Spring Rally 2026 - a First

In the past, HOEOCA Spring Rallies have generally taken place either on the south coast of England or been a cross-channel trip to either France or the Channel Islands. With chartering companies in the UK becoming increasingly hard to come by and a cross channel passage always carrying a level of risk, there was much interest at our Planning event in October at the idea of going to either North or South Brittany and catching the ferry to make sure we got there! And so began the journey to make that happen.

Nautilus (our “go to” booking agent for Hot Hot Hot) started to look for chartering companies and came up trumps with Loc Voile Armor, based in Saint Quay-Portrieux in North Brittany. They had four boats which were close to meeting our needs. A Sun Odyssey (SO) 379 with twin rudders and a lifting keel; SO 379 with a draught of nearly 2.2m; SO 349 with twin rudders, lifting keel and a very welcome bow thruster; and finally our “bread and butter” Oceanis 37. Thanks to my fellow-skippers Robin, Nina and Martin for taking on the challenges of these boats!

The next question was how to get there. Of the 19 people who signed up to the rally, most went with Brittany Ferries, either Plymouth to Roscoff or Portsmouth to St. Malo. The overnight crossing got us into France for 8am and as we could not get onto the boats until mid-afternoon, we had plenty of time to explore the beautiful towns of either Roscoff or Binic as well as sampling the French cuisine, with some of us meeting up at the beautiful port of Paimpol for lunch. The added benefit of having our cars meant that we could do a quick recce of the places we were expecting to sail into, in particular Tréguier and Lézardrieux. We could also take some provisions with us – including Portuguese wine (long story!)

It's just as well we had such a comfortable and good night’s sleep on the ferries as the first day did have its challenges! As it turned out, the Friday was a bank holiday, so many of the big hypermarchés closed early. This left crews trying to get the boat handover finished and then a supermarket sweep before each closed its doors onr after the other. We also discovered that trying to get up or down the ramps at low water is a workout in itself! By the end of Friday, however, everyone was settled on their boats and ready to set off for Lézardrieux the next day.

For anyone who knows anything about North Brittany, there are probably two words that spring to mind – tides and rocks! As such, planning is essential, as is following transits to stay on course, particularly with the cross tides at river entrances. The weather that first day was glorious – sunny and with a steady F4 – and although it was cold we had a fabulous sail with some boats anchoring off the Ferlas channel, just to the south of the Île de Brèhat, to enjoy the beautiful surrounds. Following the navigation marks proved relatively easy, not least due to the sheer size of some of these concrete structures and as we turned into the River Trieux and approached the river pontoons at Lézardrieux, we all agreed that the week had got off to a cracking start. Most ate on board that night, although our boat found a recently opened restaurant and enjoyed a fabulous meal out.

The weather the next day was not good to go out in, so some of us took a taxi/ferry to explore the Île de Brèhat and others walked through the lovely French countryside to Paimpol. The island was well worth the visit – a little bit like Sark but larger. Lots of winding tracks with homes spread around – all very tranquil. It also gave the opportunity to see the rocks close up. The granite really is a beautiful rose colour but the washed up yacht on the north side was a cautionary tale.

The rest of the week was a bit like the Morecombe and Wise sketch, in that all the crews visited most the places we had planned to go, but not necessarily in the same order and not necessarily by boat! Unfortunately, although the forecast seemed good for the Monday and Tuesday, a storm was coming in on Wednesday and Thursday (our last day) looked unsettled as well. As such, none of us got to sail to Tréguier, although most went there either by car or taxi. I'm so pleased not to have missed this unique medieval town with its stunning cathedral and timber framed houses.

In turn, we all made our way back to Saint Quay, with Corail (skippered by Robin) spending a couple of nights in Paimpol, Kokozenn2 (skippered by Martin) likewise in Dahouet and our boat, Bandiagara, sailing around the north shore of the Île de Brèhat (keeping well clear of those rocks!) Nobody went out on Wednesday. Paimpol has a very narrow approach channel and with areas drying 6m before the lock, timing was essential. It also has very short, narrow and bouncy pontoons, which seem to be typical of the area (and provide for much amusement). Dahouet also has an interesting approach channel and a sill to get over – again, tidal curves matter (and a lifting keel is always helpful!)

Our boat spent the last two days moored up in Saint Quay and I did wonder at 7am on Thursday, when the hailstones started pelting down, how Robin and Martin’s crews were faring, both needing to leave around high water at 5.30am in the dark. The wind was now F6 (higher than forecast), it was a wind over tide situation and whereas Robin was punching the tide, Martin was head to the northerly wind with squalls coming through reducing the visibility to virtually nothing. Thank goodness for Navionics! Speaking with the crews later, whereas Corail was “surfing the waves”, Kokozenn2 was more “plunging the depths”. All were back safely by late morning and able to catch up with some sleep in the afternoon!

Our rally dinner was at a small, typical Breton restaurant Bouillon Paradis. Although the choice was limited (everything being freshly prepared), the food was amazing and there was much laughter and stories were swapped as the boats all caught up again. It seemed to work well having the dinner on the last night, when everyone could fully relax and we were all in the same place at the same time!

For most of us the following day was a drive back to St. Malo or Roscoff (via a wine shop!) and a comfortable crossing back to Blighty before the drive back home (and the pot holes, which were noticeable by their absence in France!)

Overall, a wonderful opportunity to visit this beautiful part of France and a different way of organising our Spring Rally. Maybe South Brittany in the future…….?___________________________________

Charter cost £580 per person plus personal transport and  share of the boat's marina fees,  food & drink and meals out.