Advice on French ports north of La Rochelle

[Logie]

Hi, We pick up our new FP 44ft Helia catamaran in July 2018 so will not have a lot of season left to cruise and would appreciate some advice re ports to visit between La Rochelle and Copenhagen. We would like to get around 3 months cruising in going north before we winterise as the following season we will spend in the Med prior to the ARC in Nov 2019. Any recommendations for great harbours and towns and even suggestions on where to winterise would be much appreciated by us Aussies. Thanks Logie

[Montymariner]

I did a trip round some of N Brittany in 2012, there are some Pics HERE this was the route:

[Logie]

Dear Monty Mariner, What a great trip. Thank you for for the log with your distances and times that helps a great deal. And I really enjoyed your blog and photo's. Were there any ports there that stood out as an 'I must spend more time here on another trip'? or any that you would definitely not bother again.
Cheers Logie

[Montymariner]

Hennebont is oldie worldie and a good sheltered refuge (boat yard there builds Trimarans and Cats)
I liked Concarneau
Quimper is a quiet anchorage
Benodet / River Odet is nice
St Evette Bay is a good jump off point to go up the Raz
I like Carmaret ( try and get into the 'inner' marina near the town, the first marina you come to is crap and a long hike to town)
If you have the time, go round into the Rade du Brest and up the Aulne River
Roscoff is just a tourist village, the marina (a 15min walk from Roscoff) has a strong current flowing through it between HW and LW slack. Saint-Pol-de-Léon, a bus/cycle/taxi ride away is worth a visit
Primel just E of Roscoff is a small port with fore and aft visitors buoys but has 24hr access, as does Port Blanc (swinging visitors buoys). Most of the marinas along that section of the N Brittany coast have limited access restricted to around HW.
Also
THESE Tide Stream Charts might be useful to put on your Phone / Tablet

[Cherod]

logie,,,, that was a fantastic post post by " monty " and may well provide you with any / all information which you may need , if I may contribute my 2 pence worth ( which you may or may not find helpful ) , if you can ( obv everything being equal ) if you can, make the effort to get up to Cuxhaven and avail your self of their fantastic services ( americahaven club ) and wait for suitable weather window to see you throo the canal , the rest is just a pleasure ,, enjoy...

[Logie]

Thanks again Monty, it gives us a great starting point to plan our trip north and the tidal stream charts are a fantastic addition.

[Logie]

Thank you Cherod, this is exactly what we were hoping for, suggestions of where other Forum members have been and highly recommend. Cuxhaven will certainly be added to the list. 'So many places to see, so little time'... Cheers Logie

[Montymariner]

Logie, can you give a bit more info on your intentions.
As I understand it, you are starting at La Rochelle then intend heading North along the French, Belgian, Dutch coast toward Copenhagen, all in three months!
Wintering somewhere, then heading back down the coast in 2019 and into the Med, then coming out of the Med, probably in September, to get to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to start the ARC in November.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, as I suggest that this, as I describe it, is not a feasible plan if you intend to stop and see anything on route.
You could easily spend your three months in 2018 exploring between La Rochelle and St Malo and maybe take in Jersey on route but going further North would be a jump to far. Then in 2019 you can easily lose four months exploring Galicia - Spain, and three months in Portugal, which would get you down to the Algarve ready for the hop across to Las Palmas. Again, IMO going round into the med is a jump to far.

[Stu Jackson]

Duoarnenez is lovely, but a day's sail into the Ria. Worth it if you have the time. Before Brest heading north. We spent a few weeks in town, capped off by a ride ina government launch to see The Brest 96 fleet sail in. Spectacular!!!

[c-reel]

You can stop everywhere in Bretagne. This is ZE most beautiful place in the planet ...


From La Rochelle to north Bretagne, places not to miss (not exhaustive):

South:
- Ile d'Yeu
- Belle Ile, Groix, Hoedic
- Les Glenans
- Golf du Morbihan is cool too.

North:
Every single places ;-) Some places are a bit challenging, due to current, tides, and weather changing fast, even in mid summer.

Ile de Brehat (an absolute must, but dont tell)
Iles des Ebihens, La Rance, Saint-Malo, Cancale ...

The English channel island are great too. If you get there, a stop at Sark/Serq is also a must.

Watch this video too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvcWPdi8OJI

Not sure why you want to go up to Denmark if you are thinking going to the med in 2019?
(fancy a joint trip to Norway instead ;-) ?

There are some super nice places in south England too (not as good as Bretagne, but i'm biased). Torquay is one.

If winterizing in France (or check UK too), "english" channel (real name = La Manche, #gobrexit), harbors will be significantly cheaper than anything south (1/2 or even 1/3).
But few have spots for a large cat.


Also to get from La Rochelle to La Manche, you have to cross this interesting places called Le raz de Sein and the Pointe Saint-Mathieu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re8M8dCqbQY

Probably in French, but words dont matter much here ;-)