There is double barreled, and then there is Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. In a league of its own.
Stargazer felt her way out, of the Bourgenay entrance, an hour and a half before a bloodshot sunrise.
Which sees Stargazer beating, northwest, past Les Sables d'Olonne in a rising breeze. That has built rather faster than her skipper had anticipated.
The, half mile long, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie canal, provides a welcome lee, from both wind and swell. Local trip boats proving remarkably tolerant, as Stargazer makes her way slowly along it. In mid channel, on auto-pilot, whilst her skipper stows sails and rigs fenders.
Above a bend, in the river Vie, I find a visitor pontoon, with space on it. But try my luck on the radio. Courtesy of Stargazer's compact dimensions, the capitainerie are able to find us a finger berth, in Port La Vie.
Ashore, I quickly discover that the town on the eastern bank is called Saint-Gilles.
Whilst that on the western shore, is named Croix-de-Vie. Its claim to fame is that Benjamin Beneteau founded the eponymous boat building behemoth here.
The twin towns are linked not only by their hyphens but also by a bridge.
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