three days` escape in morbihan

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Text and photos : Philippe Echelle
Marie Galante ? No, Belle Ile (Port an Dro) !
THREE DAYS’ ESCAPE
IN MORBIHAN
Marie Galante ? Non Belle île (Port an dro) !
South Brittany is a nautical paradise which offers an inexhaustible
selection of cruising aims. From the Glénans archipelago to the
Loire estuary, this region provides everything a leisure sailor could
wish for, and you don’t need to have a big boat to cruise there.
The area is well-suited to peaceful, short outings; longer trips will
need some time, as discovering
the secrets of this maritime territory relates to a real spirit of
‘conquest’ and is available in an
infinite number of forms, depending on the chosen craft.
REDISCOVERING THE ‘BAIE
DE QUIBERON’, THE ‘GOLFE’
AND THE ISLANDS
The Baie de Quiberon is an
exceptional nautical stadium,
which is exciting to cross at 20
knots on a trimaran, but the tester’s frenzy can easily relegate
one of the most attractive
aspects of leisure sailing, day
cruising, to the background... The
idea of sauntering around the
islands was prompted the last
time I sailed round Belle Ile
aboard a Freydis 49; the complicity of Mathieu Jones, the multihull charter specialist in La
Trinité, did the rest.
The helmsman is only 12 years old, but the crew is looking out
for squalls! On the way to the Teignouse, completely relaxed...
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PUTTING A SAILING
PROGRAMME TOGETHER
CAN BE A HEADACHE!
The possible destinations in this
limited, but so dense and varied
cruising area are innumerable.
The solutions suited to the
crew’s expectations, the weather conditions and the time
available are many, and are
available over several minicruises aboard different supports. If you have one week
available, from La Trinité, you
will be able to leave the Baie de
Quiberon and push as far as the
Glénans archipelago and the
rias. Aven, Merrien, Doëlan,
Laïta are all reserved for small
boats which can take the
ground, the Belon will not pose
any other problems than that of
finding an unoccupied mooring
buoy … and a table "chez
Jacky", before returning via the
islands and trying a foray into
the ‘Golfe’. In three full days,
the limits must be tightened.
Our Outremer 55 in a mouse hole on the south coast...
Two different eras, but the same passion for the Golfe du Morbihan...
With good weather, you could
try sailing round Belle Ile, close
to the shore, before spending
the night on one of the islands
and heading towards Vannes or
Auray the next day – destinations which allow you to cross a
large part of the ‘Golfe’ via the
main buoyed channels and get
to know it.
MARIE GALANTE OR BELLE ILE ?
Belle Ile, one of the pearls of the
Ponant, was indisputably our
first objective. There is always
something happening in La
Trinité, but you must know when
to leave! The ebb tide helped us
out of the Cra’ch river, and after
being left for dead by Edouard
Van Den Broeck’s Formula 40, we
set a course for the La
Teignouse pass. Our Outremer
55 Light carried us quietly at 9 –
10 knots on the conveyor belt
leading to the mooring buoys at
Le Palais. This big boat was perfect for our project of a ‘tribal’
weekend (there were 6 of us,
there could have been 10!), to
reunite family and friends at this
Sailing in the Baie de Quiberon and the Golfe
Ports and anchorages
ut
..
La Trinité, Port Haliguen and Le Crouesty are the 3 main
havens in this area, and will welcome you in all weathers
and periods. Vannes, Auray, Le Bono can also meet the
need for a stopover. The mooring buoys are managed (as
are most of the region’s installations) by the mixed economy company, Sagemor, which also offers a few berths on
floating pontoons (Ile aux Moines). On the islands, the
possibilities (apart from anchorages) are restricted, and
depend on the weather situation. Hoëdic has a big mooring
buoy for several boats in the port of Argol; Houat has
around thirty berths at Saint Gildas (max. 12m) and mooring buoys outside. Belle Ile opens its facilities at Le Palais
(lock basin reserved for small or folding multihulls, drying
out area and mooring buoys in the harbour and outside),
but may be saturated in the high season. The same possibilities exist at Sauzon, with the same reservations. There
are innumerable anchorages, but you must keep an eye on
the weather and have suitable equipment.
Certain people really feel at home and can slalom in the labyrinth of rocks in
this area. Before you have this level of experience, it is recommended that
you remain in the main, well-buoyed channels, which are easy to read. You
can explore the area from Vannes to Auray by crossing the Golfe and the
islands via the reassuring ‘motorways’. A colour chart reader which follows the
position of the boat and has a screen visible in sunlight is a plus, but a paper
chart and the portable GPS are sufficient, with a little care. Access to the
islands is via 3 main passes: La Teignouse (Belle-Ile), Les Sœurs (Houat) and
Le sud des Grands Cardinaux (Hoedic); an experienced sailor will not sail at
night or when there is the danger of mist, and will not go through the passes
with more than 25 knots of wind against the current. The Orma 60-footers
criss-cross this area at 25 knots; the leisure sailor should be able to find his
way! The whole of this area is affected by powerful currents; you must therefore use them, and not try to fight against them. Entering the Golfe should
only be attempted with the flood, as the currents reach 6 or even 9 knots at
spring tides!
Numerous nautical works cover this region; detailed charts accompanied by a
guide (Imray, new edition, for example) and a ‘Bloc Marine’ is a reasonable
amount of documentation.
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cockpit of our catamaran rounded off the day nicely, however
swimming was not too popular,
as it was still a bit early in
the season!
breeze, south of Port Maria,
Pouldon, Herlin and the deep
‘calanque’ at Port Goulphar
stretched out their arms to
welcome us, but we settled for
Coming, going, there is always something happening at
La Trinité sur Mer...
beautiful destination. The weather was fine, the Ascension
weekend sailors had cornered
the dozen mooring buoys, but
the pilot kindly suggested the 2
ferry buoys (must be vacated
before 10am). The magic of landing in Le Palais harbour by dinghy returned; the appeal of
spending an evening in the
Coastal camping or blue-water catamaran,
Belle Ile always has a haven to offer.
SUMMER IDLING AND
ANCHORAGE AT PORT AN DRO
With the galley stocked with
superb grey shrimps and tasty
local bread, we got under way
for a delightfully idle morning;
sailing (cautiously) close to the
north-east coast as if we were
on a photo safari. Resisting the
temptation of delightful Sauzon,
we were looking for something
different! The very well-known
Stern Wenn anchorage in the
north-west would have been
magic with the north-easterly
Port An Dro. A wonderful beach,
crystal-clear water, ad hoc
anchorage, summer weather,
this gem won our hearts and
made any idea of superfluous
action disappear immediately
(a
wonderful
anchorage,
recommended in NW to NE
winds...nice ‘creperie’ on the
beach!).
HOUAT, SAND AND ROCK
Belle Ile is like a majestic ship at
anchor in the middle of the sea,
whose waters are clear of
Dusk at Houat! A pleasure to be shared with the family!
The Ponant islands
The Golfe du Morbihan and
the Vénètes
The Golfe is an interior sea (small sea, in Breton),
20km by 15, 40km2 of mud flats which are uncovered at low tide. The three rivers at Auray, Vannes
and Noyalo cut out a deep estuary when the ice
melted. The rise in the water level created the present landscape. The Golfe sheltered Morbihan’s
emblematic civilisation: the Venètes, who make up
one of the main Gallic peoples of Indo- European
origin. The centre of gravity was the Locmariaquer
region, and more widely, the whole of the Golfe
and its islands. Julius Caesar mentioned the rebellious attitude of this proud population, and his
admiration for their boats in his journal of the Gallic
war. Weary of their ambushes, he gave them back
the Vannes region.
An association brings together the 15 islands which
have a permanent population and local authority
status, but are not linked to the mainland by a
bridge or a road. They are: Chausey, Bréhat, Batz,
Molène, Ouessant, Sein, Les Glénans, Belle-Île,
Groix, Houat, Hoëdic, Arz, l'Île-aux-Moines, Yeu,
Aix.
Houat and Hoëdic…
… belong, geologically to the granitic plateau of the Quiberon peninsula (Chaussée du
Beniguet) and have been local administrative areas since the end of the rector system in
Brittany (the fifties). Houat saw its old harbour (south of the big beach) destroyed by a
south-easterly storm in January 1951! Port Saint Gildas is now on the north coast. Like
Houat, Hoëdic remained attached to the mainland until around 3500 BC, and sheltered a
population of hunters, gatherers and fishermen. The rise in the sea level isolated them
without raising doubts about the permanent occupation.
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were a lot of people there, so
we fell back on the anchorage
behind the small island of
Chubequez Vraz, less comfortable for a big boat. The evening
was delightful, but the change in
the wind direction obliged us re-
Saturday marked the climax of
the ‘Semaine du Golfe’ (more
than 1,000 boats on the water),
and we entered (cautiously,
under engine) the seething
waters, covered with traditional
boats of all kinds. The parade of
The Golfe du Morbihan is the emblem of Morbihan, this little corner of the Baltic,
submerged in south-east Brittany is in the centre of a magic maritime region!
dangers. Houat and Hoëdic
extend the granite spine of the
Quiberon
peninsula;
their
approach is scattered with
rocks, except to the north. To sail
in this area, this underwater
ridge must be crossed from E
to W, via several of the main
passages, before becoming
practiced and attempting the
secondary channels. As the weather forecast had announced
that the wind would turn southeasterly, with the passing of a
storm front, we had to forget the
big beach; we chose to spend
the night at Treach Salus, in the
south-east of Houat. Alas there
We told you so! The Morbihan is also about some nice encounters...
anchor early in the morning, as
the high tide and the rotation of
the breeze dragged the anchor,
which was barely adequate for
the windage of our 55-footer
(40m of chain in 9m of water).
Return to La Trinité; however long the cruise, it will have been too short!
THE BIG PARADE
IN THE ‘GOLFE’
Returning to the Passage des
Sœurs (between Houat and
Hoëdic), we were buffeted by
20 knots of wind against the current, before heading for the
entry to the ‘Golfe’, around ten
miles away. This Ascension
the big yachts was heading up
to Vannes, and from a grandstand seat (at a mooring buoy)
we watched one of the most
amazing nautical processions in
the world. In the evening, the
return trip to La Trinité, and the
huge fleet which was disappearing into the far end of the Golfe
reminded us of the surprising
richness of this maritime area
which, alone, could satisfy
several years’ worth of sailing
projects, using all the available
kinds of multihull.
Multihulls and anchoring
Belle Ile
The biggest of the Breton islands is subject to rapid erosion (17 x 9km,
average height 40m); it is made up of crumbly schists and micaschists (the
disembarkation slip at Le Palais is paved with it). The climate is oceanic
(winter average 9°C); the original huge wooded moor disappeared
during the colonisation by the monks. Belle Ile has been inhabited since
the Palaeolithic era and was separated from the mainland around 7000
BC, with the rise in water levels due to the melting ice. When the Roman
Empire fell, it was invaded by the British and was then abandoned to
Viking invasions, before being entrusted to the Benedictines from Redon,
who divided it up into 20-hectare plots which were leased to more than
150 families.
All multihulls will feel at home in this region; different sizes and designs (trimarans which can be beached, coastal camping, cruising
catamarans,...) complement each other to offer varied exploration
possibilities. Boats with keels will be the most suitable; those
equipped with daggerboards must have lifting rudders or protection
skegs if they are going to take the ground. Anchor gear must be
complete and perfectly functional: 2 anchors, chains and warps of
sufficient length, ready for use at any moment; a dinghy is essential. Transportable boats will find their Garden of Eden here.
Thanks to SPI Location, which has a fleet of 9 catamarans of from
35 to 55 feet, and perhaps soon, a folding trimaran.