Wrecks in Brittany: the 6 most beautiful boat cemeteries

Wrecks Brittany

In this article, we will concentrate solely on wrecks in Brittany that have run aground and are visible. The list of sites presented here is not exhaustive, but reflects a personal choice. Some of the photographs of these wrecks are available for sale in limited editions.

Wrecks Brittany - Wrecks in Finistère

The Diben cove

Just a few metres from the Rolland shipyards, the Diben cove is home to three magnificent wrecks: the Marie-Françoise, the Etreom and the Kalinka. It's a real open-air painting that we observe once we're there, with particularly vivid colours.

La Marie-Françoise

Built between 1944 and 1945 at the Vincent Rolland shipyard, it stopped fishing in the 1970s. Its fishing was centred around long-lining.

The Kalinka

It is undoubtedly one of wrecks  the most photographed in Brittany. Built in 1964, she began sailing on 23 August 1965. This magnificent boat took 20,000 hours to build. It was also used for long-line fishing, a method in which the fish are not actively hunted. Lines are dropped to the bottom of the sea, and the fisherman waits for the fish to take the bait.

Why choose the name Kalinka for this boat?

All the boats built by the Rolland shipyard were traditionally christened 'Étoile'. They have therefore chosen to maintain this tradition by giving this one the same name. However, the owners refused. Thinking that the song "Kalinka", which had just been released, meant "Red Star", they named the boat "Étoile Rouge".

She was one of the fastest in France. She was decommissioned in March 1996 when the owner and builder retired (a decommissioned boat is a boat without rigging or crew, which remains in port) and brought to the Diben cove.

Etreom

Her name means "between us" in Breton. Built in 1970 at the Charpentiers réunis yard in Saint-Guénolé-Penmarch, this 17.39m tuna trawler has had some great adventures. Considered one of the best fishing boats in Saint-Guénolé, she successfully took part in several tuna campaigns (1972, 1978). On 12 October 1975, in a heavy storm, "Etreom" took part in the rescue of "L'Enfant de Bretagne", which had collapsed off Newlyn. She sailed for almost 27 years and was taken out of the fleet in February 1997.

Port-Rhu boat cemetery, Douarnenez

It's a tradition in Port-Rhu that boats that have proudly served for years are not cast aside, but end their days serenely alongside their counterparts still in service.

The shipwrecks of Camaret-sur-mer

Camaret-sur-Mer has long been showcasing its boat cemetery. Near the Notre-Dame de Rocamadour chapel and the Vauban Tower, you can discover eight shipwrecks. They include the "Magellan", the "Rose des mers", the "Notre-Dame des Neiges", the "Castel Dinn", the "Maïtena", the "Rosier fleuri" and the "La Salle".

History of shipwrecks in Camaret-sur-Mer

In the 19th century, sardine fishing made Camaret rich. However, with the crisis in sardine fishing at the beginning of the 20th century, fishermen switched to lobster fishing. By 1960, Camaret was Europe's leading lobster port, with a strong boat-building industry.

Wrecks Brittany - Wrecks in Morbihan

Etel

The first thing that strikes you when you arrive at the marine cemetery at Le Magouër in Plouhinec, opposite the port of Etel, is the contrast between the modernity of the tags on the hulls of our "old ladies of the sea".

These wrecks  are a vestige of Étel's rich maritime history, which in its heyday was home to up to 250 tuna boats and 12 canneries. Time doesn't seem to stand still here, as the old ladies continue to exist and to call out to us.

Some people regret that there are sometimes more wrecks than new boats in certain ports, but they are also formidable standards for this profession that has suffered so much. They bear witness, preventing us from forgetting the heavy price that many sailors have paid.

The tragic storms that plunged Étel sailors into mourning

In 1922, four tuna boats from the island of Groix were lost in a violent storm.

The most tragic moment in the history of tuna fishing occurred between 18 and 20 September 1930, when a violent storm resulted in the loss of 11 dundées, with 10 crews lost. Seventy-two Étel sailors never returned home, leaving a deep mark on the community. In all, 207 people, including skippers, deckhands and mousses from the Atlantic tuna ports, lost their lives in this tragedy.

In December 1935, another devastating storm sank three dundries in Étel, leaving 15 people missing and 22 orphans.

The Kerhervy boat cemetery

It's undeniably one of the most memorable encounters I've had in our magnificent region of Brittany. These wrecks, mostly former tuna boats, frozen in mud and time, are impressive.

The first wrecks In 1923, the island of Groix's dundees, which were used for tuna fishing, were brought here. At the time, Groix was France's leading tuna fishing port.

History of the Kerhervy boat cemetery

In 1943, the Germans ordered the Le Calloc'h shipyard, based in Groix, to transfer its wrecks to this site. Many fishermen hid their boats here, hoping to escape requisitioning. Some boats, whose owners had died in the fighting, remained there.

From the late 1950s onwards, tuna boats, trawlers and casey boats were also based here.

Their skeletons struggle to emerge from the waters and offer us one last testimony to their crazy maritime stories.

Wrecks Brittany - Wrecks in Ille-et-Vilaine

The Quelmer boat cemetery

It would be surprising if the corsair town didn't also have a boat cemetery. The Quelmer La Passagère district has preserved its agricultural and market-gardening traditions, while asserting its maritime character, thanks in particular to its shipyard. This is where old boats come to end their days. Among the most remarkable wrecks are the Ondine, recognisable by its blue and white hull, and the Philippe-Martine, a former tuna boat.

The wrecks  Abandoned ships are transformed into living canvases for artists, who come to embellish these ocean-eroded structures.

Among these creations, "La Belle Endormie", a fresco by local artist Kalvez, stands out.