64-67 crois Morbihan_MM136_US.QXP:croisiere_Morbihan_MM136 9/07/09 9:58 Page 64 6478 CRUISING Text and photos : Philippe Echelle Marie Galante ? No, Belle Ile (Port an Dro) ! Marie GalanteTHREE ? Non Belle île (Port an dro) ! DAYS’ ESCAPE IN MORBIHAN 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 peace- which is exciting to cross at 20 ful, short outings; longer trips will knots on a trimaran, but the tes- need some time, as discovering ter’s frenzy can easily relegate The helmsman is only 12 years old, but the crew is looking out for squalls! On the way to the Teignouse, completely relaxed... the secrets of this maritime terri- one of the most attractive tory relates to a real spirit of aspects of leisure sailing, day ‘conquest’ and is available in an cruising, to the background... The infinite number of forms, depen- idea of sauntering around the ding on the chosen craft. islands was prompted the last REDISCOVERING THE ‘BAIE time I sailed round Belle Ile DE QUIBERON’, THE ‘GOLFE’ aboard a Freydis 49; the compli- AND THE ISLANDS city of Mathieu Jones, the multi- The Baie de Quiberon is an hull charter specialist in La exceptional nautical stadium, Trinité, did the rest. 64-67 crois Morbihan_MM136_US.QXP:croisiere_Morbihan_MM136 9/07/09 10:00 Page 65 65 PUTTING A SAILING will be able to leave the Baie de PROGRAMME TOGETHER Quiberon and push as far as the CAN BE A HEADACHE! Glénans archipelago and the The possible destinations in this rias. Aven, Merrien, Doëlan, limited, but so dense and varied Laïta are all reserved for small cruising area are innumerable. boats which can take the The solutions suited to the ground, the Belon will not pose crew’s expectations, the wea- any other problems than that of ther conditions and the time finding an unoccupied mooring available are many, and are buoy … and a table "chez available over several mini- Jacky", before returning via the cruises aboard different sup- islands and trying a foray into ports. If you have one week the ‘Golfe’. In three full days, available, from La Trinité, you 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 Trinité, but you must know when try sailing round Belle Ile, close to leave! The ebb tide helped us to the shore, before spending out of the Cra’ch river, and after the night on one of the islands being left for dead by Edouard and heading towards Vannes or Van Den Broeck’s Formula 40, we Auray the next day – destina- set a course for the La tions which allow you to cross a Teignouse pass. Our Outremer large part of the ‘Golfe’ via the 55 Light carried us quietly at 9 – main buoyed channels and get 10 knots on the conveyor belt to know it. leading to the mooring buoys at MARIE GALANTE OR BELLE ILE ? Le Palais. This big boat was per- fect for our project of a ‘tribal’ Belle Ile, one of the pearls of the weekend (there were 6 of us, Ponant, was indisputably our there could have been 10!), to first objective. There is always reunite family and friends at this something happening in La Sailing in the Baie de Quiberon and the Golfe Ports and anchorages 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 La Trinité, Port Haliguen and Le Crouesty are the 3 main you remain in the main, well-buoyed channels, which are easy to read. You havens in this area, and will welcome you in all weathers can explore the area from Vannes to Auray by crossing the Golfe and the and periods. Vannes, Auray, Le Bono can also meet the islands via the reassuring ‘motorways’. A colour chart reader which follows the need for a stopover. The mooring buoys are managed (as position of the boat and has a screen visible in sunlight is a plus, but a paper are most of the region’s installations) by the mixed eco- chart and the portable GPS are sufficient, with a little care. Access to the nomy company, Sagemor, which also offers a few berths on islands is via 3 main passes: La Teignouse (Belle-Ile), Les Sœurs (Houat) and floating pontoons (Ile aux Moines). On the islands, the Le sud des Grands Cardinaux (Hoedic); an experienced sailor will not sail at ut possibilities (apart from anchorages) are restricted, and night or when there is the danger of mist, and will not go through the passes .. depend on the weather situation. Hoëdic has a big mooring with more than 25 knots of wind against the current. The Orma 60-footers buoy for several boats in the port of Argol; Houat has criss-cross this area at 25 knots; the leisure sailor should be able to find his around thirty berths at Saint Gildas (max. 12m) and moo- way! The whole of this area is affected by powerful currents; you must there- ring buoys outside. Belle Ile opens its facilities at Le Palais fore use them, and not try to fight against them. Entering the Golfe should (lock basin reserved for small or folding multihulls, drying only be attempted with the flood, as the currents reach 6 or even 9 knots at out area and mooring buoys in the harbour and outside), spring tides! but may be saturated in the high season. The same possi- bilities exist at Sauzon, with the same reservations. There Numerous nautical works cover this region; detailed charts accompanied by a are innumerable anchorages, but you must keep an eye on guide (Imray, new edition, for example) and a ‘Bloc Marine’ is a reasonable the weather and have suitable equipment. amount of documentation. 64-67 crois Morbihan_MM136_US.QXP:croisiere_Morbihan_MM136 10/07/09 14:35 Page 66 6678 CRUISING cockpit of our catamaran roun- breeze, south of Port Maria, ded off the day nicely, however Pouldon, Herlin and the deep swimming was not too popular, ‘calanque’ at Port Goulphar as it was still a bit early in stretched out their arms to the season! welcome us, but we settled for Coming, going, there is always something happening at La Trinité sur Mer... beautiful destination. The wea- ferry buoys (must be vacated ther was fine, the Ascension before 10am). The magic of lan- weekend sailors had cornered ding in Le Palais harbour by din- the dozen mooring buoys, but ghy returned; the appeal of the pilot kindly suggested the 2 spending an evening in the Coastal camping or blue-water catamaran, Belle Ile always has a haven to offer. SUMMER IDLING AND Port An Dro. A wonderful beach, ANCHORAGE AT PORT AN DRO crystal-clear water, ad hoc anchorage, summer weather, With the galley stocked with this gem won our hearts and superb grey shrimps and tasty made any idea of superfluous local bread, we got under way action disappear immediately for a delightfully idle morning; (a wonderful anchorage, sailing (cautiously) close to the recommended in NW to NE north-east coast as if we were winds...nice ‘creperie’ on the on a photo safari. Resisting the beach!). temptation of delightful Sauzon, we were looking for something HOUAT, SAND AND ROCK different! The very well-known Belle Ile is like a majestic ship at Stern Wenn anchorage in the anchor in the middle of the sea, north-west would have been whose waters are clear of magic with the north-easterly Dusk at Houat! A pleasure to be shared with the family! The Ponant islands An association brings together the 15 islands which have a permanent population and local authority The Golfe du Morbihan and status, but are not linked to the mainland by a the Vénètes bridge or a road. They are: Chausey, Bréhat, Batz, Molène, Ouessant, Sein, Les Glénans, Belle-Île, The Golfe is an interior sea (small sea, in Breton), Groix, Houat, Hoëdic, Arz, l'Île-aux-Moines, Yeu, 20km by 15, 40km2 of mud flats which are uncove- Aix. red 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 pre- sent landscape. The Golfe sheltered Morbihan’s emblematic civilisation: the Venètes, who make up Houat and Hoëdic… one of the main Gallic peoples of Indo- European origin. The centre of gravity was the Locmariaquer … belong, geologically to the granitic plateau of the Quiberon peninsula (Chaussée du region, and more widely, the whole of the Golfe Beniguet) and have been local administrative areas since the end of the rector system in and its islands. Julius Caesar mentioned the rebel- Brittany (the fifties). Houat saw its old harbour (south of the big beach) destroyed by a lious attitude of this proud population, and his south-easterly storm in January 1951! Port Saint Gildas is now on the north coast. Like admiration for their boats in his journal of the Gallic Houat, Hoëdic remained attached to the mainland until around 3500 BC, and sheltered a war. Weary of their ambushes, he gave them back population of hunters, gatherers and fishermen. The rise in the sea level isolated them the Vannes region.