France
Arriving anywhere new by yacht always feels like a great achievement, but to arrive in another country really does take some beating!
Arcarius is no stranger to crossings of the English Channel, the waters of northern Brittany and the Atlantic coast of France, a coastline that offers some of the finest technical sailing, a reliable climate, fantastic sightseeing, and excellent food of course. As a nation of sailors, the French go out of their way to look after visiting yachts and their crew, and that’s reflected in the wide range of marinas and anchorages, and the facilities in general.
Recommended charter duration – 7 days+
The first step in preparing for a sailing trip to France is to give some consideration to crossing the English Channel. Travelling to France from West Cornwall is defined as an offshore passage, often close to the busy shipping lanes. Where our target destination is NW Brittany (Roscoff, L’Aber Wrac’h etc.), we will usually depart Mylor in the early evening for a late morning arrival (approx. 17 hours at sea). Sailing further south around the NW peninsula to Camaret-sur-Mer or Brest takes a little longer at approx. 21 hours where further consideration must be made for transiting the Chenal du Four with its powerful tidal streams.
From our initial landing point and after completing the now obligatory customs check-in, we have hundreds of miles of beautiful coastline and fantastic options for berthing for an evening. Alex has explored this coastline extensively with personal favourites being Camaret, the Morbihan (home to the beautiful city of Vannes), all of the Atlantic islands (particularly Île d’Yeu), and La Rochelle where the climate suddenly becomes surprisingly more palatable. All of these southerly options became available to charterers seeking a longer holiday (we would suggest 14 days to explore as far south as La Rochelle).
Once again, France represents a fantastic opportunity for a sailing holiday with a real difference, and once the English Channel has been crossed, a pace and itinerary to suit our guests, not forgetting an excellent opportunity to brush up on one’s French!
Charterers wishing to travel to France will need to be mindful that, whatever our planned destination, this passage will require an overnight sail. Our arrival will also need to be reported to the French authorities ahead of our departure from the UK, which will require some pre-planning, and an in date passport of course.
