The Rade de Brest is an amazing area. Covering around 70 sq miles, it is the home of the French Navy and an excellent boating ground. The Goulet de Brest is only around 1nm wide.
Brexit
Brest is a Port of Entry (PPF)
The following is for the form that needs to be completed prior to your visit and sent to both email addresses. www.digimap.gg/wp-content/uplo…
Marinas
The Rade de Brest is blessed with a number of excellent marinas. The main marinas are called the Marina du Chateau and the Moulin Blanc. This page covers the Moulin Blanc marina.
On a recent visit in May 2019, we were made very welcome. Greeted by a marina attendant who showed us where to moor and received a welcome pack from the marina office.
There are actually 2 marinas there and the visitors’ pontoon is on the inside of the breakwater of the north marina. The southern marina breakwater wall is sometimes used in the Summer. You may also be directed to available fingers during the summer.
Blog of visit in May 2019 – www.digimap.gg/wp-content/uploads/2019/0…
The Moulin Blanc is next to the beach with good links to public transport and ideal for a technical stopover. It is well sheltered and the marina staff are very accommodating and supportive.
The marina office is a red building at the shore end of the visitors’ pontoon.
The showers and facilities are very good and cleaned regularly. You need a six digit code to get in and a different code is issued for each boat. Beware as it has an expiry date and you don’t want to be inconvenienced early in the morning when you find it has expired.
The facilities are in the Marina office building if you stay on the pontoon connected to the fuelling.
There are more and larger facilities on the opposite side of the building under the Tour la Monde building.
Fuelling worked well and has a 24 / 7 facility, however motor boats which require over Euro140 can call the office using an intercom and they can override the system and you can pay them once fuelled up. Only available during office hours. There is a “lorry” button for faster delivery of diesel.
Bikes are available from the marina office. They are free but you need to leave a large deposit.
“Pauls” is an amazing boulangerie, one of the best. It is 5 mins walk to the right past the restaurants and before you get to the beach.
Oceanopolis is next door to the marina and very convenient. Well worth a visit.
There are a number of restaurants along the marina front and a couple more just past Paul’s.
OK, it is some way in from Vieux Moines, maybe 15 miles to Moulin Blanc marina, and so some detour to decide to make from the passage plans north and south. The marina is modern with good facilities but a few kilometres from the City. Visitor’s berths are in the second basin, hard on the left as you turn in. The HMs are very fluent in English, some modern bars and restaurants, chandlery and fashionable leisure gear on site. The Rade is huge, think inside Garrick Roads or Plymouth Sound and multiply by 25! A truly massive number of kayaks and all sorts of kids’ dinghies stacked up here as well as some serious looking sailing facilities. Slipways the size of airport runways. Aircraft hanger sized sheds suggest you can probably get your boat rebuilt here, not just fixed.
Pontoon water…for the first time we came across not a tap but the Hozelock type connector. You need the male connector if you want any water and you cannot switch it off other than by pulling the connector back out.
Showers, do not forget your code from HM. The control box is as you enter the block with instructions English.
Gavin May kindly provided the above report – 2021
Emails and phone numbers: Château 33 (0)2 98 33 12 50 chateau@marinasbrest.fr and Moulin Blanc 33 (0)2 98 02 20 02 moulinblanc@marinasbrest.fr
Moulin Blanc
Located at the mouth of the River Elorn, at the tip of a region with much to offer tourists, the Moulin Blanc Marina offers many advantages to passing sailors and is the ideal place from which to cast off and explore the Rade (natural harbour) and its rivers.
www.marinasbrest.fr/en/moulin-blanc-mari…
Transport
The Bus no 3 goes from the marina to the Brest city centre and runs at least every 30mins. It takes around 20mins. The bus is called No. 3 Lambézellec – Océanopolis via Palaren. Visit www.bibus.fr/en/ for further information.
Restaurants – www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g187095-…
Webcam – see www.vision-environnement.com/livecams/we…