Colin and Linda complete their Brittany adventure, exploring Vannes, Quiberon, Concarneau, Camaret and Roscoff en route back to Guernsey
Our cruise from Guernsey to the Morbihan aboard our Princess V50 Echo Beach had all gone very smoothly. The V50’s joystick, coupled with the IPS drives and the powerful bow thruster, definitely helped.
Now we had our friends David and Debra Corson joining us. Having another pair of hands on board is always welcome, as is fresh company. Not only that, but Debra is an excellent cook! Fortunately, Echo Beach is well equipped for guests with two comfortable cabins, each with its own en suite facilities. We’d arranged to meet them in Vannes, two hours south of St Malo by train and an easy place to get to if you ever need to leave your boat in southern Brittany.
Echo Beach moored in front of the old walled town of Concarneau.
Vannes is also an attractive walled city, with many interesting features, lots of good restaurants and cafés, numerous boulangeries and a lovely feel to it. This was made all the better by one of the best markets we have been to in Brittany, all in a beautiful setting.
We visited Auray by land and the area by the bridge called Pont de Saint Goustan is small but very pretty and would be great to visit by boat, although given the tides and the shallow approaches there, probably not in a 50ft motor boat that cannot dry out.
The old town centre in Roscoff is well worth wandering through for a browse in the various shops
Vannes to Crouesty
On the day we planned to leave Vannes, it was blowing a F4 gusting F5. Because access is restricted by tide, we were due to leave as soon as the gate opened at 2pm. We followed the marina attendant down the channel, knowing that departing boats have priority over incoming ones.
Camaret town is pleasant… The highlight, though, was the walk around the coast
The gate opened promptly at the published time. However, the operator then had to get back into his dinghy, go to the road bridge and open that separately, which took a further 15 minutes – not ideal when you’re trying to hold station in a narrow channel with a F5 crosswind whipping across it. In fact, thanks to joystick control and my full concentration, it wasn’t as problematic as we had anticipated.
Before long, we exited the channel and were back in the main channel of the Morbihan. Although it was not at its best, due to the overcast conditions, David and Debra still enjoyed seeing the many islands.
Coming out of the Morbihan, there was a nasty wind against tide. Thankfully, the rough patch only lasted for a few minutes and Echo Beach took it in her stride.
A short while later, Crouesty came into view, and we headed in to find a berth.
The walk along the coast to Haliguen encompasses several nice beaches and scenic paths
The mooring in Crouesty was our worst experience of the trip. Having been told they could accommodate us, the marina attendant said they were very full and asked us to moor on the outside of a 40ft motor boat, which was on a small hammerhead at an angle to the main causeway.
It needed David and Linda’s hard work and expertise to tie us alongside as best they could but our bow was left sticking out into the fairway. Without lines ashore to secure us both and a forecast of F5 during the night, I was worried about a boat of our size relying on the smaller boats’ lines to hold us both.
In the end, I telephoned the marina and eventually they found us a much better berth. It was not very accessible from land but we were relieved to be on a secure mooring.
Moored by the Capitanerie in Vannes marina
Crouesty to Trinité
The next morning it was still F4 gusting F5. However, the Bay of Quiberon is like an amphitheatre and sheltered from most directions. Even when the wind is from the south, the islands of Houat, Hoëdic and Belle Île provide some protection. The resulting short chop meant we were able to maintain a steady 25 knots en route to Trinité-sur-Mer.
We called the marina office a number of times on arrival on VHF9 but got no reply. With nobody on site to direct us, we moored on the hammerhead of the visitors’ pontoon just behind a 25ft yacht. I presumed one or both of us would be asked to move later on, when moorings became available, but it never happened so we stayed where we were.
Pont de Saint Gustan in Auray
Trinité proved to be an interesting spot. The town itself is attractive and blessed with a good selection of appealing shops. We also enjoyed an excursion on The Petit Train, a tyred tourist train that takes you on a tour of the Carnac Stones – a series of Neolithic standing stones erected around 3,300 BC.
The marina was undergoing development work at the time of our visit, including the fuelling pontoon, which should now be better able to cope with larger boats. Thankfully, the captain was very helpful and proactive, showing us the old facilities at our end of the marina and the much newer (and better) ones at the other end.
The finger mooring in Roscoff was the perfect size for Colin’s Princess V50
Trinité to Haliguen
Our next stop was Haliguen, just across the bay on the Quiberon peninsula. This proved to be one of the highlights of our trip.
We were met on arrival and shown to a good finger mooring on Pontoon I. The marina is lovely, with three sets of modern facilities and another Petit Train that takes you to Quiberon Town.
In Vannes’ market
Quiberon was bigger than expected and has a pretty beach front with lots of activities. We decided to walk back along the coast to Haliguen, which takes around an hour and encompasses several nice beaches and scenic paths.
Haliguen can also be used as a base to explore Belle Île. A ferry runs there all year round from Quiberon, and in the summer months there’s a smaller one from Haliguen. We very much enjoyed our stay here and will certainly go back again.
We enjoyed Etel so much on the way out that we decided to pop in again on the way back for an additional night’s stay. We knew what to do and when, so as soon as we arrived, David and Debra caught the tourist boat up the river before meeting us for dinner at the Restaurant Le BB and a trip to the market in Rue de la Libération.
Carnac’s ancient standing stones
This was our longest passage since David and Debra joined us, but it was still only 37nm. We passed close to Île de Groix and headed for an old favourite, Concarneau. The marina is pleasant and the walled town is lovely to visit – a bit crowded in peak season, but quieter in the evenings.
The only moorings for a 50ft boat are inside of the breakwater. This looks to be a solid concrete pier but it’s actually made up of several floating sections that move independently of each other so do not tie up between two different sections. Also, ensure you are not too close to the next boat, as the movement can bring you closer.
Article continues below…
Boating in a Princess V50 to Southern Brittany part 1: ‘The Semaine du Golfe festival was heaving with people’
Channel Islands boating: Local’s guide to Guernsey and its stunning neighbours
Sainte Marine
Sainte Marine is one of our favourite places and although we had the pleasure of stopping there on the way down, we were keen to drop in again for a night on our way back.
On the day of our departure from Concarneau, I did my normal early morning croissant run to the boulangerie. On the way back, the skies darkened and within seconds the heavens opened, drenching me. It was an amazing thunderstorm and quite rightly, no one wanted to go to sea.
Echo Beach squeezes along the narrow Vannes channel
After a couple of hours, the storm passed, so we left our mooring and motored to Sainte Marine. It was great to be back and a visit to our favourite creperie, La Misaine, completed our day. Knowing how lumpy the Raz de Sein can be in any kind of tide, we left the Odet River two hours before slack water at the notorious overfalls.
Camaret
Although only F3 gusting F4, the forecast was for 2.6m swells. Sure enough, the sea was confused and seemed to be coming from several different directions as we passed through the various tidal streams on the south-west tip of Brittany. Nevertheless, we managed to maintain a steady 21 knots for most of the journey, and arrived at the Raz five minutes early. Our timing was spot on and once through the Raz de Sein, the sea flattened out and we had a good run to Brest.
We had such a good experience of fuelling at Brest’s Chateau Marina on the way down, that we decided to refuel there again. A quick call on VHF9 and the fuel pump was unlocked, with the attendant coming to collect payment once we were done. Very efficient.
Teignouse lighthouse on the tip of the Quiberon peninsula
We left Brest and travelled the 10nm to Camaret, heading for the outer, visitors’ marina, where we called on VHF 9 and were taken to our berth on the inside of the wave wall. It looked fine but the wall is lower than it looks and all visiting boats, including ours, had to quickly drop their fenders so they touched the sea. The bollards are a very old style and there is a constant surge, day and night.
Snubbers and nylon ropes helped take the snatch out of the movement but it was still pretty uncomfortable. It also had the worst facilities, being based in an old German bunker!
Although the marina was very disappointing, the walk to the town of Camaret, past the Vauban tower and the old fisherman’s chapel, is special and the town is pleasant with plenty of places to eat. The highlight, though, was the walk around the coast to see the semaphore at Pointe du Toulinguet, the ruins of the Manoir Saint Pol Roux, the Alignements de Lagatjar stones and the Liberation Cross at Pen Hir – all part of our favourite GR34 walking route.
The tranquil bay at Sainte Marine
After two nights of the unpleasant surge, we headed for Roscoff.
It is a surprisingly long distance from Camaret to Roscoff. You pass Pointe Saint-Mathieu, with its red and white lighthouse and derelict abbey, and up the Chenal du Four past Le Four Lighthouse, before heading east. It’s still 37nm from here, passing L’Aber Wrac’h, and as it was above half tide, slowly along the inside of Île de Batz.
Going around the outside of the Île de Batz is longer still, and can be rough due to the meeting of tidal streams unless you go a long way out.
Roscoff has a new “register my arrival” option on its website, which worked a treat. They were expecting us on arrival and showed us to a great finger berth, one of the best moorings of the trip.
The seafront at Quiberon
The walk to the town and the town itself is always special. We had booked into the Café du Port for lunch and had a great meal.
We had already sent in our “departure from the Schengen area” forms and were instructed to report to the douane office in the departures area of the Roscoff Ferry Terminal at 9:15. The officials were very helpful and efficient.
Formalities done, we headed back to Guernsey, via Sept Îles, and averaged 27 knots all the way back. The end of a great trip in a great boat.
French schooner looking majestic outside Concarneau
Lessons from Boating in Brittany
We contacted the marinas well in advance of our visit to see if they had any large events or rallies on which we should avoid. The only marina to say “Non” was Morgat, which will not take large boats.
None of the marinas take bookings for stays of less than a week, so the best approach with a larger boat is to contact the next marina a couple of days before arrival so they can give an indication of whether they can take you or not. The marinas in southern Brittany are fairly close, so if you can’t get into one, you can get to another in less than an hour. An early arrival, just before or after lunch, is ideal, as the yachts tend to arrive later in the afternoon.
The Liberation Cross at Pen Hir
Most cost around €44 a night for a 15m boat with no additional charge for electricity or Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is pretty slow in most marinas so a good 4G hotspot is the best solution.
The Passeport Escales loyalty card works well too. Etel, Crouesty, Île-aux-Moines, Vannes, Trinité and Haliguen are all part of this initiative. The card or app gets you into most of the facilities, your Passeport Escales number means the marina can look up all of your information and after a while you’ll build up enough points for a free night.
Gasoil is diesel and comes from the yellow pump. If there is a lorry sign on the pump, press it, and the fuel flow will go from slow to not quite as slow. We used 3,147 litres during the 597nm round trip.
Colin and David en route back to Guernsey after a fascinating tour of Southern Brittany
We only saw 16 amp sockets – no 32 amp sockets. Some electric points have push buttons, which you need to press every 24 hours. Take long leads and extensions.
Water connections mostly use the French bayonet type. Some of the cleats are just hoops, so it’s best to thread the rope through and take it back to the boat.
I took a video of Echo Beach going into each marina which you can view on www.digimapmarinas.com.
If it is your first visit, it is a great way to visualise the way in.
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