Sete for boats
27 August 2007 | Sete
Hot
As noted on arrival, the Vieuz Bassin in Sete is just behind the lighthouse, and the pilotage of the entrance is pretty straightforward though the moorings are not so simple.
The Port St Clair, as the leisure part of the port is known, also runs the moorings which line the canals lacing through the town. Sete has two north-south canals, and a set of east-west cuts then divide the town into islands. The eastern 'arm' has lifting bridges all the way along; at the end boats must turn left if they want to reach the Etang de Thau through the last two lifting bridges across which run the railway and the main road. There are yacht moorings in several places, and particularly in the last stretch before the Etang. Here, at Quai Pavois d'Or, there are a few finger pontoons (tiny by UK standards but strong enough for a cruising yacht) and a quay to tie up against. These are let by capitainerie on the same basis as the ones in the Vieux Bassin by the sea.
If you want to go up the canals, either to moor against the quayside or to go through to the Etang, you need the bridges to be opened. (We don't know the exact air draft, but no yacht could get through.) You do this via the port (not the capitanerie); ring them on 04 67 46 34 95, or VHF 12. They open the bridges just twice a day (times appear to be variable), and you must leave a message to say you are coming as they only open them for the number of boats they are expecting. They need to know at least an hour in advance.
Sete is not cheap; its ?'?33 a night for us, including water and electricity. It's a very busy harbour, with large container ships, big fishing vessels, ferries and even cruise liners coming in and out. This does make for some wash but with strong chain snubbers we have not found it uncomfortable. We have stayed in the Vieux Bassin; going away for several days we considered the security better here than in the centre of town. If we were staying, for example for the winter, we would want to be a little more central.
The picture is the lifting bridges from the canals to the Etang de Thau (taken from the Etang side); the afternoon we watched them, over a dozen yachts came through into this inland sea. You can anchor in the Etang, but we would not want to leave the boat for long in unsettled weather as it can whip up quite nastily in a short time. We have friends who spent quite a time anchored here and really enjoyed it, but we have not had good enough conditions.