ABOVE: A coast in colour

A coast in colour

No self-respecting sailor heads off to sea without donning a stripy jumper and stowing away a bottle of something alcoholic. Down here in the south of France the drink of choice, unsurprisingly, is pastis: the perfect lubricant for recounting tall tales of big seas, strong winds and poor conditions. Eschewing the stripy jumper (they’ve never suited me) but happy to embrace the tradition of setting sail with a bottle of pastis on board, my partner and I started planning a trip taking in the Mediterranean coast from the border with Spain to Marseille.

Our main aim was simple: to see as much as possible of the eastern side of the French Med – an area often ignored by sailors – and experience the varied local customs, food and drink that make this fairly short stretch of coast seem almost like an amalgam of several different countries.

Although our boat is based in the small seaside village of Sainte-Marie, just minutes from the much larger town and port of Canet-en-Roussillon, we decided to start our voyage from the supremely attractive Côte Vermeille, home of the captivating, historic towns of Cerbère, Banyuls-sur-Mer, Port-Vendres and Collioure. Along this section of the coast, tall cliffs descend into little coves that are ideal for weighing anchor for a swim and taking life at a slower pace. And the terraces on the slopes of the hills behind, where grapes for local drinks such as the fortified apéritif or dessert wine Banyuls are grown, provide the perfect backdrop. One of the challenges of navigating between Banyuls and Port Vendres is getting past Cap Bear, a notorious headland that attracts strong winds and confused seas, which can be very unforgiving to a sailor during the frequent northwest tramontane winds that can gust up to force seven and more with little warning.


Read the full article on pages 42-45 of this months issue.

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