The tall ships are still dreaming. With Sailboats Britain, their collision came true. From Easter to All Saints' all-or even year- fifty boats of yesteryear take fans of spray off Finistère, Brittany, Côtes d'Armor and Ille-et-Vilaine. More than just walking, these fishing trips tell the beautiful story of maritime heritage. Cast off.


Modest sardine, luggers, cutters, sturdy lobster, tuna, lugger, majestic brigs, schooners ... make up a disparate fleet of great charm: 51 units of 6 meters to 30 meters long, nothing but tall ships, historic vessels classified or rebuilt identically. And if their home ports are scattered on the rugged coastline of the four departments of Brittany, all of Saint-Malo to Vannes, flying the same flag "Sailboats Britain," black and white as the regional flag "Gwenn ha" .
The boats belong mostly to individuals, sailors wishing to maintain sharing their passion with the public. For ten years, they were more likely to offer trips exceptional sea, comment, fishing trips, picnics and other tastings. But these individual initiatives were often limited by management problems and lack of promotion.
Action Plan

Love this wonderful crew maritime heritage, the General Council of Britain has decided to take the helm. There are three years, an action plan has been implemented to help skippers through training (management, heritage knowledge ...) and enhance their offer to tourists.
This has been consolidated under the banner "Sailboats Britain." This is not (yet) a label but almost. On the marker on site at the lodge boats, and the jacket with logo of their captain. And it obviously floats on the Internet. However, without dedicated website. Users to navigate skillfully on that of the Regional Tourism Committee (CRT) to discover this virtual fountain of all yachts, together with bridges leading to the site of each of them. www.tourismebretagne.com/a faire/naviguer/voiliers-of-britain
Selected fleet

Main criteria for selection, reception and benefits. "The round in the water does not interest us. All output must last at least three hours and provide explanations heritage of quality, on the boat itself and its environment, "says Ronan Le Baccon, responsible for the development of heritage to the Regional Council. "Special envoys" also test anonymously and regularly, these mini cruises before awarding (or not) its flag to the boat or even scuttle the selection.
Proof that the idea is good, attendance jumped 25% this year, while the fleet had grown by only 8%. As for prices, there is something for every budget, with an average range of 30 € to 100 €. And, behold, the outputs on board the most spectacular boats are not necessarily the most expensive. Three examples.
guaranteed fun
<i> The Year Durzunel </ i>, crab boat in the Bay of Cancale (Simon Bourcier)
Small is beautiful, most luxurious experience is signed Durzunel Year ("The Dove"), less than 7 feet long. This old rig pocket is a lugger, ie a crab boat once used for fishing for crustaceans. Its anchor is Loguivy-de-la-Mer, in the bay of Cancale (Ille-et-Vilaine). It loads up to seven, to participate in maneuvers (it's an option), and especially meeting the lockers, just to feast on lobster, prepared on board, with a myriad of other delights, the second Olivier Roellinger (Cancale is his fiefdom). Three hours of high gastronomic adventure marine 125 €.
XXL for a sailboat, heading for Brest (Finistère), home port of La Recouvrance, a famous two-masted end like a bird. Property of the city, this iconic topsail schooner of 30 feet is a replica of a sloop of 1817, military building once intended for routing and monitoring the coast of Africa or the Caribbean. We boarded in tribe (up to 25 passengers) for a half-day (€ 49.50) a day (99 €) or a sunset evening (65 €). Guaranteed fun hoisting sails and nine maneuvering their 430 m² pristine canvas in iodized wind. Here, the important thing is to participate.
This hirec the Sant off the island Rouzic gannets (Pierre Torset)
20 minutes off Perros-Guirec (Côtes d'Armor), the archipelago of Sept-Iles is the largest bird sanctuary in France, a protected site where the island Moines is the only authorized call. This hirec Sant, 15 meters long, a replica of a lobster in 1920, so there will dock for a picnic at the foot of the lighthouse. A day to remember (42 €) with birds. Starring: the huge gannet (large 1.80 meters) to more than 40,000 crammed into the blue eyes Rouzic island February to November and small puffin red legs and beak parrot. This adorable light weight of 400 grams comes here, and nowhere else, on holiday from late March to mid-July.