Day 10 Part 2: The Rouen 24 hour power-boat race

St Sever, on the Rive Gauche which is the south side of the Seine opposite Rouen, was busy with shoppers. It's a cosmopolitan place and, perhaps because it's in the shadow of its more attractive neighbour, feels like a no-nonsense kind of town. I bought a punnet of strawberries and walked up to the bridge where I thought I might find a quiet spot by the river.

Then came my next surprise. The bridge was busy with people and when I arrived I looked down up something akin to a Formula 1 pit lane. Beyond the hospitality tents a row of temporary structures lined the bank of the river and just visible in each was the nose of a powerboat. Five cranes stood ready to hoist the craft into the water. A fabulous ten-piece band entertained the crowd.

It turns out that I'd arrived at the start of the annual Rouen 24-hour power-boat race. After changing at my hotel, which overlooks the river about half a mile downstream from the race, I set off to find out more.

By this time it was 4pm and the race had just begun. Thousands of people were pouring into the centre of Rouen, lining the banks and bridges four or five deep. I tried to work out what was happening.

The boats race around the Ile Lacroix in the centre of the river, and there appear to be two classes of craft, one taking a line closer to the island and the other passing outer marker buoys nearer to the riverbank where I stood.

The boats are tiny and their drivers' heads bounce as they steed across the waves and wakes. The outboard engines scream away from the turns, lifting the front of the boats as they practically fly east again under the bridges.

I noticed that the drivers take various lines through the corners, avoiding the wake of previous craft to gain traction for their propellers.

At the time of writing, the race still has another six hours to run.