Moving to La Roche Bernard

[dwp]

After a recent visit to South Brittany I visited a lovely marina at La Roche Bernard. Seriously thinking of moving the boat there next spring but would really appreciate views from anyone that has spent time there or currently berthed there. A slight concern is my draft of 2.3m and the time it takes to get out to sea. Don't want to make the wrong move!

 

[G12]

I think you might find that LRB has a large waiting list. It's a lovely place though, easy drive from the UK via ferry. No problem getting out to sea through the lock. Reasonable facilities around there (Arzal).

 

[AIDY]

have you been alocated a berth... as the poster above says it has a huge waiting list unless you have been lucky...

all the marina's from the odet river south seem to have big waiting lists

 

[dwp]

La Roche Bernard

Not been given a permanent berth, but they will move me around until permanent one becomes available.

 

[Jean]

Stayed on the campsite by the marina several times and love the town and marina location.

 

[Nostrodamus]

Only the French would call a town Bernard after a bloody great rock.
Now we brits would never do the same would we.... well that is if you exclude portland Bill.

To a lot of the French it is known as "little Britain" because of the ammount of British boats there.

We were in their last week and had to raft up on the outside of another boat as there is no other space over winter. As has been said there is a huge waiting list, probably about 10 years and unless you are there in person that list will stay the same length.

Most of this area of France has a long, long waiting list and from French friends I know they are getting angry as "forigners with lots of money" are taking places and driving up prices beyond their means.

Beause of the lock there is 3m in the river.

Also be aware they will give you a price to winter but electriity and water are not quoted in the price and more than one Brit has been supprised at the extra bill. It also an freeze over as it did last year.

It is a beautiful river but it is a couple of hours to get to the sea and there is a bar over the entrance to the sea. This can mean going through the lock onto the waiting pontoon overnight to leave the next day.

 

[Keen_Ed]

Used to keep our boat there in 75 and 76, when my father was working in Brittany. We were on a mooring on the other side of the river, next to the mouth of the small stream, just below the bridge. I see from Google Earth that there are about three lines of moorings now, whereas when we were there, there were about 10? boats in total.

We used to take the boat up to Redon for the winter, leave it in the dock overwinter, and just lift for a quick antifoul in the spring.

 

[Cloven]

We have a permanent "Passport Morbihan" berth at La Roche-Bernard (LRB) and have been there since 2006. We were on the waiting list for 4 years but were lucky in that our application coincided with the expansion of the marina around 2005. We have friends in the marina who have been on the present waiting list(s) for considerably longer. The actual waiting list time depends on the size of your boat in that there are different lists depending on size/draught etc. although none are short.

Many people arrive at LRB and take out a seasonal 6 month contract which, as dwp says, means your boat gets moved around into whatever berth happens to be free at any given time. There is also no guarantee that you will be able to overwinter although many do. Overwintering on the hard has been possible at Arzal downriver and Folleux & Redon up river although spaces are becoming hard to come by. There is an additional issue now that Arzal has started doing a "Port a sec" or dry sailing meaning your boat spends most of its time on the hard but they will launch it for you as and when you need it up to 10 times a year. This has led to far more people around and we have noticed visitor berths being much harder to come buy this season at both LRB & Arzal.

You mention a 2.3m draught. There are many berths at LRB that would be too shallow, particularly the ones closer to the river bank. A friend was in the adjacent berth for a few days with a 2m draught and he had 30cms under the keel. In the winter, they often drop the level of the river as a flood prevention measure and he would have been aground. He has subsequently moved to as deeper berth.

You would also have issues with getting in and out of the estuary below the barrage, particularly LW springs. It just means that you would have to time your entry & exit times carefully as has been referred to by Nostradamus. The barrage itself is no problem but best avoided early mornings & late afternoons Sat & Sun. As has been mentioned, many people go through at a quiet time and then pick up a mooring in the river downstream of the barrage so they can leave at a time to suit themselves. There has always been a small waiting pontoon just below the barrage not attached to the land. This year, another was put in with land access on the Arzal side of the river although it is not certain if this is to be a permanent fixture.

As for facilities etc, LRB has all you would need in terms of domestic facilities, - supermarket; DIY store; smaller shops; restaurants etc. There is a small chandlery adjacent to the marina but there are much better facilities at Arzal - 3 good chandlers (2 new ones have opened up in the last year); sailmakers; etc etc. However, it is all very much more expensive that the equivalent in the UK, apart from annual berthing fees which are considerably cheaper.

LRB is part of the Sagemor group and they have 11 marinas in the area. I referred to the "Passport Morbihan" earlier and this a great scheme that, provided you sign out for your cruise, allows you two free nights at any of the 11 Sagemor marinas as well as many other affiliated marinas. As long as you then leave for at least one night you can then come back for another two nights. Many of the affiliated marinas give you up to 5 nights a season.

See here for details:

http://www.sagemor.com/ports-partenaires.html

We have been very happy at LRB and use our boat far more now than when it was based in the UK (west coast of Scotland) - largely due the much better weather. We have also made some good friends, not only British but French & Belgian also.

If you want any more specific info, please send a PM.

Dave