The weather window for the 70 miles from Roscoff was again very short. We left 0200am on Nov 06 and sailed into the “Rade de Brest” at 0100pm after an uneventful sail with 6 hours favourable tide, leaving Roscoff, but the tide on the nose in the “Chenal du Four”. It was a trade off. If we had waited for favourable tides whilst rounding the corner we would have had the wind on the nose. At least now we could sail all the way until Point de Saint-Mathieu.
Upon entering the Goulet de Brest we were welcomed by a marine helicopter circling overhead. Innocent as we were we start waiving. The sliding door opens displaying a signboard that we couldn’t read. After calling port control it became clear that we had to move to the far North of the Goulet. A sailing boat about a mile behind was ordered to turn back and await instructions.
Once in the roadstead the reason for the commotion sank in. We had to make way for a (huge) submarine that was sailing for the exit. After all not surprising since Brest is France’s largest military port.
Brest has a long history as a military port and ship building centre. During WW II it was the largest U-boot base of the Nazi’s and therefore heavily bombed by the allies. Everything got destroyed except the U-boot pens and……..Rue Saint-Malo.
Pre WW II Brest with a view of the bridge over the Penfeld river. The large building (top centre left) is “Prison de Pontaniou”. In fact there were Prisons on both riverbanks. Prisoners were the main source of manpower for the shipyards.
In the top center what is left of the prison. To the right the newly restored “Batiment aux Lions” with Rue Saint-Malo behind it. To the left the ramp on which the prisoners descended into the shipyards. To the front left, two dry-docks still in use today.
The Romans understood the significance of this ideal geographic location and ever since, Brest has been of major military importance. The Rade de Brest offers protection to the largest fleets and is easy to defend. The Port and Chateau are still in use by the French navy making this the oldest castle in the world in use today.
The well restored chateau houses an excellent museum about the history of the area, the history of shipbuilding and about life on board old day and modern day (war) ships.
In 1780 the French set sail from Brest to the America’s to provide military support for the war of independence. The Naval blockade of Yorktown by the French and the supply of 5500 troops proved instrumental in the defeat of the joint British / German army that lead to the Treaty of Paris (Peace agreement between the UK and the USA).
We rented a car to visit “Parc Naturel Regional d’Armorique” and to tour the homestead. We didn’t take the boat since the weather was too unsettled to visit the drying ports. It would also make the long dinghy rides too cold and wet. Not our type of fun.
The small village Le Faou feels like an open air museum with a laid back atmosphere. Opening hours of the Boucherie were 09-12.30 and 16-19 hr. The church housed a collection of beautiful medieval surviving woodwork.
On the way back to Brest we stopped at a farmhouse for local produce. We bought farm made bread – beer – veggies and a green tomato chutney.
We closed our stay in Brest with a fantastic lunch at “Le M”. Above the delicious desert.