Permanent berth in Western France

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WalshamUK

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Does anybody have an idea of where I might find a permanent berth available in a marina in Western France. Ideally it would be within a few kilometres of a railway station, but I'll forego that if necessary. This is for a Beneteau 361 (10.9 metres LOA).

I've drawn a blank in my investigations so far.

Keith J.
 
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think you will find that marinas in that area will have long waiting lists. 10 years ago we had we had to wait 4 years for ours and then were lucky because of an expansion in berths within the marina. I have heard of current waiting lists between 12 and 20 years in places with preference to locals.

What you will be able to get is a annual "Port a Sec" contract that gives you a place on the hard with a number of lift in & lift outs included. However, once in the water, you are not guaranteed a berth anywhere.

PM me if you want more details.
 
There was a similar request here recently. I only remember it as I was after a french berth. Maybe rather than spend your life searching on Google, buy a pilot guide for the west coast and ring all the ones of interest. I think the marinas are probably quite full, but there could be a couple of swinging moorings available.

Start south of Crozon and work your way down. And if you find two, let me know!!

Di
 
WestWittering said:
There was a similar request here recently. I only remember it as I was after a french berth. Maybe rather than spend your life searching on Google, buy a pilot guide for the west coast and ring all the ones of interest. I think the marinas are probably quite full, but there could be a couple of swinging moorings available.

Start south of Crozon and work your way down. And if you find two, let me know!!

Di
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I'm thinking of taking a few days off next month to wander up and down Western France and chat to a few marinas. I'll report back if I find anything of use.

Isn't it ironic that the South Coast was full and now isn't - Brighton (where I currently am) has loads of places empty. Yet places that were not too full when I was last there (1999-2001) in Western France are now completely full with enormous waiting lists.

Ho hum.

Keith J.
 
davewarburton said:
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think you will find that marinas in that area will have long waiting lists. 10 years ago we had we had to wait 4 years for ours and then were lucky because of an expansion in berths within the marina. I have heard of current waiting lists between 12 and 20 years in places with preference to locals.

What you will be able to get is a annual "Port a Sec" contract that gives you a place on the hard with a number of lift in & lift outs included. However, once in the water, you are not guaranteed a berth anywhere.

PM me if you want more details.
Click to expand...

After doing some digging you are completely correct. Everywhere is full. :-( :-(

Keith J.
 
davewarburton said:
What you will be able to get is a annual "Port a Sec" contract that gives you a place on the hard with a number of lift in & lift outs included. However, once in the water, you are not guaranteed a berth anywhere..
Click to expand...

I hear one has opened at La Roche Bernard and it includes free short stay berthing at quite a few west coast marinas.
 
GrahamM376 said:
I hear one has opened at La Roche Bernard and it includes free short stay berthing at quite a few west coast marinas.
Click to expand...

Yes, we are in the Port a Sec at LRB. The annual contract has 5 inclusive launch and recoveries a year and Sagemor's full passport which offers free visitors berths in over 50 marinas along the French coast.

Just paid my annual fees - 2000€ for up to 11.49m.

We did an excercise last winter trying to locate a berth afloat in S Brittany without success and opted for the dry sailing option. We have not had a full season ashore yet; it was promised for us this time last year but they only finished the riverside works in the autumn so we spent the summer afloat.

This might be the only way to secure a place in France at the moment, I know that LRB are advertising space available. Let me know if you need any more information.

Tony
 
Try Arzal. Also Sagemor. When I was there in September, the marina office indicated they had annual berthing contracts available - though I only need 8m

The reason is of course the prices. The Brits will only drop prices when desperate to fill empty berths.
 
May I offer a more optimistic point of view: if you ask almost ANY marina in south Brittany about an annual contract, they will tell you about 5-to-10year waiting lists, which is the norm.

Try and ask for a *monthly* contract and you'll get a completely different answer: plenty of available places.
Most of the marinas work like that: they rent berths with monthly fees (obviously a bit more expensive than annual fees) for a few years, then give an annual contract.
"Monthly contracts" simply mean that they may move your boat from one place to another, yet that happens maybe once of twice a year at most. Myself and almsot anyone having a permanent berth here has gone through that: one two, three... years with monthly contracts, then annual berth.

To have an idea of fees, have a look at www.sagemor.com or .fr and you have the annual and monthly fees for a list of several marinas (I spend 2500 for 41' in Locmiquelic/Lorient, it costs about double in La Trinité for example).

Advice: try to book a monthly contract early in the year, just ask "I'd need five, six months say March-October", preferrably including july and august. In most places there would be no problems (yes). Should you need to stay for the winter, just add more months later.

If you do not book early (with payment in advance) but just show up on July 1st, you get a negative answer or will be charged the daily rate for the whole stay.
Mid January is the limit for being "early", though possibly with the current gloomy situation they may have more latitude.

Even during the past "golden" years when it was overfilled everywhere, hardly anyone one has been left on the hard, just a question of timely booking and.. price
 
Roberto said:
May I offer a more optimistic point of view: if you ask almost ANY marina in south Brittany about an annual contract, they will tell you about 5-to-10year waiting lists, which is the norm.

Try and ask for a *monthly* contract and you'll get a completely different answer: plenty of available places.
Most of the marinas work like that: they rent berths with monthly fees (obviously a bit more expensive than annual fees) for a few years, then give an annual contract.
"Monthly contracts" simply mean that they may move your boat from one place to another, yet that happens maybe once of twice a year at most. Myself and almsot anyone having a permanent berth here has gone through that: one two, three... years with monthly contracts, then annual berth.

To have an idea of fees, have a look at www.sagemor.com or .fr and you have the annual and monthly fees for a list of several marinas (I spend 2500 for 41' in Locmiquelic/Lorient, it costs about double in La Trinité for example).

Advice: try to book a monthly contract early in the year, just ask "I'd need five, six months say March-October", preferrably including july and august. In most places there would be no problems (yes). Should you need to stay for the winter, just add more months later.

If you do not book early (with payment in advance) but just show up on July 1st, you get a negative answer or will be charged the daily rate for the whole stay.
Mid January is the limit for being "early", though possibly with the current gloomy situation they may have more latitude.

Even during the past "golden" years when it was overfilled everywhere, hardly anyone one has been left on the hard, just a question of timely booking and.. price
Click to expand...

I asked for somebody else in Locmiquélic and that was the type of answer I got. First of all there are two marinas : St Catherine and Pen Mané; they have swinging moorings and they can do lift-outs if necessary. The answer was that they would try to find a solution.
 
zikzik said:
Try Arzal. Also Sagemor. When I was there in September, the marina office indicated they had annual berthing contracts available - though I only need 8ms.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I'll give them a try.

Roberto said:
May I offer a more optimistic point of view: if you ask almost ANY marina in south Brittany about an annual contract, they will tell you about 5-to-10year waiting lists, which is the norm.

Try and ask for a *monthly* contract and you'll get a completely different answer: plenty of available places.
Most of the marinas work like that: they rent berths with monthly fees (obviously a bit more expensive than annual fees) for a few years, then give an annual contract.
"Monthly contracts" simply mean that they may move your boat from one place to another, yet that happens maybe once of twice a year at most. Myself and almsot anyone having a permanent berth here has gone through that: one two, three... years with monthly contracts, then annual berth.

To have an idea of fees, have a look at www.sagemor.com or .fr and you have the annual and monthly fees for a list of several marinas (I spend 2500 for 41' in Locmiquelic/Lorient, it costs about double in La Trinité for example).

Advice: try to book a monthly contract early in the year, just ask "I'd need five, six months say March-October", preferrably including july and august. In most places there would be no problems (yes). Should you need to stay for the winter, just add more months later.

If you do not book early (with payment in advance) but just show up on July 1st, you get a negative answer or will be charged the daily rate for the whole stay.
Mid January is the limit for being "early", though possibly with the current gloomy situation they may have more latitude.

Even during the past "golden" years when it was overfilled everywhere, hardly anyone one has been left on the hard, just a question of timely booking and.. price
Click to expand...

Good info - thank you!

Di
 
Roberto said:
ANY marina in south Brittany about an annual contract, they will tell you about 5-to-10year waiting lists, which is the norm.
Click to expand...



I think you will find that waiting lists are shorter for the marinas on the north coast of Brittany. Try Paimpol, Treguier, Lezadrieux etc. A nice part of the world, but as a cruising ground, is not for the faint-hearted.
 
Additional info - end Feb 2014...

I added my boat (a Beneteau Oceanis 361) to the waiting list at 28 marinas in Western France. This was done in late Jan 2013, and all replied that they were full. So far this year (24Feb2014) I have received offers of permanent berths from Brest and from La Roche Bernard. Annual cost = approx 2000 euros i.e. less than half my current berth in Brighton, and less than one third what I would pay in the Solent. La Roche Bernard is behind a lock, but includes a Passeport Morbihan which gives free short term (up to 5 nights) stays at many (most?) other marinas nearby.

So all is not as hopeless as it seems.

Keith J.
 
WalshamUK said:
La Roche Bernard is behind a lock,
Click to expand...

You might want to check this with someone who knows LRB - but my info is that the lock is an absolute scrum, at weekends, so using LRB as a permanent base (eg lots of coming and going) can be very frustrating. I guess not so bad if you want to use it as a parking lot between more extended cruises. Or if you're happy to use the Villaine as your cruising ground.
 
Twister_Ken said:
You might want to check this with someone who knows LRB - but my info is that the lock is an absolute scrum, at weekends, so using LRB as a permanent base (eg lots of coming and going) can be very frustrating. I guess not so bad if you want to use it as a parking lot between more extended cruises. Or if you're happy to use the Villaine as your cruising ground.
Click to expand...

Can be very busy but if you can use it outside the busy periods it can be quiet, even in July/Aug.
 
Twister_Ken said:
You might want to check this with someone who knows LRB - but my info is that the lock is an absolute scrum, at weekends, so using LRB as a permanent base (eg lots of coming and going) can be very frustrating. I guess not so bad if you want to use it as a parking lot between more extended cruises. Or if you're happy to use the Villaine as your cruising ground.
Click to expand...

Sometimes it can be busy so you might have to wait an hour before you get through.
The only real problem with the Arzal lock can be if it has reduced operating hours if the water level flow is low in the summer.
The lock is very well organised and the times we have used it and watched it being used have been fine. Just make sure you are not towing a dinghy and have plenty of fenders.
I watched an incredibly well organised Flotilla of over 30 boats returning one busy Sunday summer evening from the islands of Houat and Hoedic. The boats organised themselves into rafts of three abreast outside the lock. Impressive boathandling and cameraderie amongst the multilinational fleet . Within an hour over 50 boats had gone through.

The worst offenders were the red and blue ensigns who tried to jump the queue!
 
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