Escape to the Continent

For yachts based on Britain’s South Coast, Northern France is an obvious holiday destination and a crossing of the English Channel leads to some very attractive cruising grounds. There’s the prospect of French cuisine, canal routes to the Med, and the craggy inlets of Brittany, with the opportunity to coast-hop into the warm weather of North Biscay.

A lot of the crews that undertake these cruises are families who are learning the ropes, rather than hardened offshore experts, and their plans may be limited by the duration of their annual summer break. It is not possible to thoroughly explore the French coast and Channel Islands in two or three weeks, so it pays to make a realistic appraisal of what can be achieved, allowing some slack for bad weather and hold-ups.

DESTINATIONS

The first step is to decide where you want to go, and what style of holiday you are looking for. Northern France (see chartlet) is a cruising ground of two halves. East of Cherbourg’s Cotentin Peninsula, the coastline is relatively smooth on plan. There are few offshore hazards but also few sheltering headlands; almost all the inlets dry out and most of the minor harbours are inaccessible at low tide. Cruising here means sailing from port to port and the rewards include French culture and history. West of Cotentin, everything changes and lots of islands and rocks are scattered around, so the navigation becomes more intricate but there is also a greater choice of sheltering havens. First-time visitors may be alarmed by rearing lumps of granite but experienced voyagers relish the dramatic coastal scenery. It is also possible to head deep into the Breton estuaries, to old inland ports such as Pontrieux, Treguier and Morlaix. Within this western area, the Channel Islands offer an