Brest to UK

[jimi]

Summer Holiday planning .. thinking about S Brittany. Plan would be to sail the boat to Brest one weekend with mates leave the boat and then go back for a fortnight with family returning the boat to the UK another w/e. Whats the transport and cost like from Brest to the South of England?

<hr width=100% size=1>.. whit way roon should it be again ..

 

[zephyrsailor]

i got stuck there last summer needing crew. to get crew out there was so much hassle we gave up. ferry to st malo is 60 quid or ferry to cherbourg 30 quid. train then takes forever and costs about 60 euro's. if going to cherbourg vertually go via paris on train. (probably quicker) if your driving then its no problem.

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[claymore]

So the detailed passage planning that we did to get the boat to Scotland was in vain?

<hr width=100% size=1>regards
Claymore
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[zefender]

Portmouth Caen ferry, then a 5 hours drive? Also ryanair fly from brest to Stansted for about £30 each way.

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[AIDY]

Not sure on transport costs, but you may get a cheap flight with ryanair direct to bournmouth / stansted or flybe direct to southampton from brest.

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[Sybarite]

Alternatively, sail to Roscoff and get the ferry back to Plymouth.

John

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[Peppermint]

Left Portsmouth at 22:00hrs to Caen over night. First bit of train journey to Renne I think was slow. TGV to Brest is great, don't get a smoking seat though, even made smokers blanche, arrive in Brest 14:30 local time.

Brest (Moullin Blanc) to (Campers) Gosport 54hrs.

The trains a bit quicker.

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[Chris_Robb]

Jim - some points.

One way ferry travel. There is a cartel operated by all ferry operarators on one way foot pasengers. £60. a ticket - so rip off.

Trip to Ushant - 100 miles from Hamble - usual weather problems long beat - not much fun! you may need to be flexible in which weekend you take her - start Thursday night perhaps. Once into channel De Fort - its plain sailing - almost easier to do it at night for first time, its so well lit.

Brest for Crew change:
We did this a few years back - Portsmouth to ST Malo rail to Brest - (2 changes) also you must book on TGV - sometimes full. Feasible but a little expensive.

Stansted to Brest - also possible. for real bargains you need to book some time ahead. - Costs - train to stansted from Liverpool Str (good service (£20 each way?) Marina is a good way out of the centre of Brest so airport bus may be difficult.

Restuarant at Marina was very good 3 years ago!

Coming back. It allways seems to me that a holiday in S Brittany is always cut short by the necessity to start your return several days before the end of the holiday to allow for weather. It would be great therefore if you could leave the boat again in Brest and do a delivery trip later.

If you go right south into Anse de Bendodet - you may find you are doing just too many miles a day with the family. There is a whole holiday waiting north of teh Raz de Seine.

Great places to go:
River Aulne: Navigable 30 Km upstream - not a sign of human habitation, Otters herons - You not see anything quet as natural. Chateaulan is not V interesting - so stop at port below it.

Morgat: Nice small marina - not frequented by the brits too much. Bay of Douarnenez has along its western shore the most wonderful sandstone cliffs with seas caves you can row and swim in an out of. Lovelly clear water on sandy bottom. many bays to choose from and not crowded. We spent nearly a week there last year baking in 90degrees. pretty safe for overnoght anchorage.



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[Robin]

We do S Brittany every year but have the luxury of a whole month (August). Many of the people we have met doing it your way (a lot do) do the crew swap by car, with the new crew coming over by car and the returning crew taking the car back to the UK. The drawback is that it doesn't fit well within a weekend delivery.

Co-owned boats are often taken south by one family and back by the other, crew changes by car and car ferry. This has the added advantage of a car for a day or so on the changeover for more extensive sightseeing or wine gathering ashore. One of our club members does this with some trusted friends taking the boat south.

However you solve the logistics though it will be well worth it, this is wonderful cruising ground. South of the Raz de Sein apart from just off the next headland at Penmarc'h the tides are in effect ignorable (come from one side then the other, short period from ahead or behind) so none of the 5am departure stuff. Dolphins are frequent visitors, lovely anchorages, the sea is warmer as is the weather.... oh roll on summer!



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[circumnavigation]

Roscoff is now a dedicated commercial port, with no yachts allowed. Katoema was taken there by SNSM to be lifted out to check for below water line damage before being taken to Brest. Lots of changes have been made to the port in Roscoff with new fishing terminal and freighter dock.

The 5 days at the marina in Brest cost €41.60!

Martin

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mpcee.co.uk/katoema'sworld.htm>http://www.mpcee.co.uk/katoema'sworld.htm</A>

 

[ChrisE]

Chris,
I'm sure that you meant 200 miles Hamble-Ushant! If not can you please show me the short cut?
Chris

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[ColdFusion]

Crewed 4 years ago Brest - Scilly Isles - North Wales. Hired a car (one way hire) down to Plymouth, caught overnight ferry to Roscoff (no seats or cabins available - so book early) then caught a bus (roughly £8 from memory) to Brest, meandering through some lovely villages on the way.

Saw Dolphins, tons of phosporescence, millions of stars - magical.

Only downer was when we arrived in St Marys and saw the newspaper front pages - Concord had crashed - explained why we hadn't heard the sonic bang.

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[pugwash]

I'm hoping to do pretty much the same thing and I have the same problem. Don't forget Festival of Sail (2,500 classic traditional sailing vessels) in Brest 11 to 16 July. One tactic to consider might be this, if your crew is strong enough. Position the boat in Falmouth rather than Brest then shoot across the Channel when you're ready and the forecast is good. You'd be through the Chenal du Four 24 hours later, or less, and your holiday would start immediately without the need to go into Brest at all until somebody needs a shot of disco. Falmouth very much easier and cheaper for crew access. If it all goes pear-shaped, wife and chidlren could still nip over on ferry from Plymouth and take a bus to Brest.


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[ParaHandy]

if you go via Stansted, Ryanair v. cheap ... gives you option of stooging around for 2 wks with family & no pressure to get boat back to UK ... whilst delivery crew recover back in uk ready to bring boat back (2 loads cheap booze + fags) .. got to be cheaper than car+ferry+frog driving?



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[longjohnsilver]

Really depends on whether you plan to have the boat brought back on a container ship or put it onto a low loader and then a truckline ferry.

Probably easier to motor it back /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

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[charles_reed]

Once flew the wife out to brest, by Air France/Inter from Gatwick. It's quite expensive and the moulin blanc is some way from the airport and you need to use a taxi.

For my money the TGV/tunnel is best, I was getting returns from la Rochelle for £54 to Waterloo in 2000.

Rather than Brest I'd seriously consider Lorient a better stop-off, it used to be a single handed 48 hours from Pwllheli and the St Catherine marina was cheap, safe and a bac ride and 20 min walk up to the gare for the TGV and Waterloo in 2hrs 35mins.

Once flew in to Lorient with 54 knots of wind behind me, a little too exciting.

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[Barry777]

I have also been thinking about using Brest as a staging post for this years holidayand taking the boat over beforehand, so I found this thread of great interest. I have looked at the Ryanair route from Stanstead and if you book early enough and avoid Friday's and Sunday's it's £19.99 each way. early evening flight time - up to june at least. However, if the festival of Sail is there in mid July - my preferred time I think that's the end of that idea! I have started to look into the Falmouth option, particularly as I'm currently in a Premier marina, and they also have one in Falmouth.....the direct run to the Chenal du Four is a bit daunting though with only SWMBO as crew.

The note from Charles Reed regarding Lorient interests me. Has anyone else done this recently, or perhaps Charles can give a little more detail. The 2hrs 35 mins on the TGV to Waterloo seems very quick.




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[DeeGee]

Most insurance policies are Brest to the Elbe. I'm sure a canny scot will have thought of that. ;-)

<hr width=100% size=1>Black Sugar - the sweetest of all

 

[jimi]

Ah have .. I'll be looking for a discount for soft southern waters ..

<hr width=100% size=1>.. whit way roon should it be again ..

 

[grafozz]

I sailed to s brittany last year and did two crew changes firstly Benodet to st malo in a hire car, expensive in time , 3hour drive each way,second , and much better a,ryan air flight from stansted to brest 45 quid one way 10 min taxi to the marina! 45 minute flight crew loved it too ! try to visit Etel v charming few boats in august , but watch the sandbar,and Ile de groix, beautiful ,sandy and peaceful ,have a good trip.

<hr width=100% size=1>grafozz