SolentSnowgoose
New member
Twice over the last few weeks we have been approached by French marina staff and told that anchoring is now prohibited even in areas that are clearly marked with an anchor symbol.
The first occassion was in the Anse de Kersos which is just opposite the entrance to Concarneau. Early one morning we were approached by a marina launch which had specifically come out from the marina and across the river to tell us that anchoring was not allowed in the bay despite being clearly marked on charts and in pilots and almanacs as a "recommended" anchorage. The bay is largely taken over by local moorings but there is still plenty of space to anchor off the beach on the north side.
However the crew in the launch were very insistent and tried to explain that the ban on anchoring was to protect the flora and fauna and had been in place for several years. On a subsequent visit to the marina we took this up with the staff and there was significant "awkwardness" when we got the Bloc Marine out and they discovered the anchor symbol in the bay. The response was that "the port captain has told us to tell everyone they cannot anchor in this bay, so its prohibited ". Final result was a decent discount on a marina berth .. ( honours even for the day but there s potentially a bigger principle at stake here)
Worth noting that there has clearly been some changes in terms of jurisdiction over Anse de Kersos as the Macmillan's entry suggests that there may now be charges for anchoring in the bay... but no comment that it was now a complete no go area!
The second occassion was in Le Poldu ( Quimperle river) where a nice new marina has been built ( but mainly for small boats) and where they wanted more for a berth than many much better equipped marinas. Again we had exactly the same situation and embarrassment when the Bloc Marine was pulled out , flat inststance that we could not anchor even in a spot clearly marked and described as an anchorage, again as a compromise we were allowed to use a local mooring for free beacuse the staff could see the contradiction and were pretty nice about it.
So ..what is going on?
What does the "anchor" symbol on a chart or in an almanac really mean ( almanac says "recommended anchorage" ) and on what basis can local marinas simply prohibit achoring in a marked area.
If there is a prohibition on anchoring being enforced then how should this get communicated ...in both cases I asked to see any formal "notices to mariners" or any marked chart showing a prohibited achoring area ... guess what ..nothing was available.
If there really is a fully approved marine conservation area then fair enough (said via slightly gritted teeth given this history of such schemes in the UK ) but otherwise if this is a try on just to drive custom into the marinas and away from traditional quiet unspoiled anchorages then how should we respond ?
What are the basic rights regarding anchoring ? are they international ? and how are they applied in France??
The first occassion was in the Anse de Kersos which is just opposite the entrance to Concarneau. Early one morning we were approached by a marina launch which had specifically come out from the marina and across the river to tell us that anchoring was not allowed in the bay despite being clearly marked on charts and in pilots and almanacs as a "recommended" anchorage. The bay is largely taken over by local moorings but there is still plenty of space to anchor off the beach on the north side.
However the crew in the launch were very insistent and tried to explain that the ban on anchoring was to protect the flora and fauna and had been in place for several years. On a subsequent visit to the marina we took this up with the staff and there was significant "awkwardness" when we got the Bloc Marine out and they discovered the anchor symbol in the bay. The response was that "the port captain has told us to tell everyone they cannot anchor in this bay, so its prohibited ". Final result was a decent discount on a marina berth .. ( honours even for the day but there s potentially a bigger principle at stake here)
Worth noting that there has clearly been some changes in terms of jurisdiction over Anse de Kersos as the Macmillan's entry suggests that there may now be charges for anchoring in the bay... but no comment that it was now a complete no go area!
The second occassion was in Le Poldu ( Quimperle river) where a nice new marina has been built ( but mainly for small boats) and where they wanted more for a berth than many much better equipped marinas. Again we had exactly the same situation and embarrassment when the Bloc Marine was pulled out , flat inststance that we could not anchor even in a spot clearly marked and described as an anchorage, again as a compromise we were allowed to use a local mooring for free beacuse the staff could see the contradiction and were pretty nice about it.
So ..what is going on?
What does the "anchor" symbol on a chart or in an almanac really mean ( almanac says "recommended anchorage" ) and on what basis can local marinas simply prohibit achoring in a marked area.
If there is a prohibition on anchoring being enforced then how should this get communicated ...in both cases I asked to see any formal "notices to mariners" or any marked chart showing a prohibited achoring area ... guess what ..nothing was available.
If there really is a fully approved marine conservation area then fair enough (said via slightly gritted teeth given this history of such schemes in the UK ) but otherwise if this is a try on just to drive custom into the marinas and away from traditional quiet unspoiled anchorages then how should we respond ?
What are the basic rights regarding anchoring ? are they international ? and how are they applied in France??
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