Baie de Somme - Must visit this year

brianhumber

brianhumber

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Popped into SV d S yesterday by car. Good resturants and good looking marina. Some locals were out well reefed playing in the bay even with the strong winds. I must try and visit this year - entrance looks to be a bit like Carentan in the difficulty stakes anybody visited last year or carried on up the canal to Abbeville?
All my interests satisfied yesterday, nice town, good food, yachts, estuaries, steam trains and historic car rally.

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We spent a couple of very enjoyable days in SV s S last year. Entrance is very long and windingand is fairly well marked but beware of the point where the channel splits to port and starboard. Take the starboard channel and do not attempt to cut ANY corners. You run out of depth very quickly!

I also remember that the buoy marking the entrance (can't remember it's name) had been moved about 1/2 mile in from from it's charted position. I was working off a new Frech Chart bought in Boulogne the day before? The Marina staff were v helpful when called and soon got things sorted out. Look to be at this start point no later then HW -1 as once the ebb starts to run it does so in fairly dramatic fashion....

Once in there are easy pontoons at the ends of the arms for visiting yachts and the staff are extremely pleasant and helpful. Services are excellent and whatever you do don't miss the steam train ride around the bay. £6 return and a great day out.

Leaving is fairly OK if you go about HW -1 but don't hang around to admire the view. At LWS you can literally walk across the bay.

Great stopover though and thoroughly recommended. PM me if you have any specific questions and I'll dig through the log.

Good sailing!

Chas Roberts

<hr width=100% size=1>Semper in excretum sum. Sole profundum variat!
 
You can read all about YM's intrepid Features Editor, Dick Durham, battling his way up the Somme in the current (April) issue. And Tom Cunliffe will be recounting some of his experiences making his way to St V sur S in a forthcoming issue.


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Go for it....

Yes, we went there last summer. We were two boats, ours, a Nicholson 48, drawing 1,70 m, and our friends with ther Nic31, drawing 1,50m

Of course, going in is a bit hair-raising, as the channel gets quite shoal when you get near to the town, and because of the strong tide pushing you in at an amazing speed. We were perhaps a little early in the tide, we started two hrs before local HW. Also, the cardinal Safe Water mark was missing, but as the vis was good and other yachts were ahead of us, the R and G first buoys were easily spotted.

Do under NO circomstances follow the markers on the training wall closer to the town, as it is to shoal. Stick to the buoys marking the real channel and you'll be fine.

We were sorry having to leave after three days for the risk of getting neaped. So do your tidals sums properly (But I'm sure you know this)

Other than that, we were extremely pleased with this destination. As you say, it has everything one would like to see in a holiday destination, without being a tourist trap. The local YC has a rich life, certainly if you consider that all their activities take place bewteen HW -2 and HW 2.

The canal towards Abbeville is not navigable now. A couple of years ago, due to extreme floodings, the lock was out of order. They then shuit down the canal. After the lock was repaired, noone seems to know who should operate the lifting bridge just inside the locks. As long as the quarrel goes on, the canal will remain closed (I was told this story by a local. If it isn't true, at least it's fun. Vive la France)

Enjoy it
cheers

<hr width=100% size=1>Peter a/b SV Heerenleed, Steenbergen, Netherlands<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by heerenleed on 05/04/2004 10:43 (server time).</FONT></P>
 
We came down the Somme a few years back after a round trip up the Seine to Paris and back via the canals. There are 5 low swing bridges between the sea lock and Abeville which have to be opened (by a VNF man who proceeds ahead of the boat from bridge to bridge). These have to be opened even for yachts with mast down, so in theory you could cruise with mast up to Abbeville, but nowhere to moor when you get there unless you can pass under the fixed bridges.

Its possible to moor for a night on the South bank of the river just above the sea lock and before the first swing bridge. We had the mast restepped at a small boatyard on the North bank for about £15.

Missed the channel on the way out and spent a day 'enjoying' the sandy bay ... along with at least 4 other yachts! By the time the tide returned, a gale had brewed up so had an unplanned trip back to the Solent via Dunquirk and Dover, where we were gale-bound for 2 weeks!

Vic

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Re: Go for it....

Thanks for that update on the canal. A real pity if it doesn't get sorted out as it effectively cuts out a very pleasant series of canals as far as round-trips are concerned. Only just realised it was 11 years ago that we were there, though have been back by car more recently.

Vic

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Thanks for all info. I wonder if the canal drains out completely at LWS , the gates were open but I thought this was just to let small craft in and out under the railway swing bridge.

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