N Coast of France

[DeeGee]

I have hopped along NCF from one safe harbour to the next. This time round, I would like to try some of the more awkward ones, and perhaps anchor off in places. As I remember the coast, it doesn't offer much sheltered anchorage - but I hope someone will correct me. Perhaps there are some estuarial spots I didn't spot?

<hr width=100% size=1>Black Sugar - the sweetest of all

 

[Cornishman]

Not sure if you count N Brittany, but there many anchorages and small harbours listed in Adlard Coles' N Brittany Pilot. The Baie de Morlaix, and either side, offer plenty of anchorages with many offering shelter from one or more directions.

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[Captain_Chaos]

Tregastel is worth a visit. It also has the advantage of being close to Ploumanac'h and Perros Guirrec which are useful boltholes if the weather deteriorates.

<hr width=100% size=1>I'd rather be sailing

 

[DeeGee]

PS Sorry, I didn't explain that I meant the top coast, say between Boulogne and Cherbourg.

<hr width=100% size=1>Black Sugar - the sweetest of all

 

[DeeGee]

As added above, I meant the N coast between say, boulogne and cherbourg

<hr width=100% size=1>Black Sugar - the sweetest of all

 

[Skyva_2]

I didn't find much between Cherbourg and Honfleur.
Possibles were:

St Vaast
Iles Marcouf (v. nice for a lunch stop, close in to the south of the north island).
Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches (the pilot book says OK in settled weather).

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[Evadne]

St Vaast is a very good and deservedly popular holiday resort. Why go to Cherbourg when you can go St Vaast? Perfect for a 3-4 day stopover for grownups or families. I found the Normandie ports pleasant but much of a muchness (Ouistreham, Courselles - Courselles is better). The inimitable Mr Cootes recommends Grandcamp Maisy, but I've never had the courage to go that far inland. Mulberry is spooky, I'd like to visit it properly.

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[steve_cronin]

Dear Denbigh

Or to be formal, Mr Gabbitas,

East of C'bg

St Vaast of course through a lock. Barfleur now takes the fishing boats that used to lie in St V.

Grandcamp-Maisy, narrow channel up to not much & best approached in a lift keeler. Carentan nearby has an interesting church but again only accessible (say) HW -1.5 Issigny, up the river from Grandcamp is a typical Calvados town, devoid of any sort of holiday feeling

Caen (Ouistreham) Muddy approach, narrow channel wait for lock on exposed pontoon is uncomfortable. Cean itself totally protected not just from the wind but from entertainment too - unless you like crappy french funfairs.

Deauville/Trouville - now things get MUCH better and these twin towns are a great place to spend a few days (or a week more often than not!)

Then it's into the Seine estuary and the best of all, Honfleur with it's mixture of genuine & restored medieval wooden buildings but after you've heard the Mexican buskers repeat their limited repertoire - as they do endless circuits of the cafes surrounding the Vieux Bassin for the fifteenth time you might decide that you have had enough of even this enchanting place described by Cumberlidge as "The Pearl in the Oyster" of the north coast of france.Then it's on across the estuary (life in your hands from the very busy Seine traffic) to Le Havre which caters less and less for yachts as the years pass.

Round Cap Antifer (always rough when i do it!) to Fecamp but I'll leave someone else to carry this on.

Going West from C'bg you first hit Omonville la rogue (I think) before going round Car de la Hague. In spite of seeming open to most North winds protection as well as seafood restaurant choice is very good. Good bus service to cherbourg.

Then after rounding the cape you have Goury (from where the Red Fox hydrofoils run (ran?) to Alderney. Nice little place but with a boat bigger than say 32ft you might struggle to get a berth.

Then it's Dielett, Carteret (new marina) , Portbail, Regneville - Nice spot. Then down to the edge of the Baie de Mont St Michele and granville - this is an excellent place but you need to work the tides as it has a sill but once in it again caters well for visiteurs - the Moules & Frites in the Yacht Club are very popular (and rightly so) at lunchtimes, the town is also very tidy and welcoming.

Then it's across to St Malo but you might (again with minimal draught) stop off at Cancale.

If you want any more then but a bloody Shell Pilot.

Word of warning- further west avoid the Penze river - or at least the upper reaches. Penze Village itself is the Village of the Damned!

Steve Cronin



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[Spacewaist]

...some of the more awkward ones...

Carentan
Just south of St Vaast - access with 2m draft needs a spring tide about HW-1 to HW+1. Dont try with a fresh onshore wind. An interesting sail up a canal and the lock into the town basin.Typical Calvados - not touristy. Grandcamp is next door and similar but need to take the ground.

Barfleur
Anchor off in the pool just N of the town. Good holding and a pleasant anchorage in offshore winds. Dinghy ashore etc.

Omonnville - west of Cherbourg.
Anchor off, or take the only visitors mooring. Dinghy ashore - a couple of bistros around the harbour - not much else.

Honfleur
Access needs to be timed carefully with the current in the river. An idyllic town though. Probably the best of the bunch.

Deauville/Trouville
The other "best" places to visit and a good staging point for Honfleur.

I sd say that, although not awkward, St Vaast one of my favorite destinations - well worth a visit in virtually any weather.

Off your scope, but round the corner, Dilette and Carteret are challenging to get into and out of, especially if you want to go between them on the same tide. (Excellent Michelin ** restaurant - hotel on left on approach).


<hr width=100% size=1>A pontification from the Panjandrum of orotund bloviation AD2003

 

[vyv_cox]

St Valery en Caux is interesting and very pleasant. Entrance dries and the tide rushes in when the gate first opens.

Anchoring at Arromanches is perfectly possible but, as someone else said, rather spooky. When we went in we were only waiting a couple of hours for the tide but we could have gone ashore safely. Best to buoy the anchor as there may be wartime debris down there. We didn't see any.

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[johndf]

The entrance to Grandcamp-Maisy didn't seem much of a problem to me, but watch out for the fairground rides that open up around 2300 local time. Carentan is a much better bet, up a quiet canalised section of river and totally sheltered inside. There's meant to be a bore in the river, but when we watched it on a spring tide, it turned out to be a little bit boring, though less so than the virtually non existent bore at Mont Saint Michel.

St Vaast is a nice stopover - we anchored off the harbour, which gave us a much better view than if we'd been in the marina, but I'd only recommendit in settled weather.

You could also try Barfleur - there's an anchorage just North of the town. The harbour as a section supposedly for visitors, but it was full of fishing boats in 2001.

I can't say I was overimpressed with the coast from Dieppe to Cherbourg. In my book the North Brittany coast beats it every time (except Honfleur, which is brilliant). If you do come 'round the corner' spend some time at Chausey if you get good weather. The approach is simple from the South and not too difficult from the North West, with trot moorings in the Sound, but some of these dry on springs.

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[heerenleed]

Cowards!

I 've just come back from my summer cruise. We actually went into St. Valéry-sur-Somme. I must admit: we kept our valium within reach as going in is quite an experience. We allowed for two hours to get from the West cardinal to the marina in St. Valery, we actually needed one hour only, as the tide doubles up your speed...

Mind you, the Shell Channel Pilot says all you need to know, except the outer cardinal is missing.... (I asked the French later, and they really lost it)
Fortunately, the first R and G buoys were in place (they told us that they had been missing as well) and everything turned out to be quite straight-forward.

The place itself is a marvel. Not quite the tourist trap Honfleur is.
Arrival seemed spectacular as the flood carried us along the Promenade at great speed, but as soon as you turn to stbd into the marina the current is vitrtually gone so manoeuvering is feasable.

Best time for arrival is some days before springs, as you may get neeped if you extend your stay too much (almost happened to me, but for being warned by a local)

All in all, a destination to recommend..especially as a couple of years ago the Somme bay seemed to silt up, thus closing St.Valery for yachts with any draft. After some winter storms it's all right now, but go for it before we loose it after another couple of storms.

happy sailing

<hr width=100% size=1>Peter a/b SV Heerenleed, Steenbergen, Netherlands<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by heerenleed on 18/08/2003 12:08 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[billmacfarlane]

I'm just back from a cruise from Chichester to Cherbourg, coast hopping to Fecamp and back home via Brighton. Not much I can say that hasn't been said already except that Fecamp is closed to visiting yachts from August 25th until 12th September as there's a multihull thing going on. They were prearing for it when I was there and it was a real pain. If you go to Deauville and leave in less than 4 days you're a better man than I am. I loved the place though I preferred the restaurants in Trouville.

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[steve_cronin]

Agree about the relative merits of the restaurants. That one on a street corner in a converted garage is particularly good as I remember. They also have what MUST be the oldest outdoor gas heating system around. Did you try the terrace restaurant at the big hotel next to the casino? Surprisingly cheap for the facilities, menu & service.

Steve Cronin

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[vyv_cox]

And what about the chandler's in the old port on the Trouville side? Has to be the best I have ever been in, bar none. Outside there's half an acre of pulpits, pushpits, grabrails and other stainless steel tubing. Loads of odd GRP mouldings, bits of hatches, tanks, seals and much besides. Inside it's a treasure trove of old and new stuff, the like of which is rarely seen elsewhere. We finally managed to find two stainless steel sinks to replace our old ceramic ones. Despite years of searching and collecting catalogues at shows we never found a pair that would drop straight in. This place alone is worth visiting Deauville for, apart from the other attractions that you mention.

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[steve_cronin]

Yes I remember that chandlery. You walk through several interconnected buildings and a lot of the stock is out in the open. It's near a derelict site and a lorry park off the road where all the old Bentleys meet.

Don't tell too many people!!

Steve Cronin

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[vyv_cox]

That lorry park was full of camper vans when we were there. Although some were clearly in transit, many appeared to have taken root.

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