rickp
Well-Known Member
For once, we managed to get a week of near perfect weather! Headed out on Saturday when it was baking hot - down to Beaucette for the night. Then we pressed on to Trébeurden - with its delightful anchorages around L'ile Millau. Had a bit of a beam swell and there was plenty of crap in the water on the way down which made things a bit uncomfortable. However, once into the bay, we had porpoises in our wake which made up for it. They were very camera shy though... The sunset was fantastic
The marina folks were friendly, though the power was a bit dodgy and tripped if too many people boiled a kettle. Visitors pontoon is the first on your left as you enter the marina via the cill - find a spot and pay up when the guy does his rounds.
The town was a little walk away up a hill but had a wonderful boulangerie. Charcuterie looked good too, but was never open when we were in town /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif There's a couple of nice beaches if thats your thing as its a popular holiday destination - though we were there before the season really started (which suited us). Pick your time to go swimming and diving though!
Trébeurden has a pretty large window of access, so we didn't feel the need to leave at 5:30am like the raggies next to us did - we waited until 10am and headed for Les Sept Iles - which are a wonderful anchorage (though do read the pilotage notes and take a good look at the chart - its rocky around there!)
Saw this going past in the distance, looking superb. Anyone know which boat it is (click for larger image)?
From there we had a look at Ploumanac'h - although their trot moorings are limited to 12m LOA, so we didn't stay, the entrance is worth it - some spectacular granite rose:
We opted for Perros Guirec. If you've ever been into Beaucette and felt the need to breathe in as you go through the entrance - Perros Guirec is narrower at just 6metres. Also - don't arrive there at about gate opening time, as there is quite some current in the marina then - as they open the gate a bit early. We went through at about 4knots. New underware time... The lights also seem a bit random, as the guy left the tower to come and take mooring fees - so boats approaching needed to judge whether the 3 reds really meant "no access". Local boats seemed to ignore them..
The locals are pros though and do it standing on the tiller...
Again, Perros Guirec itself is a bit of a walk up a slight hill. Lovely little town though and well worth the visit. Some fantastic foodie shops...
From there, we went around to Ile d'Brehat - with a plan to anchor for a while - but the visibility was poor as fog came in, so we only detoured briefly. Had to get photos of this lighthouse:
Ended up in Saint Quay Portrieux for a few days - where the sun came out just as we tied up. Very friendly staff who spoke English well. Gave us the lowdown on where to go, what to see and could we please be out by Saturday afternoon as they had a couple of yacht clubs turning up and some dinghy racing? Be aware that the bridge pontoons can be very steep though!
Town was okay, but we'd probably skip this next time - though it was convenient as no tidal restrictions. Next time, we'll stop in Binic but the tides made it hard for our return trip.
Reluctantly we had reached the end of our available time and had to return. We did overnight in Cherbourg on the way back, on the hook outside as we arrived late and the marina was rammed full. Lots of horns and partying, so we figured France had put Brazil out.. It wasn't as rolly outside the marina as I thought it might be. Even the pilot vessels waited until a little way past the anchored boats before caning it:
And althought it was a bit industrial, the sunset was lovely. You can see how settled the water was:
It was a fantastic week and although its a bit of a long haul to the Brittany coast - I can well recommend it - especially if you have 2 weeks. Not sure how it would be "in season" - could be very busy, but we had no problems just turning up in places. We missed out loads of places that we could have visited through lack of time - so its definitely a place we'll be going back to.
Cheers,
Rick
The marina folks were friendly, though the power was a bit dodgy and tripped if too many people boiled a kettle. Visitors pontoon is the first on your left as you enter the marina via the cill - find a spot and pay up when the guy does his rounds.
The town was a little walk away up a hill but had a wonderful boulangerie. Charcuterie looked good too, but was never open when we were in town /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif There's a couple of nice beaches if thats your thing as its a popular holiday destination - though we were there before the season really started (which suited us). Pick your time to go swimming and diving though!
Trébeurden has a pretty large window of access, so we didn't feel the need to leave at 5:30am like the raggies next to us did - we waited until 10am and headed for Les Sept Iles - which are a wonderful anchorage (though do read the pilotage notes and take a good look at the chart - its rocky around there!)
Saw this going past in the distance, looking superb. Anyone know which boat it is (click for larger image)?
From there we had a look at Ploumanac'h - although their trot moorings are limited to 12m LOA, so we didn't stay, the entrance is worth it - some spectacular granite rose:
We opted for Perros Guirec. If you've ever been into Beaucette and felt the need to breathe in as you go through the entrance - Perros Guirec is narrower at just 6metres. Also - don't arrive there at about gate opening time, as there is quite some current in the marina then - as they open the gate a bit early. We went through at about 4knots. New underware time... The lights also seem a bit random, as the guy left the tower to come and take mooring fees - so boats approaching needed to judge whether the 3 reds really meant "no access". Local boats seemed to ignore them..
The locals are pros though and do it standing on the tiller...
Again, Perros Guirec itself is a bit of a walk up a slight hill. Lovely little town though and well worth the visit. Some fantastic foodie shops...
From there, we went around to Ile d'Brehat - with a plan to anchor for a while - but the visibility was poor as fog came in, so we only detoured briefly. Had to get photos of this lighthouse:
Ended up in Saint Quay Portrieux for a few days - where the sun came out just as we tied up. Very friendly staff who spoke English well. Gave us the lowdown on where to go, what to see and could we please be out by Saturday afternoon as they had a couple of yacht clubs turning up and some dinghy racing? Be aware that the bridge pontoons can be very steep though!
Town was okay, but we'd probably skip this next time - though it was convenient as no tidal restrictions. Next time, we'll stop in Binic but the tides made it hard for our return trip.
Reluctantly we had reached the end of our available time and had to return. We did overnight in Cherbourg on the way back, on the hook outside as we arrived late and the marina was rammed full. Lots of horns and partying, so we figured France had put Brazil out.. It wasn't as rolly outside the marina as I thought it might be. Even the pilot vessels waited until a little way past the anchored boats before caning it:
And althought it was a bit industrial, the sunset was lovely. You can see how settled the water was:
It was a fantastic week and although its a bit of a long haul to the Brittany coast - I can well recommend it - especially if you have 2 weeks. Not sure how it would be "in season" - could be very busy, but we had no problems just turning up in places. We missed out loads of places that we could have visited through lack of time - so its definitely a place we'll be going back to.
Cheers,
Rick
