Paul Heiney One of the great tricks of the sea is that it can give you an altogether different view of a port than if you approach by land - often the sailor’s view is far more pleasurable
E
veryone has a favourite harbour, the ones we long for and lust over on long winter nights. We imagine ourselves edging through the harbour mouth, returning to our spiritual home, feeling the swell disappear as we drift into sheltered waters. In our dreams there’s always a spare mooring, and our favourite stool by the bar in waiting for us, the fish and chips are as we remember them. That’s what sailing into a harbour should feel like. But let me give you a word of warning. If, for some reason, you aren’t able to get there by boat, don’t even think of doing it by car. Harbours have two faces; the one they present from the sea - which is the one we remember and is closest to our affection - and the other is the motorist’s view, and this is to be avoided at all costs. I know this from harsh experience having just spent days in my car slogging up and down the Brittany coast. My travels took me to a little harbour which I remember once fighting my way into through twelve hours of dense fog, pre-GPS as well. Once safe and secure, it seemed the most magical place on earth. But how do I find it when seen from behind the wheel of my car? Shopping estates, garden centres, McDonalds on the outskirts, and all the dreary paraphernalia of modern life. And I don’t like playing dodgems with bloated SUVs squeezed like toothpaste into too narrow streets. Talk about a land of broken dreams. On the plus side, this nightmare turned into an idea for a book. Pilot books are unmatchable when it comes to getting you into harbour, brilliant at pointing out the hazards, the tides, and all other things that can cause a cruise to come to a crunchy ending. But once the lines are ashore, you’ve taken a breath, put the kettle on, that’s when you are on your own. So my idea was this: I’d compile a book that focussed not on the sea but on the shore, hence title for this new series of books - ‹Shores Guides’. The first one is out now and covers the Channel coast of France from Dunkerque to L’AberWrach, next year will take us from Brest to La Rochelle. It’s worth remembering that on a typical cruise, as
much time is spent ashore as it is on the high seas, and arriving in a new harbour raises a mountain of urgent questions, such as where’s the nearest shop for an essential baguette and croissant, and the butter to go with them? There’s a bin liner full of salty washing, so where’s the laundry? What is there to actually do in this place, once you’ve wandered round the chandlery in a forensic kind of way on the deeply held suspicion that the French have some secret yacht fitting they are keeping from us. I’ve seen a lot of things while cruising, but I’ve missed a lot too. I can’t tell you how many times I have sailed away from a harbour, only to discover later the place was immersed in history, had a tuckedaway little museum which would pass an hour, or perhaps there was an epic swimming pool, out of sight but just round the corner from the marina and so never visited. Of course, if you have children on board, then the questions become ever more urgent. Hardly has the turn gone round the first shoreside cleat, and certainly before the engine goes off, and they want to know if there’s a beach, are there chips, and what about those scuba lessons they were promised? Oh, and bike hire! You promised us we could hire some bikes, Dad. To try and answer some of these plaintive cries I reluctantly got in my car and headed for France. And why not by boat? Because, for a change, I was focussed on the shore, not the water. Many of the harbours I knew quite well anyway after many years of channel hops and Brittany cruising. If you can get there outside of the French holiday season of July and August, you are in one of the finest cruising grounds in Europe, and only a twenty four hour sail for most of us. But please remember that the satisfaction harbours have to offer has to be earned. They simply didn’t feel like the places I was so fond of after hammering down a dreary dual carriageway to get there. But the job in done now, the first book is out, and that is the last time I go to Brittany by land. The lesson is always to arrive by sea. But I suppose we all knew that in the first place. Paul’s Adlard Coles Shore Guide to the Channel Coast of France is out now priced at £18.99. Go to bloomsbury.com for more details
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JUNE 2022 Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting
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ILLUSTRATION CLAIRE WOOD
‘Harbours have two faces; the one they present from the sea - and the other is the motorist’s view’
