming. Especially as we had one extra issue to contend with: Sunday sailors. It is a great sailing area, plus the Tour de France for sailboats was going on and thus everything that could float was out there, professionals, and those who would better be at home in port, all happily mixed up. And yes, there was one, right in the middle of the channel, trying with a small engine to get his sailboat out to open waters against the upcoming flood. It took a lot of horn blasts and some intense gesticulating from fellow sailors to get the guy out of the way. He finally went after looking behind him and seeing the Prinsendam bearing down upon him with great speed. There is water enough outside the fairway for small draft vessels, but if you do not know what you are doing, then staying between those buoys makes life a lot easier…………. until the big boys come along and shatter your tranquility.

For the guests it is all very interesting, the tours in the port, the sail away and then the sightseeing between the islands while the ship dodges sail boats. Normally I hand over the Conn of the ship to the Officer of the Watch quite quickly but this time I kept navigating myself for nearly an hour and a half, as the sail boats kept coming, and there were reefs and shallows nearby. Not much room for mistakes. It is part of good seamanship that you do not handover the watch, e.g. the Conn, until there is a safe and controllable situation at hand, with no imminent issues going on that will require instant action of the officer coming on duty. He/she should be able to relax and tune in before starting to do things him/herself.

Tomorrow we are in Bordeaux and that arrival is also dictated by the current. You go upriver with the flood and arrive at high water and you leave at high water and go down river with the flood. That means being at the pilot station at 3 am. for a 9 am. docking. So I will up and about by 2 am. tomorrow morning for the approach.