Falmouth to Brittany Christmas Shopping

[DeeGee]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd wondered if Lezardreux was a good option if weather rubbish and getting dark?

[/ QUOTE ]Nope. Lovely place, specially for anchoring about half-mile below marina, but some important buoys not lit.

 

[DeeGee]

[ QUOTE ]
If you are serious about just wanting a cafe/bar and no shopping then:-

L'Aberwrac'h is easy enough all tide entrance day or night with leading lights and daymarks - as long as it isn't foggy and fog is common on that corner. There are a couple of restaurants by the capitanerie, 2 creperies and a pizza/pasta/restaurant (quite good). Or again go upriver (20mins but not lit) to Paluden, put the half price mooring fee saved towards one of the restaurants by the bridge (west side one is best).

Trebeurden is easy entry day/night and has a choice of decentish restaurants by the marina, the marina is pricey though.

Perros Guirec is very easy to enter day/night (2 lots of leading lines) has loads of good restaurants from cheap to very pricey. Good value is Le Suroit on the far east end of the quay, it is a hotel restaurant. Entry similar to St Vaast up to +/-2hrs of HW depending on coefficient, waiting buoys about 1ml back up the channel (free).

Treguier is good and day/night entry but farther away and a long ways upriver -say 1.5hrs of winding channel with a strong flow at times - beware of the tide in the marina!

St Malo is good but IMO too far from Falmouth for a long weekend, probably the eastern limit would be Perros Guirec.

[/ QUOTE ]One thing about PG is that if you miss the tidal gate to get in the lock, then there is no place to hide if it happens to blow up a hooley /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif Same goes for Paimpol. Otherwise PG nice, but more touristic than Treg.

 

[jimi]

PM sent.

 

[Moonfish]

Many thanks replied.

 

[rwoofer]

[ QUOTE ]
Nope. Lovely place, specially for anchoring about half-mile below marina, but some important buoys not lit.

[/ QUOTE ]

Last year I found that the buoy that marks the end of the spit in the entrance to trequier river was completely unlit. If it wasn't for the chartplotter I would have been completely aground. This buoy and the fact that the access requires a kind of dog leg is why I found Lezardreux easier to enter.

Is the buoy on the end of the spit now lit then?

 

[DeeGee]

The buoy you mention, amongst many others, is indeed unlit. From Basse Croublent, one should come in on the transit betwee Phare de St Antoine and Phare de Port la Chaine, until the white sector of La Corne which is 4º wide. From then on, the absence of lights will render the estuary pretty dangerous without a plotter - but Lezardrieux would be far worse, even less lit marks and light-defined transits.

BTW: I am going to post a thread summarising a report by Voiles et Voileurs, which made my blood run cold, on the topic of electronic navigation, which for one year now has been a legal alternative to paper charts. There is NO requirement now, under the otherwise stringent French rules for yachtsmen (safety-wise), for paper charts at all, as long as you have an electronic alternative.

I have ventured up and down both these rivers in the dark, with anchor always ready. But draw the line at the Passe de la Gaine which is completely unlit, despite the likelihood of electronics failure being off the end of the scale. One should always be able to drop back to using just a compass and transit or bearing lights if something goes futt. Distant lighthouses and cocked-hats are just non-viable in these waters unless you have a dedicated navigator doing nothing else.

 

[jimi]

Yes, when totally dependent on electronic nav, I like to have a degree of redundancy!

My strategy is:
1) Waypoints on main chart plotter (down below) which repeat course and distance to waypoint as well as COG and SOG to the helm position.
2)Handheld chartplotter (Garmin 176c) with charts of area.
3)Laptop down below receiving GPS data to charting software. (Only used in dire straits).

 

[BlueSkyNick]

so you don't bother putting a splodge on the paper chart from time to time, then?

 

[DeeGee]

Back down to earth. Great. KISS

Sounds like our nav is pretty much the same.

Apropos of entering at night, you should have picked up on the way in from an answer to rb_stretch. Actually, if you study your chart, you will see that nav around La Corne lighthouse is the only place you need to be particularly careful. With a plotter, it is a putz.

Have you any idea when you might be making this trip ?? Weather allowing.

 

[jimi]

At the moment I'm thinking that leaving midnightish 27/10 looks good (neapish) but I ain't checked any crew availability yet. Obviously weather is in the lap of the gods.

 

[DeeGee]

Dont speak too loud Jimi, or you may find you need a crew selection procedure. I expect there a few lurkers who know you and are reading this thread - who don't fancy taking their own boat out for a trip to France this late: lack of enthusiastic family crew, boat rather small, lack of experience... who may be contacting you..... interesting to see if I am right.

Have you got some of those silk undies, darling...........?

 

[jimi]

Ho Hum just been told that's the kiddies half term .. so its looking like early November now!