Port

Port du Men-Brial

Name: Port du Men-Brial
Address: FR
Telephone: +33632545151

France

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Maximum length: 29 ft
Maximum draught: 3 ft

Only sheltered harbour on Île de Sein, 4 nm west of the Pointe du Raz, off the western tip of Brittany.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach through the Raz de Sein, where the tide runs up to 7 knots at springs. Slack water at Pointe du Raz is the standard window, using the official slack tables for the passage. Final approach between the island and the Chaussée de Sein rocks, buoyed by the Men-Brial cardinal and the harbour lights. Tirant d'eau 1 m alongside, deeper boats dry out on sand or take a mooring.

Practical

Short stay pontoon and drying berths inside the jetty. Water on the quay, no fuel on site. Small grocery, bakery and a few restaurants in the village 200 m from the port. Next refuges eastward at Audierne 12.5 nm and Pors Poulhan 15.8 nm.

Ashore

Île de Sein is 1.8 km long, a couple of metres above sea level, car free. Walk the full island in under two hours, past the lighthouse of Goulenez and the Monument aux Morts pour la France Libre. Musée de l'Île de Sein documents the 1940 departure of its men to join de Gaulle in London.

History

In June 1940 almost all the adult men of Sein sailed to England to join the Free French Forces, which is why de Gaulle decorated the island with the Croix de la Libération in 1946. The island is also cited in medieval sources as linked to the druidesses of Sena.