4th July 2022

A useful message from a fellow boater

We sailed from Guernsey to St Quay D’Armor yesterday having sent ‘arrival form’ to the marina and customs 24 hours in advance.

We received a copy of the stamped form by email an hour before we reached St Quay.

We phoned Customs at Plerin, St Brieuc to ask if it was possible for our Passports to be stamped so that we could leave France from Roscoff or Brest. They gave us an appointment to visit their office at Plerin (18km from St Quay or 10km from Binic) at 1100 this morning and within 5 mins (and no forms) both Passports were stamped, We can now leave France from any PPF and not just St Quay or St Cast.

5th June 2022

We arrived in early June to test out the new procedures and support this great initiative. It all worked very smoothly.

The PPF form was sent to the marina office 48 hours before arrival and was forwarded by the marina to the Douane. We received back a stamped copy of the form despite it being a national holiday. We checked out a few days later from Saint-Cast.

No requests to see our passports, and it does give you more flexibility if you arrive early or later in the day as the Douane are not making a journey specifically to meet you.

Video

Video of the entrance to Saint Quay marina – youtu.be/D168Z8KFL4Q

3rd June 2022

 BREXIT PROCEDURE
Temporary concession limited to Saint-Quay and Saint-Cast and from June 1st to September 30^th, 2022 – For British or Channel Islands boats wishing to visit Brittany via the ports of SAINT-QUAY or SANT-CAST

This arrangement only applies to the Brittany ports of Saint-Quay and Saint-Cast

On arrival

Download the modified Declaration of Arrival document shown on the SAINT-QUAY or SAINT-CAST website. One copy per boat must be completed and sent to the marina office email address shown on the Declaration of Arrival document, at the latest 24 hours prior to the boat’s ETA.

SaintQuay Formulaire-de-preavis-1

The marina office in question will then forward the completed document to the maritime authorities in Saint-Brieuc for processing.

Once validated, a copy will be returned to the marina office, which will, in turn, return it to the boat concerned. This copy should be kept on board at all times during the period that the boat remains in the Schengen area so as to be available in the event of a customs visit, on land or at sea.

The boat is then cleared to sail elsewhere in Brittany

On departure :

The final departure must be from SAINT-QUAY or SAINT-CAST

Download the modified Declaration of Departure document (similar to the Declaration of Arrival document) shown on the marina website. One copy per boat should be completed and sent to the email address of the departure marina. The marina office will forward the completed document to the authorities in Saint-Brieuc. Once validated, a copy will be returned to the marina for onward transmission to the boat concerned.

SaintQuay Formulaire-de-preavis-1

The boat is now cleared to leave the Schengen area

Important

If entry into the Schengen area is via the Brittany ports of Saint-Quay or Saint-Cast, then departure from the Schengen area of Brittany must also be via either of these two ports.
Entry elsewhere into the Schengen area must be via a permanently designated PPF. Departure from the Schengen area must also be via a permanently designated PPF.

See www.port-armor.com/en/news/guide-for-u-k…

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Saint Quay Portrieux – Port D’armor is an excellent base for your boating. It is a large (1040 boats) non-tidal marina with excellent facilities and very helpful, English-speaking marina staff.

Good restaurants at the marina and a few shops. The main town is about 15 mins walk away.

During July and August, they even run a dedicated concierge service to look after your specific requirements. Amazing

Very helpful marina staff and they all speak good English, so do give them a call. Do call them on VHF 9 when arriving at Saint Quay.

We were met as we approached Pontoon 7, the visitors’ pontoon, by the marina’s orange rib, and they took us to our mooring. You could not have better service.

There is a “log cabin” (a wooden hut) at the top of the visitors’ ramp so you do not have to go to the harbour office and it is manned from 8 am to 6 pm each day, depending on the time of the year. You can pay there, get information on the BriezhGo (formerly TiBus) and where to go – everything. They will even organise hire cars (some may be available from the car park mid-summer) and any other requirements as listed below. Excellent service.

The hire car comes from the Super U above Binic. Do provide plenty of notice, especially on the weekends and bank holidays. We gave 2 days’ notice, and they were unable to supply.

During July and August, Saint Quay marina run a dedicated concierge service to look after your specific requirements (list from 2018)
●Bike hire, including electric-assisted
●Car hire
●Taxi
●Assistance to obtain a technical intervention from boatyards, marine engineers, sail repair…
●Various mobile phone chargers
●Help to organise your stay
●Assistance for booking transportation or travel tickets
●Onboard delivery of goods
●Food provision (foodstuffs, bread, fresh produce, beverages, wines…)
●Tourist offer, hiking trails, golf, tennis, cinema, horse riding, casino…
●Marina guide, town map, calendar of local events…

The facilities are large and clean, and there are good restaurants and cafes at the marina and the old harbour. Good beaches and coastal walks complete the package.

The facilities are large and clean with plenty of showers. All are now free and are well maintained.

www.port-armor.com/
www.saintquayportrieux.com/en/
marinas.com/view/overview/958_St._Quay_P…

Pilot Guide
Contact information
E-mail: welcome@port-armor.com

Tides
tide.frbateaux.net/59

Guide du Port
www.guide-du-port.com/port-saint-quay-po…

Map
www.port-armor.com/en/marina-map/

Weather
www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?sc=196
www.meteoconsult.fr/ter/france/prevision……

Restaurants
www.saintquayportrieux.com/en/se-restaur…

www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g735170-…

There is another boulangerie up the road to Saint Quay beach, just past the cinema and has excellent cakes! 15mins walk

The location of the boulangeries (outlined in blue) and the grocery store are as follows

Groceries – the closest shop is the VM shop around the Old Harbour.

Market days – Monday and Friday (at different locations, so do check). The market on Fridays by the Tourist office was good, and the Monday market by the Port is surprisingly big. The Monday market is on the far side of the old harbour, about 10 mins walk.

Beaches
www.saintquayportrieux.com/en/detente-lo…

Webcam  – see www.vision-environnement.com/livecams/we…

Ferry to Ile de Brehat – www.vedettesdebrehat.com/-Brehat-depuis-…

Do note that the ferry will not go from Saint Quay if it has less than a certain number of people. The website says 10 people but others have said 45 people. The ferry from the headland above Paimpol always goes as an alternative but is difficult to get to. You can get a bus to Paimpol, but then it is difficult to get to the ferry point and too far to walk.

The WiFi is good. You need to put the code into your device on the day of arrival; otherwise, it will time out.

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Robin Fuller very kindly provided some thoughts on things to do in Saint Quay

Beaches

There are some excellent beaches to choose from; La plage du Portrieux – the old drying harbour; great for beach sports and sunbathing but no swimming as a working harbour.

La plage de la Comtesse – the other side of the marina from La plage du Portrieux; good for all the above and for swimming.

La plage du Chatelet – an excellent beach on the other side of town; walk up the hill through the town to the large sandy beach with restaurants overlooking and supermarket and shops all nearby.

There is also a lovely beach with two restaurants at Etables; plage du Moulin. There is a pretty coastal path taking you from the beach front near the marina over the headland to Etables. This is a 30-minute walk from the marina to Etables.

Walks

Apart from the walk to Etables (as above), there is a lovely coastal path leaving from close to the marina, passing La plage de la Comtesse round to La plage du Chatelet.

Buses

There is a good bus service running between  Paimpol at one end and St Brieuc at the other, with St Quay at its midst. This goes through all towns in between, including Binic

Restaurants & shops

There are a number of restaurants overlooking the marina and along the beach front overlooking the old drying harbour. There is also a small supermarket, and a market is held on the seafront Monday mornings.

In the town, there are two patisseries, butchers, a larger supermarket, a pharmacy and a number of other tourist shops. There are several restaurants overlooking La plage du Chatelet. There is a market in this part of town on a Friday morning.

Other activities;

• There is a cinema
• mini golf
• ferries to Iles de Brehat
• bike hire from the Capitainerie