Four months before the Maritime Festivals of Brest 2016 the number of boats registered to participate in the parades that will punctuate the week is close to a thousand. And 75% of them have already confirmed their arrival. Hundreds of registration files from boats wishing to sail on this 7 e edition of the Fêtes Maritimes de Brest have already been received by the organizer (Brest Nautical Events.)
Didier Ragot, Brest 2016 maritime manager and former lieutenant of Olivier de Kersauson explains "In a perpetual search for coherence with the spirit of the Fêtes, a working group composed of specialists in the sea, boating and old rigging meets regularly to make choices on the requests for registration of each ship."
"For many associations, clubs, maritime federations, in France and elsewhere, the Fêtes maritimes de Brest remain an exceptional opportunity to "show off", to carry the flag of a culture, a port, a region... The crews often put a lot of effort into the expedition, and in Brest, "The Place To Be", all are proud to be ambassadors..." adds Anne Burlat, maritime consultant.
Many kinds of boats
Many boats of all types will be present in Brest, but to make it easier for the public to find their way around, distinct categories have been defined.
- Yawls and rowing sails (Bantry Fraternity Yawl, Marie-Pupuceâeuros¦)
- Small traditional canoes (Estou de Volta, Dom Michelâeuros¦)
- Old working sailboats (General Leclerc, March with Euros¦)
- Old sailing ships of coasting and great fishing (La Grande Hermine, Saltilloâeuros¦)
- Tall ships of 30 meters and more (Mercedes, Santa Maria Manuela, La Recouvrance...)
- Historical replicas (the Hermione, Gyptisâeuros¦)
- Small classic yacht, from 5 to 7 mètres (Dourduff, Plumeâeuros¦)
- Large classic yacht, 8 meters and more (Pen Duick, Seagullâeuros¦)
- Pleasure boats from the 50s and 60s (Juluan, Petit Poaâeuros¦)
- Motorboating (Suzanne, Calleganneâeuros¦)
- Racing yachts (Macif, Prince de Bretagne, Groupe Idec...)
Of course, the military vessels of the French Navy and the unavoidable Abeille Bourbon, foreign government ships, tugs, SNSM customs, coastal and deep-sea fishing boats, as well as scientific vessels will be present: the Thalassa of Ifremer (French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea), or the Europa (Dutch ship that provides scientific missions).
A nautical ballet in Brest harbor
The public will be able to follow the sailing of the boats participating in the Parade, on land and on sea. From 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, two commentators will take turns on the La Pérouse dike, specially sounded to allow them to tell and explain everything that will happen on the water.
Every morning, the chartered boats will go around the public, from the 5th basin to the Penfeld, before going out into the harbor. While 6 to 8 sailboats of 30 meters and more will make passages under sails inside the big dikes all afternoon, several selected flotillas will make the turns in the sheltered roadstead, from the 5th basin to the Penfeld, following one another in front of the dike La Pérouse. At the end of each afternoon, spectators will be able to watch the ballet of the ships returning to the harbor and the docking maneuvers.
"At Euro Brest, the boats are sailing, sails unfurled and live in front of the public... They are numerous, they are all different and, for the most part, the sailors are pure enthusiasts, who have come for the sole pleasure of participating. The maneuvers, the tacking, the parades will make the visitors share these great moments, this aesthetic, this emotion..." underlines Jakez Kerhoas, in charge of the design of the parades.
Night paradesâeuros¦
During the week of the Fêtes Maritimes de Brest, four night parades will take place. Under a festival of sounds and lights, the flotillas will parade in the port at nightfall, in the wake of the large ships. Four parades mean four different atmospheres:
| Wednesday, July 13, 2016 | "Brest welcomes..." On resolutely Breton tones, the first night parade will be dedicated to the ships of the Rade de Brest. At the head of the procession, the Abeille Bourbon, old sailing ships of the Rade such as the Recouvrance or the Belle Poule, but also coastal and deep-sea fishing vessels, buildings of the National Navy... |
| Friday, July 15, 2016 | " From classic yachting to ocean racing" The parade will be opened on jazzy tones by a maxi Trimaran, alongside classic yachts, small racing keelboats, or marconi yachts of legendary architects. |
| Saturday, July 16, 2016 | "Tall ships, schooners and three-masted ships" will be in the spotlight. Two large topsail schooners will open the ball to the sound of sailors' songs, followed by the main auric or square rigs. |
| Sunday, July 17, 2016 | "The parade of the little ones" 120 to 150 boats from 4 to 8 m will invade the harbour, grouped in four distinct flotillas: sail-oars, traditional canoes from France and the world, yawls, and small classic yachts. |
...and big parade
The Grand Parade is the must-see event of the Fêtes Maritimes de Brest for those who attend it. This ballet âeuros that we contemplate from the land or sea âeuros serves as the grand finale to the Fêtes brestoises. This July 19, 2016, the many boats will cross the bay of Douarnenez and the roadstead of Brest with the symbolic passage of the "Tas de Poix."
From land, thousands of spectators will be able to admire the boats sailing from several strategic locations: the GR24 which runs from Douarnenez to the Pointe du Raz, the Pointe de Pen Hir, the Pointe des Espagnols, the coastal path between the Porzic lighthouse and the Pointe Saint-Matthieu
