diff --git a/create-release-branches.bash b/create-release-branches.bash
index 78806180..6df27d61 100644
--- a/create-release-branches.bash
+++ b/create-release-branches.bash
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@ set -e # exit on non-zero status
 
 for v in 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 ; do
   BRANCH_NAME="release-${v}"
-  git co -b $BRANCH_NAME;
-  sed -i.orig "s/tag: v.*/tag: v$v/g" vendir.yml
+  git co -b $BRANCH_NAME ||
+    git co $BRANCH_NAME
+  sed -i.orig "s/tag: v.*/tag: v${v}.0/g" vendir.yml
   ! diff vendir.yml vendir.yml.orig
   git add vendir.yml
   git commit -m "set up release for version $v"