One of the best days for a boat owner is when she/he takes possession of her/his boat. For those Lagoon cat owners who travel all the way to take delivery of their boat in France, this is the time when the dream comes true and the logistics of getting back home with the “new family member” must be organized.
Even if you are “a seasoned sailor” you need to familiarize yourself with your catamaran: have some sea trials, some short cruises to be sure to become as familiar as possible with your new boat before making the big jump. I would like to propose my 3 preferred destinations (actually the Lagoon Team’s best destinations) for short cruises from the Lagoon delivery sites.
First, you have to know that Lagoon has two production facilities in France, which means that we can also define two different short distance cruising areas:
- One in Les Sables d’Olonne in the region of Vendée (the starting point of the famous “Vendée Globe” solo round the world race). This is the most frequent launching place for boats between 38’ to 45’ long.
- The other one is in the city of Bordeaux, famous for its wine production and where the boats above 45’ are built.
So, if your boat is delivered in Les Sables d’Olonne, you will be quite close to really nice places to test your catamaran. The 3 locations below are among the Lagoon Team favourites:
Island of Aix
This island used to be the first defence stronghold of the Rochefort arsenal, up the Charente river. Now it is just a lovely, crescent moon shaped island. Easy to get to, close to “les Sables d’Olonne”:a cruising piece of cake, perfect for a first time!
A fun place to see close to this island is the “Boyard Fort”. This famous seamark was originally part of the defence stronghold of the Rochefort arsenal. It was not really useful. Now it is the place for a TV reality game show.
Island of Ré – the “Fier d’Ars”
A nice anchorage near the famous church of “Ars en Ré” with its black and white roof which is used as a principal sight line landmark to get and stay in the channel. Be careful at the entrance of the bay with the sandbanks of “Bucheron”.
Island of Yeu
Approaching this island, a smell of Brittany and rocks seems to surround all the scenery. Rocks but also sandy beaches and you quickly realize that this island is the combination of 2 worlds: the “Vendée” and the “Bretagne” regions. Sailing around the island is a pleasant way to discover those different marine landscapes.
In the next post I will talk about the anchorages near Bordeaux… If you want to talk about some great sailing areas or great anchorage spots of your own country, please just send me an email at info@lagoon-inside.com.
Warning:
Before going sailing, you should check all the security equipments needed aboard. You should check the weather conditions and prepare your cruise with nautical charts and all the nautical documents needed for the sailing area where you want to go to, so as to know all its details and specificities. This article is only aimed at giving you just some touristic indications and cannot be used as a nautical guide.
The best way to go to these places is to choose a day with low tide at midday. So you can spend all day anchor with an arrival and a departure at high tide. It is a safer approach for those of you who are not used to the French tidal range.