Savoir Vivre p2

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Savoir Vivre

.....the art of living.....something the French are well known for....to enjoy the life and the moment. In nowadays hectic this seems like something from times long passed, when there was no Internet, no mobile phones, when everything was a bit slower and more relaxed.

These were the times when we were in
Crozon Morgat in 1992, for a sailing competition. A tiny and cosy little town right at the Baie de Douarnez, where we arrived late at night after a long drive through France. We rigged up early in the morning to go out for a quick test sail. A few hours later we sailed back into the harbour and were pretty surprised by the harbour wall, looming more than 10 meters above us at low tide.....

The massive tide difference up to 14 meters is something you have to get used to, when windsurfing in Brittany, and quite a sight to see, how the landscape changes dramatically, with islands forming and rising, before disappearing again below the waves.

And at this time, there was no windguru or windfinder to get forecasts. You could either check the written forecast at the harbourmasters office, or trust the old fishermen with their knowledge. And quite often, the fishermen had the more accurate forecast.

Fast forward 20 years, and here we are again, in Crozon Morgat, where nothing seems to have changed. Even the written forecast was still tucked to the door of the harbourmasters office. And probably the forecast of the local fishermen was still way more accurate than all computer generated models.

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Story by Chris Hafer, photos by Vera Hafer and Chris Hafer