West Brittany - recommenced charts and cruising guides?

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West Coast

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So, following earlier post re 2020 Brittany cruise, extra leave from work is granted and plans underway!

Idea is to sail there from the Clyde over a week in June, leave the boat in the Brest area for a couple of weeks, then take most of July to Cruise the west Brittany coast, returning to the Clyde at the end of July.

Two questions - first, what sailing guides would the panel recommend for the west Brittany area?

Secondly, perhaps more controversial, what charts would people recommend? I have navionics based plotter and will buy navionics charts for the area. Also run navionics on my iPad, will extend the area on the iPad also. So thinking, what paper charts would be wise to have as backup and for planning? I appreciate thinking is moving on this one, as electronics are becoming more reliable and with 2 independent electronic chart systems, how detailed paper charts are needed? Interested to hear peoples thoughts on this one?

Thanks
 
West Coast said:
So, following earlier post re 2020 Brittany cruise, extra leave from work is granted and plans underway!

Idea is to sail there from the Clyde over a week in June, leave the boat in the Brest area for a couple of weeks, then take most of July to Cruise the west Brittany coast, returning to the Clyde at the end of July.

Two questions - first, what sailing guides would the panel recommend for the west Brittany area?

Secondly, perhaps more controversial, what charts would people recommend? I have navionics based plotter and will buy navionics charts for the area. Also run navionics on my iPad, will extend the area on the iPad also. So thinking, what paper charts would be wise to have as backup and for planning? I appreciate thinking is moving on this one, as electronics are becoming more reliable and with 2 independent electronic chart systems, how detailed paper charts are needed? Interested to hear peoples thoughts on this one?

Thanks
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We found the RCC pilotage Foundation Atlantic France to be a superb pilot guide, well worth it.
As I like reading about cruising areas, we also invested in the excellent Cruising Companions, for West France and North Brittany & Chanel Islands. Their more quirky and personal perspective complements the authoritative RCCPF volume excellently - eg read their views on the harbour experience at Belle Isle (though if buying only one it would be the RCCPF one).

Charts wise we used the NV chart folios, which were also excellent.

Have a great cruise

Enjoy your trip
 
dunedin said:
We found the RCC pilotage Foundation Atlantic France to be a superb pilot guide, well worth it.
As I like reading about cruising areas, we also invested in the excellent Cruising Companions, for West France and North Brittany & Chanel Islands. Their more quirky and personal perspective complements the authoritative RCCPF volume excellently - eg read their views on the harbour experience at Belle Isle (though if buying only one it would be the RCCPF one).

Charts wise we used the NV chart folios, which were also excellent.

Have a great cruise

Enjoy your trip
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I use Raymarine / Navionics charts for the French Atlantic coast from Brest down to Spain, OpenCPN / Win10 Tablet for backup and French SHOM charts for detail - Baie de Quiberon and Morbihan.

If your French is passable get the Bloc Marine guide: https://www.svb24.com/en/bloc-marine-cruising-guide.html The 2020 edition should be out in January - half the price of Reeds and at least as good if not better (IMHO of course)

When you say the 'West Brittany Coast' do you mean Southern Brittany or literally just the Brest area ?
 
Definitely get BlocMarine (it's bilingual) and has a useful chart section. If you are buying paper charts I would suggest buying a different make to your electronic charts as the same make will just have the same info / mistakes! I would buy SHOM.
 
Lightwave395 said:
I use Raymarine / Navionics charts for the French Atlantic coast from Brest down to Spain, OpenCPN / Win10 Tablet for backup and French SHOM charts for detail - Baie de Quiberon and Morbihan.

If your French is passable get the Bloc Marine guide: https://www.svb24.com/en/bloc-marine-cruising-guide.html The 2020 edition should be out in January - half the price of Reeds and at least as good if not better (IMHO of course)

When you say the 'West Brittany Coast' do you mean Southern Brittany or literally just the Brest area ?
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My preference was Imray for paper charts. BLOC marine almanac is unbeatable and the various 'Pilotes Cotiers' in all chandlers over there, for excellent anchorage and pilotage info, easy enough french with good pictures and shows way more than usual UK guides, even do southern coastal/scilly uk guides that are excellent.
edited to add:-

SHOM charts for Isles de Glenans and Morbihan.
 
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We just use the Secret Anchorages book and didn’t bother with a pilot guide. We also added a few on Navily along the way.
 
john_morris_uk said:
May I humbly suggest to best enjoy the cruising area you need to anchor sometimes.

How can you miss out anchoring in the Morbihan off Isles au Moine etc and off Houat.
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Plus around Belle Isle. I have an Arial pic of Houat framed and on the wall in front of me right now, a VERY special place.

Peter Cumberlidge's book re secret anchorages IMHO came largely from the excellent French pilotes cotiers guides. We only used marinas for major shopping trips, laundry and water/fuel replenishing rarely if ever more than a single overnighter.
 
Robin said:
Plus around Belle Isle. I have an Arial pic of Houat framed and on the wall in front of me right now, a VERY special place.

Peter Cumberlidge's book re secret anchorages IMHO came largely from the excellent French pilotes cotiers guides. We only used marinas for major shopping trips, laundry and water/fuel replenishing rarely if ever more than a single overnighter.
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What Robin isn’t admitting is that he and his wife and ourselves have met in S Brittany and cruised in company round these very waters.
 
john_morris_uk said:
What Robin isn’t admitting is that he and his wife and ourselves have met in S Brittany and cruised in company round these very waters.
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And very pleasurable times indeed John. We first cruised down to La Rochelle in the early 1980s, in the days before GPS and plotters, though we had Decca, and Adlard Coles ruled the pilot world. I cried real tears when leaving Treac'h er Salus anchorage on Houat for home in Poole for what I though was to be the last time, before stupidly moving to Florida, a stupidity now of course remedied. IIRC there is a Breton saying about Le Raz de Sein that roughly translates to 'nobody passes without fear or sorrow' so very very true. Although back afloat and living on board a mobo, fuel consumption and cost precludes all but perhaps one last hurrah trip to blow the kids remaining meagre inheritance. But despite a stroke I have been lucky enough to retain all the wonderful memories of cruising the area and even of winter golf trips overland.Lovely place, lovely food and lovely people.
 
northcave said:
We just use the Secret Anchorages book and didn’t bother with a pilot guide. We also added a few on Navily along the way.
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Our experience was the opposite, finding this book disappointing. Few of the anchorages were “secret”, these being covered in the main pilot books, which were more comprehensive and covered more choices.
Also many of the “anchorages”, particularly in Morbihan were now filled by moorings.
Different experiences I guess.
 
dunedin said:
Our experience was the opposite, finding this book disappointing. Few of the anchorages were “secret”, these being covered in the main pilot books, which were more comprehensive and covered more choices.
Also many of the “anchorages”, particularly in Morbihan were now filled by moorings.
Different experiences I guess.
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:encouragement: The thing that made it Secret was the lack of location Lat / Long for someone not familiar with the area.
 
dunedin said:
Our experience was the opposite, finding this book disappointing. Few of the anchorages were “secret”, these being covered in the main pilot books, which were more comprehensive and covered more choices.
Also many of the “anchorages”, particularly in Morbihan were now filled by moorings.
Different experiences I guess.
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many of the anchorages in the main UK pilot guides were stated as for very fair weather only or otherwise risky, one such off Isle de Yeu described as amongst the rocks was occupied by many dozens of french yachts when we arrived. Ster Vras on Bell isle(that leads to Ster Wenn) carried warnings to post a lookout with polaroids on the foredeck to point the way through dangerous rocks -all of which were above normal water levels, I snorkelled the entire area once anchored (And only with a CQR-how risky..) looking for the described culprits.! We tried every fjord anchorage on Belle Isle on the open ocean side over the years, avoiding the slightest of swells being the only caveat or les andouilles rolled off the barbie
 
I remember finding Neville Featherstone's pilot book of Western France very valuable last time, but I have forgotten who publishes it. edit: 'The West France Cruising Companion', published by a certain 'Yachting Monthly'..
His timing suggestions for the CdF and the Raz seemed conter-intuitive but worked out perfectly, and his tone is ever so slightly eccentric and off-beat, showing a warm affection for the area.
(Although comments in this thread are great as well).
And if you stop in Roscoff, don't miss the Onion Johnny museum!
 
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WalshamUK said:
Try and continue on to La Rochelle. You won't regret it.
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Las Rochelle is OK - if you like large towns, but we didn't enjoy the coast on the way down. Les Sables is a dump (for us - other opinions are available) and we find there's no real advantage in going much further than Isle de Noirmoutier and we often didn't bother to go that far.

northcave said:
We just use the Secret Anchorages book and didn’t bother with a pilot guide. We also added a few on Navily along the way.
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I've almost totally given up reading about 'anchorages'. I tend to look at the weather, look at the chart closely (and the nature of the seabed and shelter available) and either anchor or not. I had a YM candidate try to tell me a few weeks ago that because there wasn't a little 'anchor symbol' on the chart, you couldn't anchor there.
 
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