August 2023 Expedition Update—Lorient

Today we’re in Lorient, in southern Brittany, for its famous Interceltic Festival. Brittany shares a Celtic heritage with Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, and—some maintain—Galicia and Asturias (both in Spain). It turns out Ireland is Lorient's country of honor this year, thus Irish dancing all over the place. French television asked us if they could use our boat decks for a video shoot featuring several dancers. Hmmmmm. A few dozen metal taps hammering away on our wooden decks? We decided to take a pass. But… we were happy to provide a photogenic Celtic background for a jig or two (our boats are reproductions of a classic 19th-century Breton cutter) and to give the presenter a stage from which to welcome the crowd and his TV audience.

So, is a QBE sailing expedition pretty out-of-the-ordinary summer enrichment or what?

August 2023 Expedition Update—Île de Houat

2023 QBE sailing expeditions—Ile de Houat

We departed Pornichet on Monday, spent a day exploring the Ile de Houat, and now head to Lorient, where we’ll take part in the 2023 «Festival Interceltique» on Wednesday (9 August). French television inform us they intend to shoot video of our grand entrance (our boats are, after all, replicas of a 19th-century Breton pilot cutter), and we’ve been invited to march in the parade. Mairéad, one of our Irish crew members, brought along her “fiddle.”

In the past, we’ve had other participants bring their instruments, including Breton bagpipes. We make quite a spectacle when one of our teens stands up and pipes us into port. Everybody crowds around to get a good look and snap pics.

August 2022 Expedition Update—Headed to Brest

Just after this pic was taken, the weather changed. After a great day in Lorient, we had to abandon plans to visit the Glénan Islands and decided to sail west instead. On the upside, we found a great crêperie to celebrate a birthday. Now it’s on to Brest!

August 2022 Expedition Update—The Lorient Inter-Celtic Festival

Here we are today at the Inter-Celtic Festival in Lorient with Charles Bertrand, a former QBE crew member who now plays with the National Marine Corps Breton Bagpipe Band. When he was a teenager, Charles brought his bagpipes along on an expedition and routinely piped us into port. It always created a stir when people jockeyed for a good vantage point from which to watch and listen.

There are several Celtic “Nations,” including Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, Galicia (in Spain), and Asturias (also in Spain). All share indigenous cultures that descended from an ancient proto-Celtic progenitor, all are represented at the festival, and all have a thing about bagpipes!

You never know what you’ll discover on a QBE sailing expedition.

QBE July 2022 Expedition update—Lorient, France

When in France, one should eat what the French eat—with perhaps some extra whipped cream. Here we are in Lorient today, chowing down on crêpes.