This morning we were well briefed to join the 1010 transit, having persuaded the marina attendant to part with his monthly schedule for July so we could have a copy of the times to study at our leisure. Leaving the marina the recommended 25 minutes prior to the start of the transit, we cruised the 2.3 miles upstream to the Pegasus bridge, site of a midnight raid on D-day, captured by British gliders as an important strategic crossing point.

We were joined on the transit by a sailing yacht and day-tripping catamaran who would struggle to keep up with the 7 knot transit speed. Once through the Pegasus bridge we set a modest cruising speed of 5 knots and led off the transit with the two yachts following behind. We had wondered about making the trip at our own convenience and simply using our folding radar arch to pass under the bridges, but with an air draught of only around 1m at each bridge we soon realised this would not have been viable. At Quai de Blainville we saw the huge Bahamas registered African Sun, unloading timber for the nearby sawmills, an incongruous site on this tree-lined inland waterway.


The passage passed quickly with Pont de Colombelles and the marina bridge, Pont de la Fonderie opening as we approached and we were mooring up in the Bassin St Pierre in the centre of Caen before noon. There is only one pontoon for visitors but there were several spaces on finger pontoons, which by now we were getting quite adept at mooring on.

One of our main objectives in Caen was to visit the Memorial, subtitled the museum for peace, although it claims not to be a museum, but a thought provoking experience. Mainly remembering the events of WW2, the story begins in 1919 and explains the build up to the events of half a century ago. Situated on the outskirts of the city, the Memorial is easily reached by Green Bus No. 2, from the bus station next to the marina (not No. 17 as our pilot would have us believe!)

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 7 nm

Total to date: 1387 nm

Avg Speed: 3.5 knots

Duration: 2 hours

Diesel: 35 litres (est)

Mooring: €18/night

Electricity: Free

Bridges

Pont de Benouville
Lifting bridge

Pont de Colombelles
Swing bridge

Viaduct Calix
33m

Pont de la Fonderie
Swing bridge

Charts

AC1349