It is by its specific configuration, connected to the Iroise Sea by a 1.5 km wide and 3 km long gully that the 180 km2 bay of Brest is discovered to make it one of the most important roads of the world.
Sailing in Brest harbour
The entrance is through the gully located between the Pointe du Petit Minou and the Pointe du Portzic to the north, and the Capuchin islet and the Pointe des Espagnols to the south. The currents are important there. With each spill, the harbour fills and empties with a current of 4 to 5 knots. A real treadmill! To wait for the spill before using the Narrows, boaters will be able to stopover in Camaret .
The currents are not limited to the Narrows, there are currents everywhere in the harbour and in all directions. A study of the current map is required. Impossible to navigate without taking it into account. Mandatory tide hours calculation...
Winds in the harbour are very unstable both in strength and direction. The effects of coasts are multiple and not always easy to apprehend. Without forgetting the thermal breeze which from 16 to 17 hours the days of great sun and calm will make the happiness of the dinghies and other kitesurfers.
Military Brest. The arsenal, born in the Penfeld ria.
When we speak of the harbour of Brest, we think first of the military activity which since the 17th century has been the rhythm of the development of the place. The Penfeld River cuts Brest in two and hosts the naval base. The Recouvrance Bridge regularly lifts its deck to let Navy ships pass.
Second arsenal behind Toulon,"l'arsouille" occupies, with the Long Island, the base hosting the French nuclear submarines and the naval school of Lanvéoc the main zones where navigation is strictly prohibited.
Ports and anchorages
Brest has 2 marinas. To the west, the port of the Château offers 120 visitor places is permanently accessible. To the east, the Moulin Blanc can welcome 150 visitors through a marked channel dredged to -4m.
As for the anchorages, scattered around the harbour, they are numerous and offer many possibilities of protection depending on the wind direction. Many creeks, coves or small harbours offer chests. Let us note the most important:
- Le Fret, east of Long Island
- Landevennec
- the Tinduff
- Plougastel-Daoulas
- Auberlac'h
For boats with a reduced draught, sail up the Hanvec Point to the Hospital-Camfrout remains an unforgettable place to spend a night.
Finally, it is forbidden to moor with military ships from the Landévennec cemetery. Yellow buoys delimit the forbidden zone.
Small cabotage
The area offers an exciting playground for changing landscapes, with the possibility of sinking inland up rivers.
The tour of the Round Island and the two Dukes of Alba (east of the Round Island).
Built by the Germans during the occupation to accommodate the battleship Bismarck, there remain today only two concrete blocks that it is possible to bypass.
The Sillon des Anglais west of Landévennec is a remarkable 10 000 year old geological arrow. It owes its name to an attempt to land the English navy a few centuries ago to plunder the rich abbey of Landévennec.
Landévennec precisely, offers the first meander of Alder. The chests of Port Maria make it possible to disembark and to leave in search of the tomb of King Gradlon. Landévennec benefits from a real microclimate. Palms and mimosas can testify to this.
Behind the meander lies the cemetery of Navy ships waiting to be dismantled. A remarkable point of view. By going up Aulne, the new bridge of Terenez is discovered in its turn.
To go further
Nautisme en Finistère organizes every year a week of discovery of the harbour and the Aulne Maritime reserved for small coastal cruisers (www.semainepetitcabotage.com)
The city of Brest proposes to board on La Recouvrance, an aviso-goélette .
