Publication date: 12/11/2024
Asked by the Port Adhoc team to tell his story and share his testimonial with our site’s readers, Éric responded positively. “It’s a storage solution for my boat that gives me satisfaction, so I’d be delighted to talk about it!” he said.
A young retiree living in the Paris region, Éric has a family home on the Breton island of Bréhat. Once a month, throughout the year, Éric and his wife visit this house, where they meet up with family and friends. They also take the opportunity to sail their boat.
“Previously, relates Éric, I owned a wooden dinghy from Paimpol, nearly 5 meters long. For several years, I moored it at my Port Clos anchorage in Bréhat. Although the area is renowned for being quite tricky to navigate, not least because of the many rocks around the archipelago, Port Clos is one of the calmest anchorages around. Alas, one day we were hit by a storm and a crutch ripped open her freeboard, causing her to sink rapidly.”
So Éric bought another boat, this time in polyester: “I chose a boat that’s easy to handle for both pleasure boating and fishing, fairly economical, good for crossing, and whose planking is reminiscent of the wooden planking I loved so much on my old dinghy. I named her Kyrios – after my house – and I enjoy her every time I come to Brittany. So I sail all year round except, of course, in the depths of winter. I never winterize my boat in the strict sense of the word,” explains the boater.
In Paimpol, a practical storage solution
To avoid repeating the previous unfortunate experience, Eric looked for a way to store his new boat on dry land, in an environment where Kyrios would be safe.
“I was looking for a storage space protected from possible gales and storms, but also from other sailors who can be a source of collisions… Living several hours away, I wanted a safe place, not least to enjoy some peace of mind.”
Paimpol, Lézardrieux… By asking around, Éric discovered that several boat storage options and formulas existed in the area, with different advantages and disadvantages. By offering dry stack storage, Port Adhoc Paimpol was already meeting boaters’s expectations.
“In Bréhat, there’s no gas station. It’s not that easy to get supplies. So the possibility of refueling directly at Port Adhoc Paimpol quickly weighed in the balance!”
Port Adhoc Paimpol also offered the advantage of a full technical platform, which facilitated maintenance work – particularly engine overhauls on the boat.
An easily accessible port
“Opting for the Paimpol dry port was also a good solution for getting to my boat easily. Paimpol has a very convenient SNCF train station:
Today, to reach Port Adhoc Paimpol from Paris Montparnasse, I have a choice of trains, depending on the tides. Once I’ve arrived at the Breton station, it’s a 15-minute walk to the port.
When I come by car, I leave it at the Port Adhoc Paimpol parking lot. Then I can quickly board my boat, whose launch has been organized for my arrival. Barely 30 minutes later, I’m in Bréhat!”
As Paimpol’s dry port is ideally located, tide times are also less restrictive, providing a degree of sailing flexibility.
The marina recommended by a friend
In his search for the ideal storage location, Éric recounts that he had several options: there were several availabilities in the region, and different dry storage possibilities, on bers or on racks. But Éric had also been advised by his cousin, who himself had a boat in the dry port of Paimpol.
Many years later, he confides that he has no hesitation in recommending the port. Indeed, he has developed a relationship of trust with the dry port staff: “The manager and the agents always keep an eye on the boats, they keep an eye on them and pass on any comments they may have.”
Services tailored to boat use
On his arrival at Port Adhoc Paimpol, Éric was offered various subscription packages. He opted for year-round boat storage, with unlimited handling, rinsing of the vessel after each outing, high-pressure washing once a year and access to the fuel tank.
“I appreciate the services offered by the port, which correspond well to the use of my boat. For example, I sometimes decide to go to Bréhat at the last minute. In this case, I can easily ask for my boat to be launched the day before or even the day before my arrival.
So I know that if I have to launch Kyrios for just 4 or 5 days, it won’t be a problem at Port Adhoc Paimpol. In other ports, it’s not possible to request a short-term launch!”
Thanks to the floating pontoons that equip the harbour, Éric finds docking easy, whatever the tides and coefficients: “The pontoon adapts very well to the tidal range. There are more opportunities to ‘pop over’ to the mainland from Ile de Bréhat.”
“This storage solution also makes it possible, when necessary, to take the boat out of the racks and put it on blocks at the Port Adhoc Paimpol site. I do this sometimes, when I need to intervene on Kyrios to carry out minor work. It’s also worth pointing out that this method of storage saves on maintenance costs – particularly careening costs.”
Lastly, Éric explains that Port Adhoc Paimpol is a solution that also enables his whole family to enjoy the boat: “As the port’s teams make all the formalities easier, my children can come to Paimpol in my absence, for example, and use Kyrios.”
Would you like to find out more about Port Adhoc Paimpol and the services offered on site by our teams? Visit the page dedicated to our Breton dry port!
