Yes, we've been away since 2nd April and we've reached Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, a place we've previously sailed to directly from Chichester harbour in about 14 hours! Oh well. We said we intended to take it easy this year….
The problem with the harbours along the north coast of Normandy is that, with the exception of Ouistreham where you can at least get to the lock’s waiting pontoon at all states of the tide, they have drying entrance channels. This typically means that you can only get in or out of the harbours a couple of hours either side of high water.
To get a favourable tide from Ouistreham towards our chosen destination of Port-en-Bessin, we left on the last available lock after high water.
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| Leaving Ouistreham. The lock and ferry terminal are in the background |
En route to Port-en-Bessin we sailed past Arromanches-les-Bains where you can still see much of the artificial Mulberry Harbour - towed from England to enable troops and supplies to land for the liberation of France. A somehow eerie, but mightily impressive, sight. The number of wrecks marked on the charts in this area tell a story too.
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| Mulberry Harbour, Arromanches-les-Bains... |
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| ... and again. You may need to enlarge the photo to see it properly |
We had to beat into the (light) wind for much of the journey but, even though the 25 miles took us nearly 6 hours, we still arrived about an hour and a quarter before the lock gate would open to allow us access to the harbour. We therefore selected a likely looking spot between the numerous pot markers and dropped our anchor to wait it out. We had microlights to entertain us and the scenery was pleasant even if, being beam on to the waves, we were rolling about a bit.
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| Microlights near Port-en-Bessin |
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| Microlight over Port-en-Bessin |
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| At anchor outside Port-en-Bessin |
When the time came we weighed anchor and motored into the harbour. We were pleased to see that there was plenty of room for us on the single 25m pontoon. In fact, we were the only boat there!
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| Entering Port-en-Bessin's outer harbour... |
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| ... and passing through the lock gate via the opened bridge |
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| Cyclone on her berth |
Port-en-Bessin is first and foremost a fishing village, but they will accommodate yachts – a maximum of 6 – for up to 48 hours. As we were the only visitor, for the first 2 nights at least, we were able to extend this to 3 nights without any problem. We enjoyed being somewhere quite different to other places we've stayed although, being moored right alongside the quay, we did feel rather like animals in a zoo; everyone peered at us while walking past! No comments are required on this point, thank you……
Port-en-Bessin was a location chosen for the supply of fuel to the troops that landed on D-Day. The 47th Royal Marine Commando was given orders to capture the port. Carried by the currents they came ashore not to the west as intended but, with heavy losses in terms of both men and equipment, at a point east of Le Hamel where resistance on “Gold Beach” was at its heaviest. Nevertheless, by the evening of the 6th June, they had taken up position on the high ground to the south of Port-en-Bessin.
After the bombardment of 7th June they were able to capture the town during the night. By the 14th June, 1000 tons of fuel passed through this little fishing port per day. This “minor system” was later replaced by PLUTO, the Pipe-Line Under The Ocean, between the Isle of Wight and Cherbourg.
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| Part of the memorial to the 47th Royal Marine Commandos killed in the assault |
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| More of the same memorial |
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| The view of the harbour from the German fortified position under the memorial |
Port-en-Bessin is a busy place during the day as it is firmly on the D-Day tourist trail. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from and they looked pretty packed at lunch time. In the evening, however, it’s a sleepy place – or it would have been if it weren't for pesky kids on what must have been the noisiest mopeds in the world. They entertained themselves by riding circuits of the town, demonstrating how manly they were by pulling wheelies and locking up their rear wheels in order to snake along the road making their tyres squeal. Call me a grumpy old git, but I think it should be legal to shoot them. The French of course, with their characteristic Gallic shrug, seemed to take no notice at all! The piece de resistance was when somebody brought possibly the loudest ever single cylinder 4 stroke motorcycle into the centre of town at 2am and proceeded to rev it for about 20 minutes. Shooting would have been too good for them…. (Jo has, however, pointed out that we didn't fight a world war to create an environment in which noisy neighbours could be summarily executed. Reluctantly, I suppose I must concede that she's right.....).
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| Port-en-Bessin's outer harbour from the east... |
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| ... and from the west |
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| Looking out from the swing bridge at low tide... |
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| ... and towards the harbour entrance |
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| The memorial to those lost at sea. Pretty good I thought |
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| The interior of the church. The model boats identify it as a fishing village.... |
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| ... and again |
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| The second basin which is the main preserve of the fishing vessels |
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| Fishing nets on the quay |
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| The beach at low water |
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| There are a few scallops around here! |
We set off for Saint-Vaast-La-Hougue shortly before the lock gate to Port-en-Bessin was due to close and seal us in for another 8 hours. Light winds saw us rarely top 4 knots through the water but, with help from the tide, we arrived outside Saint-Vaast-La-Hougue nearly 4 hours before we could get in!
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| Passing Iles Saint-Marcouf en route to Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue |
Once again we dropped anchor but fortunately this time there was little swell. We did a few chores and read for a while before eating the dinner Jo cooked for us.
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| At anchor with La-Hougue in the distance |
We finally weighed anchor and headed into the harbour soon after the lock gate opened at 2030, nearly 9 hours after leaving Port-en-Bessin. You have to learn to chill out a bit with this sailing lark!
We've been to Saint-Vaast-La-Hougue before and like it here. Yachts share the harbour with fishing vessels and there are large oyster beds between the town and Ile de Tatihou which cover and uncover with every tide. We’re tempted to stay here for a week because you can pay for 5 nights and stay for 7 but, whilst we've yet to make a final decision, I think it’s likely that we’ll set off again after 3.
We explored the Saturday market and walked to La Hougue yesterday so, having visited Ile de Tatihou previously, there’s little else for us to see or do here. I've seen more than I'd bargained for already come to think of it. When I stuck my head out of the companionway first thing yesterday morning I saw a woman bending down on the pontoon wearing what I thought were rather tight fitting tan coloured trousers. It wasn't until she pulled on her underwear that I realised she was getting dressed! That’s Belgians for you I suppose!!
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| Cyclone on her berth. Note guano and length of pontoon. About 5m and rated for 12m boats! |
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| Ile de Tatihou at high water... |
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| ... and at low water. |
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| The harbour entrance at low water |
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| You can walk to Ile de Tatihou but if you'd rather not.... |
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| you can take Tatihou II - equipped for both high and low water! |
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| The oyster beds which cover at high water |
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| Saint-Vaast-La-Hougue's Saturday market |
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| You get some big cheeses here! |
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| The WW2 memorial. It's WW2 Victory Day today, Sunday 8th May |
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| La Hougue - another one of Vauban's creations |
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| ... and again. Compare and contrast Vauban's architecture with that of the WW2 Germans |
Our plan is to head for Alderney next via Cherbourg. We’ll anchor overnight outside Cherbourg's marina to save a bit of cash if conditions are conducive.
Thanks for reading.
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