Angele
Well-Known Member
I was in Dielette last week. Prior to that, my last visit was 3 years ago, so I thought I would post an update. For those unfamiliar with the place, it is on the west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula (the peninsula on which Cherbourg is located) and about 12 miles S of Cap de La Hague.
The most notable thing is that the lifting flap into the marina is currently out of action, pending replacement. (No timescale given). A cofferdam has been installed, the top of which is at 5.5m above CD. Normally, the lifting flap at CD+5m would drop (with a loud bang) when the tide reached that level, allowing access over the cill at CD+3.5m. The marina light signals are showing red all the time (as they do when the flap is raised).
The information on this is on the port's website (http://www.cc-lespieux.fr/fr/port-dielette/horaires-douvertures-mari/default.asp) but I hadn't seen this in advance, so the first I knew about it was when I approached the entrance and the tide gauge was reading 2.8m, when I had been expecting over 4.5m. (The tide gauge has been repositioned so it reads height over cofferdam, rather than height over cill).
The consequence of this is that the access times into the marina on each tide are significantly reduced. Indeed, mean high water neaps is 7.4m, so deeper draft boats can get neaped. It also means that, if using Dielette as a stopover to go through the Alderney Race and going straight out of the marina, your earliest departure time is rather later than ideal. For example, I had 8 knots of tide under me when rounding Cap de la Hague.
Of course, all the issues with the marina access can be avoided if you stay in the commercial port (CD-2m), but you do have to be prepared to use pontoon gangways that get pretty steep at low water springs.
Other news:
All the construction work that was going on in 2014 when I was last there is finished. New passenger terminal and capitainerie. All very swanky.
The free shuttle bus from the harbour to Les Pieux is running again for July and August (except Sundays). Four times a day in each direction, roughly every 2 hours (exact times on the website). 20 mins each way, and you get at least 2 hours in Les Pieux.
The café by the marina that does moules frites, the restaurant "Le Raz Blanchard", and nearby "Bouche a l'Oreille" all open as usual.
Best of all, a new wine shop has opened close to the boat hoist. Called "Une Bouteille a la Mer", it is owned by the same people who run Normandie Wines in Cherbourg. Indeed, the guy manning the Dielette outlet was the same chap I normally see in Cherbourg. Range is somewhat smaller than Normandie Wines (and some of the cheap lines like Bin 27 are absent), but the prices (and volume discounts) are the same.
The most notable thing is that the lifting flap into the marina is currently out of action, pending replacement. (No timescale given). A cofferdam has been installed, the top of which is at 5.5m above CD. Normally, the lifting flap at CD+5m would drop (with a loud bang) when the tide reached that level, allowing access over the cill at CD+3.5m. The marina light signals are showing red all the time (as they do when the flap is raised).
The information on this is on the port's website (http://www.cc-lespieux.fr/fr/port-dielette/horaires-douvertures-mari/default.asp) but I hadn't seen this in advance, so the first I knew about it was when I approached the entrance and the tide gauge was reading 2.8m, when I had been expecting over 4.5m. (The tide gauge has been repositioned so it reads height over cofferdam, rather than height over cill).
The consequence of this is that the access times into the marina on each tide are significantly reduced. Indeed, mean high water neaps is 7.4m, so deeper draft boats can get neaped. It also means that, if using Dielette as a stopover to go through the Alderney Race and going straight out of the marina, your earliest departure time is rather later than ideal. For example, I had 8 knots of tide under me when rounding Cap de la Hague.
Of course, all the issues with the marina access can be avoided if you stay in the commercial port (CD-2m), but you do have to be prepared to use pontoon gangways that get pretty steep at low water springs.
Other news:
All the construction work that was going on in 2014 when I was last there is finished. New passenger terminal and capitainerie. All very swanky.
The free shuttle bus from the harbour to Les Pieux is running again for July and August (except Sundays). Four times a day in each direction, roughly every 2 hours (exact times on the website). 20 mins each way, and you get at least 2 hours in Les Pieux.
The café by the marina that does moules frites, the restaurant "Le Raz Blanchard", and nearby "Bouche a l'Oreille" all open as usual.
Best of all, a new wine shop has opened close to the boat hoist. Called "Une Bouteille a la Mer", it is owned by the same people who run Normandie Wines in Cherbourg. Indeed, the guy manning the Dielette outlet was the same chap I normally see in Cherbourg. Range is somewhat smaller than Normandie Wines (and some of the cheap lines like Bin 27 are absent), but the prices (and volume discounts) are the same.
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