Proceeding south from Boulogne your first possible port of call is the small town of Etaples up the River Canche. Sadly this is not an option for fin-keeled boats as the marina dries and there is no suitable quay to lean against, but for boats that can take the ground it’s a worthwhile diversion. The bottom is soft mud. Find the port hand Canche No.2 buoy towards the top of the tide and follow the marked channel in, referring to appropriate authorities.

The mouth of the Somme is about 18 miles further on from Le Touquet and the Canche. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but for the adventurous St Valéry has everything—a challenging entrance, a pretty town and an attractive marina—making it one of the most desirable destinations on this part of the French coast.

The starting point for entry to the Somme is the north cardinal buoy AT-S0. You should aim to arrive here at least 2 hours before HW. From here you should be able to see the start of the buoyed channel which may well not be in the same place as on the chart or the last time you were there, since the course changes frequently. A sketch map is provided on the marina website.

Entry at neaps is possible in boats drawing 1.5m or less but springs is much more comfortable, so long as you remember that a spring tide will carry you in quite rapidly and give you little time to avoid being beached in the shallows if you inadvertently stray too far out of the centre of the channel. The other consideration, of course, is the weather. Any attempt to cross the shoreline breakers to gain the channel in rough weather would be foolhardy. As for entering or leaving at night, as a visitor you may dismiss the idea: outside the immediate approaches to St Valéry practically none of the buoys is lit.

In making your run in bear in mind that it will take up to two hours to get from the open sea to the marina. That being the case, and given that some of the shallowest water is halfway between the two, it makes sense to set off from AT-S0 the best part of 2 hours before HW (perhaps a bit later at neaps) so as to be certain of a still rising tide where you are most likely to go aground.

About two thirds of the way in, the channel splits at a west cardinal buoy and for St Valéry you take the right hand fork which, with a careful eye still on the depth finder, will bring you in close to the shore and eventually, after a last turn to the right, to the tree-lined marina laid out on the canalised River Somme. In season, you will probably be met by a helpful person to direct you to a berth, otherwise tie up on one of the hammerheads and report to the capitainerie.

For a lazy and convivial drink there is nowhere pleasanter than the bar of the Club Nautique Valéricain which runs the marina. For eating try Du Port et des Bains on the waterfront (1 quai Balvet, T 03 22 60 80 09) or Le Nicol’s in the high street (15 r. L Ferté, T 03 22 26 82 96). Having fortified yourself there are attractive walks by the estuary or up the hill to the old town which claims (along with several other French towns) to be the place from which Duke William of Normandy set sail for the conquest of England.

If time permits it’s fun to take the steam train from the quayside close to the marina round the bay to Le Crotoy, another attractive small town on the estuary, less tranquil than St Valéry. The adventurous, equipped with craft which can take the ground, can reach there by boat by taking the left hand fork at the west cardinal out in the estuary which leads to the drying marina. There are, however, limited spaces for visitors, and when you dry out the bottom is not soft.

© 2008 Yachtpilot