Le Havre marina - anyone keep their boat there?

All_at_Sea said:
Thinking of moving boat to France - anyone tried Le Havre for a long term stay?
Click to expand...
Stayed there for a week when we took the mast down before a canal trip. An Irish boat arrived, coming the other way, and to fill in time they did some sanding and varnishing. Some guy (French!) was irate because the rules/convention was that no maintenance can be done on boats away from the Zone Technique. It was a while ago so it might be different now ... ...
 
All_at_Sea said:
Thinking of moving boat to France - anyone tried Le Havre for a long term stay?
Click to expand...
Head round to brest or Lorient or any of the marinas on the top of Biscay. They are lovely there. Port La Foret is a beautiful marina. Concarneu is the nearest town and Quimper is a city with Train access. Loads of good sailing around there. Marinas full of Imoca 60s and famous racing skippers.
 
Thank you. I have had a boat on the southern Brittany coast for 5 years so know that area very well, but we are looking for a base to link with the Brittany Ferry routes from Portsmouth for ease of access...
 
The easy access club marina has a waiting list when I looked a couple of years back but there was space in the marina you lock into... I thought the area was a bit bleak!

I have a berth in Boulogne marina and will move my boat there in March. 1500€ PA and all new facilities. (i have a 2nd home in the old town) I almost moved to Dieppe and the marina there is excellent and in the middle of town... Personally I think both are preferable to Le Havre bt its a matter of taste... There is a big marina at Caen I seem to remember
 
Ouistreham (!) is lovely, surrounded by trees in fresh water and 10 mins walk from the pompey ferry. Quiet, no passing boat traffic. Security OK on finger pontoons, none on others .Yards and liftouts close by. Canal all the way to Caen for added interest. Restaurants near marina variable quality and prices due to catering for ferry passengers who do not need to be tempted to return. Downside - you're behind a lock.
Boulogne - harbour- water filthy and smelly to the point of being toxic. Excellent showers etc and helpful office. Town not half bad. Old town V nice. Some distance from ferry. Often noisy with fishing boats day and night. Good security
Dieppe. Nice town. Nice harbour, facilities and office some way from moorings. Ferry, security and fishing boats as Boulogne. Seafood restaurant (Le Turbot) on dockside is to die for. Reason alone to stay there...

imo Fecamp wins hands down.
 
Last edited:
Old Bumbulum said:
Boulogne - harbour- water filthy and smelly to the point of being toxic. Excellent showers etc and helpful office. Town not half bad. Old town V nice. Some distance from ferry. Often noisy with fishing boats day and night. Good security
Click to expand...
As I live there part of the year I must say, on a daily basis, I do not recognise your statement. The harbour is linked directly to the open sea and is swept clean by the tide twice a day. Yes at LW springs there is a lot of mud around but that is true of every channel port. The long stay marina is brand due and in an immaculate condition. The visitors marina in the main harbour is also new and pristine. Yes Boulogne is the biggest French fishing port in the Channel so yes there are frequent fishing boat movements but none close to the visitors marina and the big boats go into the fish dock on the far side of the long stay marina.
Glad you like the Old Town... Its where I live! Calais tunnel and ferry port 30 minutes drive away... 50 minutes by train
 
I was referring to the Port de Plaisance, not te Bassin Napoleon based on two visits a fortnight apart last summer.
One thing that harbour is not is 'swept clean by the tide', the filthy water just goes up and down, there's no flow whatsoever to flush it except after heavy rain when the flow can roar through the Port de Plaisance from the overflow of the upper docks. Fishing boats come and go from the dock wall 30 metres away on the NE side of the basin.
It wsn't a bad place to stay, just a bit smelly in places mainly at low tide and the water looked horrible.
 
Old Bumbulum said:
I was referring to the Port de Plaisance, not te Bassin Napoleon based on two visits a fortnight apart last summer.
One thing that harbour is not is 'swept clean by the tide', the filthy water just goes up and down, there's no flow whatsoever to flush it except after heavy rain when the flow can roar through the Port de Plaisance from the overflow of the upper docks. Fishing boats come and go from the dock wall 30 metres away on the NE side of the basin.
It wsn't a bad place to stay, just a bit smelly in places mainly at low tide and the water looked horrible.
Click to expand...
Well on a daily basis the tide ebbs and the water in the harbour goes out to sea... On the ebb tide water always flows out of the upper basin.I think its intended rather than leakin lock gates ..I simply do not recognise the water condition you describe but will look out for it!
 
Sea Devil said:
Well on a daily basis the tide ebbs and the water in the harbour goes out to sea... On the ebb tide water always flows out of the upper basin.I think its intended rather than leakin lock gates ..I simply do not recognise the water condition you describe but will look out for it!
Click to expand...
Agreed, it can get a bit foamy and there is a “river smell aroma” sometimes which I quite like!
 
I like Bouogne but our commodore was visiting there, in his Anderson 22, some years ago & has pictures of the foam completely covering his boat with just the mast sticking out.It was formed from agitated Algae, when the lock gates were opened to release excess flood water from the canal. Many Dutch boats were covered as well. All the occupants had to leave their boats & later hose & scrub all the decks & cockpits. He says the stink lasted days.
I have never seen it myself but I always keep an eye out. I have seen clumps of foam but nothing to worry about.
I am also wary of striking fishermen chaining the port. A few years ago yachts were held for days whilst there was a dispute going on. That was when the ferries ran.
With Brexit threatening French fishing, they may do the same thing to British yachts again. So be on guard.

When I was in Dieppe in 2004 the harbour staff asked me to check the translation of a leaflet that they were proposing to hand to British yachts advertising rates for winter berthing. They seemed quite cheap & the HM explained that with a local ferry terminal they wanted to attract UK boats to the port.
 
Have you looked at St Vaast? You do need a car to get from Cherbourg to St Vaast (25 mins) and a very nice town with restaurants, shops etc when you get there. We have just paid €2015 this year for 9.99M. Portsmouth to Cherbourg in the Summer & Poole to Cherbourg in the winter. Portsmouth Ferry to Caen is also an option with a 1.5hr drive. It is locked of course so restricted access.
 
MickeyP said:
Have you looked at St Vaast? You do need a car to get from Cherbourg to St Vaast (25 mins) and a very nice town with restaurants, shops etc when you get there. We have just paid €2015 this year for 9.99M. Portsmouth to Cherbourg in the Summer & Poole to Cherbourg in the winter. Portsmouth Ferry to Caen is also an option with a 1.5hr drive. It is locked of course so restricted access.
Click to expand...
Makes me wonder if such places are really that much cheaper. By the time one has ferried one's car across & travelled to & fro & had the restrictions of limited access due to being abroad placed on them; is it really cheaper? My fee at Bradwell is under £ 3K . Although £700 more when winter launch /haulout & cradle hire is added. Probably the same overseas. I can go whenever I want.No ferries to book & easy to transport bits back & forth. I accept that it is not the south coast, but some , I believe, have considered the Netherlands from the east coast as a cheep berthing option. I cannot see the reasoning myself
Question!! is the 1.5 hour drive each way or total for both ways. By the time one has done a couple of trips (do not forget embarking/disembarking time) for maintenance etc., one could sail it one way :unsure:
 
Last edited:
The 1.5 drive hrs from Caen to St Vaast is one way. To be fair we have a house 5 mins walk from the marina in St Vaast so would be going there anyway. Whilst we were in London we kept the boat in Lymington YH which is superb but would be around £7k PA now. Lift out etc is also about 50% of the cost of Lymington. The only problem with St Vaast is if you are heading for the Channel Islands you really have to stop at Cherbourg to wait for the tide.
 
Daydream believer said:
Makes me wonder if such places are really that much cheaper. By the time one has ferried one's car across & travelled to & fro & had the restrictions of limited access due to being abroad placed on them; is it really cheaper? My fee at Bradwell is under £ 3K . Although £700 more when winter launch /haulout & cradle hire is added. Probably the same overseas. I can go whenever I want.No ferries to book & easy to transport bits back & forth. I accept that it is not the south coast, but some , I believe, have considered the Netherlands from the east coast as a cheep berthing option. I cannot see the reasoning myself
Question!! is the 1.5 hour drive each way or total for both ways. By the time one has done a couple of trips (do not forget embarking/disembarking time) for maintenance etc., one could sail it one way :unsure:
Click to expand...
The annual fee for my 323 sailing boat in Boulogne is 1500€ a year,, based on beam rather than LOA if I remember It is 30 minutes drive from Calais and in winter the return car ferry is less than 200UKP
 
Daydream believer said:
Makes me wonder if such places are really that much cheaper. By the time one has ferried one's car across & travelled to & fro & had the restrictions of limited access due to being abroad placed on them; is it really cheaper? My fee at Bradwell is under £ 3K . Although £700 more when winter launch /haulout & cradle hire is added. Probably the same overseas. I can go whenever I want.No ferries to book & easy to transport bits back & forth. I accept that it is not the south coast, but some , I believe, have considered the Netherlands from the east coast as a cheep berthing option. I cannot see the reasoning myself
Question!! is the 1.5 hour drive each way or total for both ways. By the time one has done a couple of trips (do not forget embarking/disembarking time) for maintenance etc., one could sail it one way :unsure:
Click to expand...
I’m not sure it’s necessarily about cheapness, more the change or improvement to your sailing area. It was a huge wrench and mindset change 10 years ago when I bought a boat in Croatia and put my existing boat up for sale in Weymouth. But a two hour EasyJet flight was almost always cheaper than a three hour train to Weymouth from home in London. I just had to think in terms of money and journey time, and forget about distance.

From my viewpoint therefore Le Havre is much further away than most Med marinas.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top