A sailing area full of challenges. The Bay of Mont St. Michel has a tidal range of 15 metres. At Cap de la Hague, the flood tide can reach 10 knots. Planning a day’s sailing always starts with the tidal atlas. Then we consult the detailed nautical chart, because the Creator was lavish and rather liberal with the granite when shaping these beautiful coastlines.

The Channel Islands are so close together that you can easily sail from one to another in a single tide, leaving time to explore ashore. With few harbours, we often anchor and head ashore by dinghy. According to the locals, each island is the most beautiful in the world, and they’re different enough from one another to make every day’s walk a pleasure. Even where an island has been built up, the coastline is often still rugged and unspoilt. The Vikings knew it: the best way to explore is by ship. You may want to sail for more than a single tide, and when you reach northern Brittany, you’ll notice straight away how much people make the most of summer there. The coast—and especially the small French islands—has a more paradisiacal feel than the English islands, where life on the beach is a little more reserved. At first, navigating among the strong currents and all those rocks may seem nerve-racking. In practice, it’s straightforward, provided you have a good chart, a ruler and reasonable visibility. There are some wonderfully challenging routes, but you need to be able to rely on your engine. A holiday aboard a traditional ship in this area gives our guests a wonderful introduction to the islands. Thanks to its contribution to a living historical picture, our ship is always a welcome visitor.