Morbihan

Here is a report and pics from David Reed about the Morbihan Festival

WWMHS among the Bretons!
Semaine du Golfe 2009

For four strenuous, but enjoyable and fascinating days, the Society formed part of Milford Haven Port Authority’s ‘Seafair Haven 2010’ delegation to the Semaine du Golfe Festival centred on the Golfe du Morbihan, on the west coast of Brittany. One of the leading maritime festivals of France, Semaine du Golfe takes place biannually attracting large numbers of traditional craft with crowds gathering on the quayside at Vannes, particularly in late afternoon and evening when the various classes of vessels made their way into port after a day under sail or oar in the land–locked Golfe. A carnival atmosphere certainly stretched well into the night, especially the final night.

Centred in the ‘Welsh Village’, our exhibition, together with boat building demonstrations from Mitec, the Atlantic Challenge Gig Display, Pembrokeshire Tourist Information, and Welsh traditional musicians attracted crowds of appreciative visitors. The purpose was to tell the story of our Haven to whet the appetite of our hosts to encourage them to cross ‘La Manche’ for Seafair Haven 2010. We were officially welcomed by members of the Conseil General du Morbihan and City of Vannes, while on the following evening, Bob Clarke leader of the Welsh Delegation welcomed our hosts at a reception and buffet with Welsh delicacies most ably and professionally produced by a small but versatile team with only limited facilities in the marquee.

Our display drew considerable interest from locals and visitors alike - Breton, French the UK and from further afield. Amongst a variety of enquiries, the publisher of the popular French maritime publication ‘Chasee Maree’ [Tide Chaser?] made a point of visiting our ‘stand’, and invited our Secretary to provide an article for his journal, while the Chairman was sought out by a lecturer of Cornish extraction from Rennes University to discuss aspects of the Cornish fishing industry for his MPhil, and both were approached by a representative from a maritime heritage group from Plougerne on the north coast of Brittany [or Breizh to the Bretons] seeking to develop links between the two organisations.

We travelled a considerable distance to attend Semaine du Golfe, and being an exhibitor based on the quayside in Cannes restricted us to the port of Vannes itself, but being involved was well worthwhile. The enthusiasm and dedication of the Bretons was a salutary lesson in demonstrating what can be done to promote an appreciation of a community’s maritime past. In addition, our display would have given potential participants from Brittany to Seafair next year an introduction to the wealth of heritage they could explore in our home waters; perhaps, unsurprisingly, it soon became apparent that quite a number of our continental visitors had little knowledge where Wales was situated, let alone the location of Milford Haven .

Last but not least, what struck me was the comaraderie between all involved, and the willingness to support each other when under pressure, while another pleasant memory was the constant welcome supply of cups of tea provided by the hard-working ‘Catering Department’ - it was very hot in the marquee in the brilliant sunshine, especially after midday. Our thanks go out to Richard James, David Griffin and Diane Harries for all they did in organising this successful ‘Invasion of France’ or to be more accurate, the renewal of friendship between two Celtic Nation, for we were most warmly received by this Breton community. Any drawbacks? – well, perhaps setting out for home on the final day at 3.00am for the long coach and ferry journey home!