Crossing the Channel to explore Brittany

Nick Quirke crosses the English Channel for the first time to explore the intriguing coast of Brittany, welcoming many crew and sometimes sailing solo

Like many British sailors, I had been put off going to our close neighbour Cherbourg by the thought of crossing the Channel with its shipping lanes, fast tides and bad weather. Ensemble, my Etap 37s, is berthed in the Berthon marina, in Lymington, which is handy both for the harbour and shops and for the Salterns – the old medieval salt workings, but now a migration hotspot for birds.

Gathering my courage, before leaving for Cherbourg, I first needed to sort out the new rules for leaving the UK in a private sailing boat. A little internet searching brought me to the web page of Border Force and a form C1331 which has to be filled out and submitted before you leave. Having done this, I was free to go.

Cherbourg bound

I was crossing with Steve, a fellow member of the Royal Lymington YC who had a few days free; I would pick up other friends by arrangement along the way. We sailed from Lymington to Studland, leaving at around 1700 to catch the ebb tide through the north passage and pick up an eco-buoy on arrival.

These have been installed to prevent damage to the seagrass from anchoring and to preserve a habitat for seahorses. We spent a peaceful evening at anchor watching the sun set. Leaving for France from Studland has the advantage that the tides at the Hurst Narrows, the tidal gate that controls entry and exit from the Solent, don’t matter and one can leave whenever is convenient.

We left the next morning at 0645, to take account, once clear of the bay, of the flow of the tide overall for our passage. I wanted to arrive east of Cherbourg to minimise the risk of being swept along towards Alderney. We motored for 40 miles as the wind was feeble, before it strengthened and allowed us to sail the last 20 miles on a broad reach. We arrived at 1845 in Cherbourg, in time for supper.

Cherbourg is a port of entry for France, so we went to reception the next morning to find the French border police (PAF) there and had our passports stamped after a short wait in a good-natured queue. Since our trip, the French have opened up many more ports to arrivals so that there is no need to go to Cherbourg to start a trip to France. We stayed two nights, which was sufficient to explore Cherbourg.

On leaving for our next port, Dielette, we found to our dismay that Cherbourg marina had no fuel! Luckily we had half a tank left but it is something to consider if you arrive short of fuel. T

Temporary shortages of fuel were to be a feature along this coast. Having set off with the beginnings of the west-going tide, we soon found ourselves doing 11 knots over the ground as we turned the corner around La Hague which made a dull, wet morning more exciting than usual.

These tides cannot be ignored and repay careful study. Dielette dries outside the harbour with a nice display of sand which needs to be covered by the tide before entry. We anchored for a while outside while the tide built and then entered the harbour and went over the sill and berthed on ‘A’ pontoon. We got to know Dielette quite well before the trip was over!

Solo to St Malo

Steve then left on the bus to Cherbourg and the ferry home. The next day I chose to sail to Carteret, only 16 miles away. I noticed en route that my AIS was not working, something I also noticed on the way back weeks later. I anchored outside Carteret for four hours while the tide covered up the sands on the approach to the marina.

After a couple of hours my anchor dragged, due I expect, to the tide, so I reset it with more chain. The next day I had planned to head to Granville but decided to go straight to St Malo 45 miles away. I lost AIS again but still had GPS. I motor sailed in 10 knots of wind and was on the pontoon in St Malo at 1700.

It seems to be general practice to just turn up at these marinas, find a place, preferably on the visitors’ pontoon, and sort everything out in the morning. It took some getting used to but in the end I rather liked the relaxed and trusting environment. Overnight fees were in the range of 30-40 euros a night.

St Malo was a wonderful location, with a walled old city, plenty of beaches and a modern town. I went to the SNCF station in St Malo to meet Gil, my crew for the next stage. While we were in St Malo, we took the opportunity to go to Mont St Michel, which was only 50 minutes by bus from St Malo.

Historically the island’s position made it accessible at low tide to the many pilgrims to its abbey and defensible as the incoming tide prevented would-be assailants. The island of Mont St Michel remained unconquered during the Hundred Years War. A small garrison fended off an attack by the English in 1433. The abbey was used regularly as a prison before the French Revolution. Today it is a thriving tourist attraction and a worthwhile day visit.

After a two-day stay in St Malo and after consultation with the crew, we sailed to St Quay Portieux and then on to Tréguier, a marina tucked up the Tréguier estuary. A tricky entrance through the 300ft Passe du Gain and then very green pastoral scenery led us, over an hour later, to the marina. We arrived at neaps and so did not encounter the tricky cross tides that the guide books warn about.

Prominent in the town of Tréguier is the gothic cathedral of St Tugdal, which contains some very impressive stained glass by Hubert De Sainte-Marie from the 1970s including windows that tell stories from the Great War.

After an enjoyable stay in Tréguier we arrived in Roscoff. Roscoff is a small but pleasant town which has ferries to Cork and Plymouth. However, we found once again that there was no fuel in Roscoff.

In the afternoon I went to the Jardin Exotique next to the marina in Roscoff, which though small, made itself appear much larger, with winding paths and alcoves. There is a good viewpoint from which there are views of the marina.

Bilingual Brittany

I was now alone again, with the next crew member, Paul, not due in Roscoff for a week, so I had to decide what to do. I decided to go to L’Aber Wrac’h which would also be the westernmost point of my trip along the north Brittany coast.

I left around 0645 with 40 miles to go, and found fog all the way, so I motor sailed until I got to the estuary of L’Aber Wrac’h.

The wind now got up and I had great difficulty, once in the marina, getting parallel to the finger pontoon at the berth. After losing a fight with the warps and the wind blowing me off, I decided that geometrical perfection could wait until the morning when the wind would die down and I could pull the bow in. Sometimes when you are sailing alone it is better to accept less than perfect as long as it is safe to do so.

I went for a walk around the village, admired the striking blue of the sea, and quite by chance discovered a restaurant in the Baie des Anges (Bay of Angels) which had a magnificent view of the bay and served the most delicious lunch (oysters and a home smoked fish salad).

Aber is Breton for estuary and is the same place name element as Aberystwyth in Wales and Aberfoyle in Scotland, L’Aber Wrac’h is then the estuary of the Wrac’h river. Breton was introduced into Brittany in the 5th and 6th centuries by migrants from southwestern Britain. Old Breton, in use up to the 11th century, is known through glosses, words and names recorded in documents. A number of texts that date from the 15th through 17th centuries use Breton, mostly in the form of elaborate poetry whose pattern and sound resemble medieval Welsh poetry.

Return to Roscoff

After a couple of very pleasant days in L’Aber Wrac’h it was time to start heading back to Roscoff and to pick up Paul, who would travel back with me to the UK. The weather was quite rough, especially around the Ile de Batz, with Force 6 winds.

I eventually moored in Roscoff where I met Paul the next day from the Plymouth ferry. Whilst in Roscoff we visited the ‘onion museum’ which tells the history of the ‘onion Johnnies’ who used to travel to England to sell their onions which were grown in the Roscoff area. I don’t remember them as a child, but I am sure that they were a common sight to the previous generation.

From Roscoff we went to St Cast and then Jersey, where we were greeted outside the marina with driving rain, strong winds and a full waiting pontoon. Given the wind, there was no way we could raft up with the boats waiting to enter the marina, so we chose the nearest private pontoon and hoped for the best. We imagined having to move at 0300 due to an irate billionaire wanting his berth back but luckily, we were left alone. In the morning, we left around 0700 and headed for Dielette in more clouds and rain.

The day cleared as we approached Dielette and we came in to berth on the visitor’s pontoon; unfortunately, just as we were manoeuvring to get alongside a finger pontoon the motor stopped and would not start again. We were not going more than half a knot at the time and Ensemble briskly moored herself once we had lassoed the nearest cleat.

We tried several times to restart the engine but with no luck. I went to the boatyard to see if I could find a mechanic and in a mixture of French and English asked for help. Very kindly, a couple of the people working there volunteered to take a look and after a while diagnosed a fuel injection problem.

They refused all payment despite coming back after their day in the yard had finished, finally admitting they could do no more. They left us with the phone numbers of Volvo Penta dealers in the vicinity. Calling all the numbers, the best we could get was a vague promise to come in a couple of weeks! We had to leave Ensemble in Dielette and come back from Cherbourg on the ferry. Not how we had planned the return.

A few days later, my Berthon marina suggested Sea Start. Of course! I was even a member but had not realised that they had a French subsidiary. I gave them a call and they put me in touch with their French operation. They handled matters from then on. A month later we were (this time, with David) able to motor out of Dielette and bring Ensemble home. I want to thank Steve, Gil and Paul for making the trip and for being such good company.

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