Sometimes savoury, sometimes sweet - northern Brittany is a real treat, and not just in nautical terms: At the end of a long day's cruising, when things calm down in the harbour, culinary delights beckon ashore. Part 3/4: from Trébeurden via Roscoff and Morlaix to Aber Wrac'h.
The harbour of Trébeurden can be entered without any problems if the tide is high enough. A wide gate with a light signal makes it easy to enter the harbour. The restaurant La Tourelle, located on the first floor, offers excellent fish dishes as well as an outstanding view of the sunset over the harbour.
Read the first two parts of the trip report here:
Roscoff - The most British of the Breton harbours
If you need a break from all the tide calculations, head straight for Roscoff, which can be approached at any tide. However, the current can be up to five knots even in the marina, as it is open on both sides. The huge ferry facility bears witness to the times before Brexit, when significantly more goods were transported to and from England. Today, it is primarily passengers who are ferried across. Incidentally, Roscoff is one of the few harbours that English people have to call at to clear in before continuing on to Brittany. Past the old harbour, which is completely dry, lies the small town. The enchanting sunsets over the Île de Batz alone are worth the 20-minute walk. Alternatively, free e-bikes can be hired from the harbour office.
The approach to Morlaix - a little adventure
Morlaix offers even more tidal fun, where a five-mile-long rivulet meanders southwards in the large river bed at low tide. The approach past the Château du Taureau seems easy, but the further upstream you go, the more exciting it gets. It is best to choose the time just before high water and not to travel in the middle of the river, but strictly according to the leading lights, which are barely visible as small red and white St Andrew's crosses in the forest. Nevertheless, it gets tight in places. Fortunately, however, the bottom is soft and it may be possible to reverse out of the mud as the tide rises. If you have a bow thruster, you can also use it to dig yourself out again if necessary.
Thanks to the TGV connection to Paris, Morlaix is ideal for a crew change. The town's main attraction is the railway viaduct. The famous Grain de Sail chocolate is also produced here. To this day, the cocoa beans are transported from Central America to Brittany by sailing cargo ship. The Canal de l'Île de Batz takes you westwards with the current in no time at all. But beware: in some places, the fairway winds around shallows like an S-curve, while the current continues straight ahead. This means that the rudder must be turned early and excessively hard to avoid hitting the nearest rocks.
The rough west - a symbol of farewell and homecoming
From here, there are not many harbours to the west. One last stop in Aber Wrac'h, a harbour deep in the Aber that can be called at in any weather and at any tide. Then all that awaits is a rough, stone-paved coastline with no safe harbours. This was the fate of the oil tanker "Amoco Cadiz" off Portsall, which broke up on the rocks here on 16 March 1978. Over a quarter of a billion litres of oil leaked into the sea at the time. At the western end of Brittany lies the treeless, storm-soaked Île d'Ouessant. Here stands the strongest lighthouse in Europe, Créac'h, which is still a symbol of farewell and homecoming today. Around a thousand people live under its sweeping cone of light, whose dwellings can only be recognised from the sea at a late stage. South of it lies the world-famous Phare de la Jument lighthouse. Many people know the picture of the lighthouse keeper looking calmly out of the door to leeward, while a wave as high as the 47 metre high tower itself wraps around it on both sides. This photo, taken from a helicopter by Jean Guichard on a stormy December day in 1989, certainly contributed to Brittany's reputation as the most storm-tossed coast in Europe.
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Jill Grigoleit
Editor Travel
