Blog
Guides, tips, and destinations for boaters
Cruising South Brittany: A Visitor's Overview
A visiting cruiser's guide to a south brittany cruising guide: tides, distances, marinas, anchorages and a sensible route from Lorient to the Morbihan.
Read more →Saint-Malo and the Rance: Tides, Locks and the Marina
A visitor's guide to Saint-Malo and the Rance by boat: the Bas-Sablons and Vauban marinas, the Naye lock times, huge tides, VHF channels and the Rance barrage.
Read more →Cruising North Brittany: A Visitor's Overview
A British cruiser's overview of North Brittany by boat: tides, passages, harbours from L'Aberwrac'h to the Channel Islands, and what to plan before you go.
Read more →The Low-Carbon Cruise: A Realistic Guide
Greener boating in France without the guilt or the gadgets. What actually cuts your footprint, what is greenwash, and the habits that matter most on a cruise.
Read more →La Rochelle: The Visitor's Complete Guide
A visiting cruiser's guide to La Rochelle: Port des Minimes berths and fees, the Vieux Port, VHF channels, the approach and where to actually want to tie up.
Read more →The French Riviera by Boat: A Visitor's Overview
A British cruiser's overview of sailing the French Riviera: distances, marinas, the mistral, anchoring law and what a week afloat actually costs in 2026.
Read more →Cruising the French Canals: The Complete Beginner's Guide
A first-timer's guide to the French canals: licences, the VNF vignette, locks, boat sizes, costs and where to start, from a British couple who did it.
Read more →Brest: A Visitor's Guide to the Rade
A visiting cruiser's brest marina guide: getting through the goulet, choosing between Chateau and Moulin Blanc, VHF, berths and the best of the rade.
Read more →Antibes Port Vauban for the Rest of Us
Europe's biggest marina is not just for superyachts. How a cruiser gets a berth in Antibes Port Vauban, what it costs, depths, VHF and the approach.
Read more →Wildlife-Friendly Cruising: Keeping Your Distance
Dolphins ride your bow and seals haul out on Atlantic islands. Here is how to watch wildlife from a boat in France without harming it, and the legal distances.
Read more →The VNF Vignette: Paying to Use French Waterways
What the VNF vignette is, who needs it, how the packages and prices work, the discounts, and how to buy it online before cruising the French canals.
Read more →A Two-Week South Brittany Itinerary from La Trinite
A relaxed 14-day cruise from La Trinite-sur-Mer: Belle-Ile, Houat, the Glenan, Concarneau and the Gulf of Morbihan, with distances, ports and tidal notes.
Read more →Recycling and Waste Ashore in French Ports
French marinas take recycling seriously. How sorting works, where the oil and battery points are, and what the Ports Propres and Blue Flag labels mean for you.
Read more →Reading a French Tidal Coefficient
What a French tidal coefficient means, the 20 to 120 scale, and how to use one number to plan depth, streams and a safe day on the water.
Read more →The Posidonia Anchoring Ban: What Visitors Must Know
What the posidonia anchoring ban means for visiting boats in France: the decree, the 24-metre threshold, the fines, the apps, and how to anchor legally.
Read more →The Pink Granite Coast by Boat
Pink granite coast sailing from Perros-Guirec to Trebeurden: marina gates, Ploumanach's sill pool, the Sept-Iles seabird reserve and where to anchor.
Read more →The Odet River to Quimper by Boat
Taking the Odet from Benodet up to Quimper under your own keel: tides, the wooded gorges, anchorages, the Quimper moorings and timing the run on the flood.
Read more →Med Mooring: How to Lay Lazy-Lines Without Drama
A step-by-step guide to med mooring stern-to with lazy lines in France: crew roles, the order of operations, and the mistakes that cause quayside chaos.
Read more →Low-Impact Anchoring: A Wildlife-Friendly Guide
How to anchor in France without scarring the seabed: reading the bottom, the apps that map seagrass, mooring buoys, and the rules that now carry real fines.
Read more →The Lerins Islands: Anchoring off Cannes
Anchoring at the Lerins islands off Cannes: depths, the Sainte-Anne mooring zone, the seagrass rules, where the sand is, and how to do it without a fine.
Read more →L'Aberwrac'h: The Perfect First French Port
Why L'Aberwrac'h is the ideal first French port for British boats: deep all-tide approach, the marina, VHF 09, visitor pontoon tips and the run round to Brest.
Read more →La Trinite-sur-Mer: France's Sailing Capital
La trinite sur mer for visiting cruisers: the marina, VHF 09, 1,250 berths, racing pedigree, the Crac'h river approach and where to anchor nearby.
Read more →Ile d'Oleron and the Pertuis
Sailing Ile d'Oleron: the safe Antioche approach, the dangerous Maumusson passage, Boyardville and Le Chateau harbours, Fort Boyard and timing the tides.
Read more →Ile de Re by Boat: Anchorages and Harbours
Sailing Ile de Re: Saint-Martin, La Flotte and Ars-en-Re harbours, the tidal gates, anchoring off Saint-Martin, the bridge clearance and how to time the tides.
Read more →