Vannes - confused by basin opening times

[stranded]

Booked into Vannes for a couple of weeks from Tuesday 20 June, but am struggling to understand the lock opening times. All narrative sources indicate that opening is a couple of hours either side of HW between 0800 and 2200. But the table in the Compagnie de Morbihan site states that it does not open on the evening of the 20th - HW Vannes is 2110 and never in June is it open later than 1930. It all seems rather odd - does anyone know which is correct?

Also, as realisation dawns that this is not going to be as simple as I hoped, does anyone know the depth on the waiting pontoon below the swing bridge in case we get stuck there through a springs low water - we draw 2m?


Port de Vannes

 

[Poignard]

The reason is that the marina staff don't work later than a certain time.

I'm not absolutely sure but I think the waiting pontoon dries. I never use it.

I always wait further downstream, to the East of Arradon. There are plenty of vacant buoys to borrow. Or you could anchor out of the fairway.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Suggest you ring up the Captiniere. They may be the limitation rather than the tides as they control the bridge. However as high tide on 20th seems to be 21:10 I doubt they are about then. Suggest go up in the morning if suitable tide from Navalo or pause at port Anna for the night and go through next morning.

Plenty of water at Port Anna but not sure about the waiting pontoon by the kerino bridge

Quai Bernard Moitessier PO
Box 509 56000 VANNES

Tel. 02 97 01 55 20
vannes@compagniedesportsdumorbihan.fr

 

[John_Silver]

Was in Vannes last week, so have a copy of the Horaires Porte-Ecluse (which is also on Passeport Escales website - apologies no link, using phone for this). It is showing an 18.55 to 19.05 (!) opening, with a 21.10 HW for 20.6.23.
We came out on Friday with a half hour opening, an hour and a half after morning HW.

 

[Bobc]

It is France. They don't work all hours.

 

[stranded]

It is France. They don't work all hours.

They certainly don’t - a restaurant we wanted to try was open 1 1/2 hours at lunchtime and 1 1/2 hours in the evening, 4 days a week, and the one of those 4 days we wanted to visit they closed for some family thing. Another was open from 10am to 6 pm but closed from 12-2 for lunch. Got to love ‘em.

 

[stranded]

Was in Vannes last week, so have a copy of the Horaires Porte-Ecluse (which is also on Passeport Escales website - apologies no link, using phone for this). It is showing an 18.55 to 19.05 (!) opening, with a 21.10 HW for 20.6.23.
We came out on Friday with a half hour opening, an hour and a half after morning HW.

Cheers John - yes, I suppose opening for 10 minutes is better than than not at all in the version of the table I found. Still, I think we’ll aim for the rather bigger target of the morning opening.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Cheers John - yes, I suppose opening for 10 minutes is better than than not at all in the version of the table I found. Still, I think we’ll aim for the rather bigger target of the morning opening.

I would not trust the 1855 to 1705 without checking as the process is time consuming. Glad you are going for wider target.

The canal bottom has curved bottom so bilge keelers need to be postionally aware and keep away from edge except by pontoons but I doubt thats your situation with 2m

I expect you will enjoy Vannes. We did .

 

[John_Silver]

Yes, 10 mins does sound mighty tight, in the evening. On Friday the 08.00 turned into an 08.15 opening. With boats nose to tail through the old & new gates, right up to the bridge. Good job it’s so sheltered in there!
The timetable, which I obtained from the Capitainerie, is giving 08.30 to 11.00 for the morning opening. With HW at 09.00, for 20.6.23.
Enjoy your stopover in Vannes!

 

[stranded]

Yes, 10 mins does sound mighty tight, in the evening. On Friday the 08.00 turned into an 08.15 opening. With boats nose to tail through the old & new gates, right up to the bridge. Good job it’s so sheltered in there!
The timetable, which I obtained from the Capitainerie, is giving 08.30 to 11.00 for the morning opening. With HW at 09.00, for 20.6.23.
Enjoy your stopover in Vannes!

Yeah - must say I am a bit nervous about the whole thing - stupidly didn’t check the tide tables when we planned Hils travelling from Vannes - dead on springs possibly isn’t the best time for a first foray into the Golfe. Still, should be plenty for me to do while I am “home alone” for a couple of weeks. Thanks all for the advice.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Yeah - must say I am a bit nervous about the whole thing - stupidly didn’t check the tide tables when we planned Hils travelling from Vannes - dead on springs possibly isn’t the best time for a first foray into the Golfe. Still, should be plenty for me to do while I am “home alone” for a couple of weeks. Thanks all for the advice.

The golfe is actually a peice of cake if you are willing to use engine to ensure reasonable passage and its well buoyed. Just make sure you go up main channels past ile aux moines, rising up from Navalo at low tide. Vannes HT later than Navolos so you have time in hand, and as I said one can pause at Port Anna or opposite. If in doubt follow the vedettes. Exciting fierce currents in the narrows but everyone goes with it, though the fishermen's tinies sometimes creep along near shore the wrong way by having 60hp on something the size of a large bathtub.

Naturally we spent hours or days looking at charts, and had 4 plotter or gps systems on board the first time, but apart from sedately running onto shingle bank trying to sneak past a lumbering pack and the navigator giving me a piece of her mind, nothing happened untoward.

Enjoy

 

[John_Silver]

You can use the (approx 2 hour) later HW time in Vannes v Navalo, to reduce some of the tidal excesses. If you come through the narrows half an hour before HW Navalo, you’ll be swept up to Vannes for just before HW there.
Main thing is to get some waypoints dropped in from the ‘hard to starboard’ turn, off Gregan, along the bottom of Ile Longue, Gavrinis, Ile Berder. And watch your ground track projection like a hawk. You’ll be making 8-10 knots, but not in the direction in which your bow is pointing! A tick list of the key markers gives added reassurance.
15 minutes of excitement, followed by some very beautiful scenery to enjoy…. As Old Man says: don’t stand on ceremony. Use the engine.

 

[Roberto]

The reason is that the marina staff don't work later than a certain time.

I'm not absolutely sure but I think the waiting pontoon dries. I never use it.

+1

There are now two waiting pontoons: looking upstream, one on the starboard side, last year I calculated the charted depth of the channel side of the pontoon and it was 1m; the second waiting pontoon is on port side a few meters before the bridge, it has a panel indicating 0.5m charted depth.
MLWS and MLWN are respectively 0.25m and 0.7m, 2m draft being rather on the aground option.
Main advantage of the port side pontoon is it has mooring cleats with horns, the one on the starboard side has ring mooring cleats which with a bit of wind or residual current ensure some comical moments if one singlehanded steps on it with the two mooring ropes in his hands.
In an emergency, one could raft to the commercial vessels to spend the night, knowing that they usually leave at sunrise.
Enjoy.

 

[Roberto]

Another option, given the highly variable current speeds and differences COG/Heading that can be reached, I personally prefer transits to the plotter. There are a lot of conspicuous points (islands, beacons, headlands, etc) and by looking at any of them against the background, it is immediately visible if one will pass between them, or which way the boat is going.
If any interest, Vannes in Briton language is Gwened, sounds like "vened" --> Venet--> Venetia --> Venice, some say the same IndoEuropean "Venets" population migrated and settled into the Venice region, one part of it continued towards Brittany and founded "Gwened"; Julius Caesar himself in the De Bello Gallico writes "these Venets, only gents among the Gauls capable of mastering the nautical matters".
Partly or fully legendary tale, lovely anyway.

 

[Poignard]

I have an A3 size Navicarte laminated chart of the Golfe in the cockpit and I tick off with a Chinagraph pencil where we are as we whizz along at high speed!

Mk1 eyeball suits me best in the Golfe.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Another option, given the highly variable current speeds and differences COG/Heading that can be reached, I personally prefer transits to the plotter. There are a lot of conspicuous points (islands, beacons, headlands, etc) and by looking at any of them against the background, it is immediately visible if one will pass between them, or which way the boat is going.
If any interest, Vannes in Briton language is Gwened, sounds like "vened" --> Venet--> Venetia --> Venice, some say the same IndoEuropean "Venets" population migrated and settled into the Venice region, one part of it continued towards Brittany and founded "Gwened"; Julius Caesar himself in the De Bello Gallico writes "these Venets, only gents among the Gauls capable of mastering the nautical matters".
Partly or fully legendary tale, lovely anyway.

Well there are two different population groups and rows broke out betwen north and south about how to spell modern breton. The name comes from the imigration of britons from britain but there were kelts there already and possibly others

 

[stranded]

Sorry, didnt spot these latter posts until now - a bit of culture to distract me from poring endlessly over the charts and tide tables tonight!

 

[Roberto]

over the charts and tide tables tonight!

Once your practice of secondary port tidal calculation is completed you might want to cross check with the official SHOM tide table for Vannes:
Horaires de marées gratuits du SHOM
Webcam here:
Webcam en direct du Port de Vannes, Golfe du Morbihan
If you arrive at the late opening and forget to ask it before the Capitainerie closes, the current toilet code is 0630* (I was there two days ago). they are located on the same building, entrance a bit hidden on the side towards the car road.

 

[[3889]]

If you do have problems there will also be a buoy available with >2m in the final reach of the river before the port turn into the canal to Vannes.

 

[stranded]

Aiming for the early opening tomorrow - leave La Trinite around 0520 hoping to get to Vannes for 8.30 or 9am bridge. Not really familiar with buoy borrowing etiquette in France (or anywhere really), particularly because we are on the big side for these parts at 44ft and c.13 tons and don’t want to damage someone’s gear but good to know what’s around if it becomes a distressed decision! (When we first arrived on the Atlantic coast 7 weeks ago we were surprised at how few 40+ ft boats there are but can see now how smaller gives access to far more mooring options.)

Really thoughtful on the code Roberto, thank you - hopefully we will be there in plenty of time, and also have Paspprt Escale so hopefully that will let us in. Was it rammed when you were there?