Sail a leg around Brittany: ten days of salt in your hair
11 days1 stop CalmFollow the route
Board the Thetis in Granville and sail ten to twelve days along the Channel Islands and the Breton coast. Four summer legs, a maximum of four guests, and the largest tidal range in Europe as your backdrop.
The Gulf of Saint-Malo has the largest tidal range in Europe: up to twelve metres between high and low water. Harbours run dry, rocks appear and disappear, and you sail by the clock of the moon. That turns sailing around Brittany into something more than a cruise — it's real navigation.
The Thetis is based in Granville during summer and sails the coast in four legs of ten to twelve days, past the Channel Islands, the wild northern coast and the gentler southern coast. On these longer voyages a maximum of four guests join two crew members, and those who wish can book a private cabin for an additional fee. You don't need to be a sailor, but you do need to be someone who can handle ten days without an agenda.
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Route stops
Organised by Kop in de Wind (summer base: Granville)
Choose one of the four summer legs (ten to twelve days) and check the dates on the website. If you're torn between the northern and southern coast: email the skipper, they'll give you an honest opinion.
Suggestion: The first and last legs of the season are often the quietest in terms of bookings.Reserve your spot and choose your cabin: shared is more affordable, a private cabin is available for an additional fee. On these longer voyages a maximum of four guests come aboard.
Travel to Granville, the Thetis's summer base. By train via Paris you can get there in a day, and the old upper town is worth an evening stroll.
Granville, NormandieThe first time you sail out of Granville harbour and feel the tide pulling beneath the keel, you understand why everything here revolves around the moon.
Sail day legs along the Channel Islands and the Breton coast: harbours that dry out, anchorages, fishing villages. The route is dictated by the weather, not the schedule.
Suggestion: Buy oysters along the way at the fishing harbour where you moor. You won't find them cheaper or fresher back home.After ten days you step off the boat at the final harbour with sea legs and salt in your hair. The world of schedules feels very far away by then — and that was exactly the point.
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For anyone copying this
Do as we did
Suggestions
- Choose your leg by character: the northern coast is wilder and more tidal, the southern coast milder with more anchorages.
- Only book your train to Granville once your spot is confirmed; the leg dates are fixed.
- Bring your own sleeping bag liner and earplugs if you're sharing a cabin.
by Kevin Schenkers