Jomano started as the given name for a sailing canoe. Outings in that small boat highlighted the value of slowing down to absorb the surrounding environment and experience. I fully appreciated the beauty and force of nature, while enjoying the art and challenge of navigating the journey as much as (if not more than) the destination. This has much in common with other activities I enjoy, including hiking in the mountains, wild camping and cycling. Jomano therefore grew into a wider meaning for me: a sense of spirit, outlook or reason. It will no doubt evolve over time, but I expect Explore.Simply.Slowly to remain at its heart:
Go and Explore. Don’t get tied down by lengthy planning or strict schedules. Just leave the house and go discover something new. Stimulate your curiosity, sense of adventure and new experiences
Keep it Simple. Sailing, canoeing, cycling and camping technologies and techniques used a hundred years ago are still as relevant and enjoyable today. No need for noise and air polluting engines, no need for carbon fibre, no need for live streaming. Go back to basics, exercise your mental and physical abilities, leave no footprint, enjoy.
Slow down. We aren’t racing. Use all your senses to absorb, learn and think about the environment around you. For example, what are the historical natural, political and industrial events that shaped it? What are today’s challenges, and how can they be addressed?
I do not wish to give the impression I am against the pace of progress, technology or change. On the contrary, we urgently need all those things to help repair the damage human development has done to the planet, continuously taking but not giving back. I am also not clinging on to the past. Jomano is merely my antidote for the chaos, disruption and urgency of modern life; helping to maintain a healthy balance.
Aurec-sur-Loire is as far upstream as we have dared sail Jomano. Above here, the water is shallow, with plenty of sandbanks, exposed rocks and small rapids. Fine for an inflatable kayak or canoe, but hard work and damaging for anything else. You can launch from the north bank, 25 metres downstream of the Aurec-sur-Loire footbridge.
A lovely scenic route. You will likely have the water to yourself, passing through the impressive Gorges de la Loire. This is a section we have sailed and paddled many times in Jomano as well as the Lugger, Canoe and Kayak. There are a number of secluded beaches and opportunities to stop for a break, lunch or to camp. Saint Victor sur Loire is a small pleasure boat port and public beach where you can stop for an ice cream, if you wish! It is built on the site of the old village that was flooded to make way for the barrage a few kilometres downstream.
Be sure to circumnavigate the small Île de Grangent. In the background you can see the Château d’Essalois.
You can tie up to the bank and climb the quite steep hill on foot to the Château.
Then turn around. To the of left of the Île de Grangent is the Barrage de Grangent (just out of shot)
The barrage de Grangent.
The portage from the barrage is not particularly easy. You need to leave the water from the north side and then walk along the road for approx 1km (you cannot enter the EDF hydroelectric station) and then down the bank to the river side. There is an interesting diversion from the barrage – the 44km long Canal du Forez to Montbrison and towards Feurs. The next section of river from the barrage, all the way through Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert, Veauche, Montrond-les-Bains (Roman spa town), Feurs and Balbigny can be shallow in places, with a number of small rapids and plenty of rocks waiting to damage the hull, rudder and leeboard in spring and summer months. Even in winter, it may not be possible. We have only covered this section (Barrage de Grangent to Boisset lès Montrond) by two person inflatable kayak.
Jomano is very easy to pull onto a beach or tie up alongside a river bank. This significantly reduces the need to anchor. It is sometimes still useful to be able to anchor in a bay or inlet for a peaceful lunch though, or even necessary sometimes for the night. In a small boat it is important to securely stow anchors and chains when sailing – you certainly do not want it to fly or deploy in a capsize. With that in mind, as well as the waters we typically explore, we have a 3.2 kg grapnel anchor with 2 metres of chain and 30 metres rope in a heavyweight PVC bag (with securing loops). We also have a “FOB Light” aluminium alloy anchor in its own padded bag (2 kg, but according to the manufacturer is equivalent to a 6kg steel anchor). This is a French version of the Fortress design.
Deploying an anchor from the bow can be tricky in a sailing canoe, so we have rigged a continuous loop line with a carbine attached for the anchor rode to pass through. This means we can easily drop and raise the anchor from within the cockpit.
Sleeping and Cooking
Boat Tent
With just the Skipper onboard, accommodation is in the boat with a camping mat on the sole. During fine nights, this will be under the stars with just a blanket, also a bivvy bag if additional warmth is required. Where greater protection from the weather or mosquitos is needed, or for privacy, Jomano’s boat tent is deployed. This is an australian canvas swag that happens to be a perfect fit, with a section of the floor cut out. It can be erected and packed away while on the water. With Crew, a small two man hiking tent is used on shore. All camping equipment is stored in the forward stowage locker.
The Galley
An ancient but ultra-reliable Trangia stove is used for cooking. Originally it came with the alcohol burner, but we added the gas burner option to make it a bit more user friendly, working with screw on gas cartridges available in Decathlon or supermarkets. The stove, crockery, cutlery, matches and washing up gear are secured in the camp kitchen box (a plastic storage box bought from the local supermarket).
Jomano was ready for sailing upon delivery. However, after a few trips we thought a few modifications and additions could make her even better.
The first thing was to replace the kicker, which was harder than necessary to tension and release in stronger winds. We used a Harken 3:1 kicker system from a Topper dinghy which works well.
A set of tell tales were attached to the sail and a ‘little hawk’ wind indicator was bought to clip onto the mast. These are particularly useful for the fluky katabatic winds in the mountainous areas we sail.
We wanted to add a log and compass. Mechanical paddle logs are not practical to install in a sailing canoe, so we used a Velocitek SpeedPuck GPS speed display. The Compass is a Silva 70P. We attached them to a ‘dashboard’ made from an old Drascombe mast thwart.
Seating is provided by a pair of moveable bench seats that sit level with the deck. We found from the start they only get in the way, so we removed them and have not used them since the first outing. We either sit on the rear/side decks or cockpit sole. There are foot straps for hiking out.
When paddle-sailing or sailing in light winds single handed, it is useful to be able to sail ‘hands free’ at times. The tiller is taken care of by a loop of elastic as standard. You can get away with your foot to hold the mainsheet, but a proper swivel jammer and ratchet block is much better! It has been fitted to a piece of timber that attaches using the standard seat slides, so can be deployed/removed very easily and quickly. Be careful to only use this arrangement in light winds though, unless you need capsize practice!
Unfortunately, Covid has put a hold on outings for the time being. However, on the first day of relaxed controls of confinement part II, we did manage to at least get onto the water. No wind and no lakes within the 20km radius we are now allowed to travel, so a paddle on the Loire must suffice. Still great to be out though and no worries about social distancing!
Jomano has enjoyed Easter sailing on the Mediterranean coasts of Corsica and Majorca. Great sailing – april offers a good balance of wind, sun and less tourists. A few images below with Crew #3.
With a free week, the Skipper and Crew #1 loaded Jomano, hitched the trailer and headed to Lac de Sainte-Coix in the Var, a beautiful lake of 22 km2 fed by the Verdon river and Verdon gorge. A great place for small boat sailing and paddling as only electric boats are licensed to operate here, so no annoying jet skis or power boats.
While crossing the lake, there are plenty of empty beaches to stop and explore.
At the eastern end of the Lake you can continue into the Verdon river. The first part you may have to share with rented canoes and pedalos, but there is a point at which they must stop and return. After this, you will likely be alone. At points the water became too shallow to sail, so we needed to get out and pull a few times until reaching deeper water. Perfect spots for lunch here.
Close to here is Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, considered one of France’s most beautiful villages. We discovered the road just outside of the village can be shared by more than just motor vehicles. Note the Pyrenean Mountain dogs used as sheepdogs. There are also a couple of donkeys in the flock.
We then headed north and explored the 20km long Lac de Serre-Poncon for a couple of days. One memory is all the time we had to observe the chapel on the tiny island in the Baie St Michel as we completed what may have been the slowest circumnavigation in history. The wind disappeared as we entered the bay and we decided it was simply too hot (not to mention peaceful and relaxing) to paddle more than one stroke every few minutes. This place does get busy in the height of summer though.
We then continued north to the Lac du Lit au Roi on the Rhöne river, which was a poor excuse for a lake, but pretty and tranquil nonetheless, with plenty of swans calling it their home. We only needed half a day to explore the area, even though we had little wind and strong currents from the river. It was a nice place to wake up in the morning..
It was then time to head home. A successful trip, showing how easy, practical and fun it was to journey with Jomano on the lakes. We needed to do more. All of them. We googled how many lakes are there in France…
Jomano is a Solway Dory Shearwater sailing canoe, built to the Skipper’s specification by Dave and Dave in their barn in the Northumbrian Lake District, UK, before being transported to her home port (garden) in Central France.
Her length overall (LOA) is 16ft (4.9m), with a beam of 40 inches (101 cm).
She is fitted with a freestanding 5m2 bermudan rig and kick-up leeboard and rudder. A pair of outriggers (offering approx 50 lbs buoyancy each) can also be fitted for coastal sailing or stronger winds. For safety, there are buoyancy tanks and watertight hatches fore and aft. The front starboard side tank can be opened and flooded in a capsize to make it easier to get back on board. She has been built with a GRP hull and plywood decks. Jomano can be sailed, paddle sailed, or just paddled (with or without the sailing rig). We haven’t weighed her, but believe the hull to be about 40-43 kg; the Skipper can get her on the roof of the Land Rover on his own (although it is easier with two people).
The Skipper has owned a variety of boats including canoes, kayaks, rowing skiffs, racing catamarans and dinghies, and larger comfortable cruisers. The last of these, a fast Jeanneau 32 footer was sold because 3 new children combined with the demands of work meant she was just not being used. It didn’t help she was berthed on the other side of the sea, and every month the marina fees kept coming. Some years later, an old Drascombe Lugger was acquired to teach the children how to sail. Slow and steady, but still fun, easy to get to different sailing areas and no mooring fees! However, at times we did get a bit fed up with pulling a trailer and launching and recovery which always seemed to take longer than it should. We wondered if we could go even smaller, and stumbled across the Solway Dory sailing canoes on the internet. We had never seen one or sailed anything like it, but after a few telephone discussions with the builder an order was placed and build slot reserved. We did wonder about this impulse buy on the long drive to the north of England and back to France, but as soon as she was launched for the first time, we realised it was a genius decision! So easy and practical to explore areas near and far, launching from almost anywhere, accessing waters not possible with other boats and loads of fun to sail and paddle. The only downside is she will not accommodate the whole family, but at times that can also be an advantage..
Dugout canoes discovered by archaeologists have been dated at more than 8000 years old. It was only a matter of time before sails were added to help propel boats in favourable winds, originally using skin, bark and woven reeds. Pictures of double sailing canoes and sailing outrigger canoes were drawn in 1769 during Captain James Cook’s first Endeavor voyage to the Pacific. However, it was John MacGregor in 1865 that is generally credited with starting the development of the sailing canoe as a pleasure craft for racing and cruising, following his voyages in Rob Roy boats. His travels in these 14-15ft (designed to fit in German railway wagons) lug and jib boats were publicised through his popular books, A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe,The Rob Roy on the Baltic, and The Rob Roy on the Jordan, Nile, Red sea, & Gennesareth. One of the Rob Roys (14ft LOA, 26in beam, 19.5sqft sail) survives today in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
Rob Roy
In 1866, McGregor instigated the creation of the Canoe Club (becoming the Royal Canoe Club in 1873), situated on the Thames in Teddington, to encourage the participation in Rob Roy type boats. This also led to the further development of the boats (approximately 200 Rob Roy canoes had been built at this point), notably James Gordon who introduced a retractable dagger board and water proof cockpit cover into his 14ft single lug sail (which doubled as a camping tent) Rothian sailing Canoe in 1867. He used this to cross the English Channel and travel along the Rhône from Lyon to Marseille and the Mediterranean. Another inspired by the movement, Warrington Baden-Powell introduced a keel and ballast to the first of his lug yawl Nautilus series of sailing canoes, which helped guide the direction towards sailing performance bias over paddling. The design was further developed by working with Dixon-Kemp (e.g. a foot operated rudder was soon introduced) and publicised in the Manual of Yacht and Boat sailing, first published in 1878, which has a Sailing Canoe chapter.
Clubs were also formed on the Clyde and Humber, and each of the three clubs tended to develop their own versions of boats, often influenced by the local sea/weather conditions and requirements of their members.
Interest was also gathering outside of the UK. MacGregor was invited to participate in Emperor Napoléon III’s 1867 International Exposition in Paris, and travelled there in a new boat built for the event. The Emperor subsequently ordered a boat and gave it to the Prince Imperial, who became a member of the Royal Canoe Club and named it “Rhône”.
In the US, a Nautilus design boat was built locally for a member of the New York Canoe Club in 1870, and in 1886 the Royal Canoe Club were challenged to race for the New York Canoe Club International Cup (which is still held today, the second oldest sailing race after the America’s cup). Baden-Powell and Walter Stewart contested in their Nautilus and Pearl design boats, but could not compete successfully against the Americans in their lighter, purpose bult racing boats, with the inaugural event won by C. Bowyer Vaux in Lassie.
Lassie, 1876
This event also encouraged greater participation in Canada, with a number of Canadians taking part (and later, winning). In 1887, Paul Butler started to introduce long lasting innovations into his designs, including bulkheads, self-draining cockpits, hollow spars, clutch cleats for sail handling lines, and a cross sliding deck seat to enable the sailor to hike further out and continue sailing in stronger winds with more canvas.
The boats were developing at a very fast pace, and towards the end of the century designs had already started to move in two broadly different directions: either lighter, faster more complicated and difficult to sail racing designs, or larger heavier ballasted keel boats more suited to cruising (they were becoming small yachts). In both cases they were also becoming more expensive, and moving away from the original requirement of being easily transported, hauled in and out of river banks and simple cruising. The 1920-1930s saw the introduction of planing dinghies, which moved designs even farther away from the original concepts at an even faster pace, and with the impact of the two world wars, almost entirely quashed interest in the sailing canoe. The exception was the International Canoe one-design which raced from the 1960s (with majority of participants coming from the US, Sweden, UK, and Australia) and continues to be developed and raced today internationally. However, these wild racing rockets with sliding seat “plank”, fractional sloop rigs and asymmetric spinnakers planing at 18 knots are a far cry from the Rob Roy!
International Canoe Europa Cup 2015
The end of the twentieth century started to see renewed interest in the original style sailing canoe designs, updated with modern construction techniques and materials. Solway Dory was founded in 1981 and started building a range of sailing canoes in the UK from 14-16 feet, and formed the Open Canoe Sailing Group. In Switzerland, Bootsbaugarage are building the Hugh Horton designed 15 foot Bufflehead. A number of plans and plywood kits are also available for sailing canoes, including Ian Oughtred’s Wee Rob (12 – 16 feet), the Australian Michael Storer designed Viola 14, and the Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC) 17 foot Wanderlust with a Hobie mirage [pedal] drive to back up the yawl rig. In 2016, two Wanderlusts completed a 1,000 mile journey along the Intracoastal Waterway from Norfolk to Miami.
CLC Wanderlust
After 160 years, with design evolution taking boats in a very different direction from the originals, recent years have seen those early designs being re-visited and re-worked into small, lightweight and simple boats for a growing group of people that understand how practical and fun sailing canoes are for exploring rivers, lakes and coastal waters, near and far.
