The old riggings | Destination Granville Land and Sea

A maritime heritage

to preserve

Well aware of the important role played by fishing and sailing in its history, the Granville Terre et Mer region regularly works to preserve and enhance its maritime heritage. The presence of several old rigs in the port of Granville, sailboats symbolic of the world of seafaring, attests to these initiatives. Formerly used as local or more distant fishing vessels, Granville’s old riggings now offer participatory sea outings at the whim of the winds and tides, in the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel or towards the Destination’s northern coasts. In this way, the associations that manage these boats ensure the continuity of sailing know-how.

Le Marité

France's last Newfoundlander

A young centenarian, the Marité has been attached to the port of Granville since her arrival in 2012. But it was at the Fécamp shipyard that she was born in 1923, the last Fécamp ship to be built specifically for the Grande Pêche. The Marité was born at a time when cod fishing was already beginning to suffer. The First World War had dealt a major blow to the activity, and the development of steamships and trawlers in the 1920s led to the decommissioning of many sailing vessels, which were too slow and not profitable enough for fishing. After only five campaigns on the Newfoundland banks, the Marité was retired in 1929 and put up for sale by her owner, Charles Le Borgne. The young three-masted schooner then spent some forty years sailing the seven seas, first as a Danish-flagged mortuary, then as a cargo ship for the Allies during the Second World War. Following the conflict, she returned to her fishing responsibilities, sailing between Denmark, Iceland and the Faroe Islands in search of cod, herring and shrimp. At this time, she also underwent several major modifications: masts and sails were dismantled in favor of an engine. The Marité began to age, however, and in 1973, her owner left her alongside for the last time. Four years later, the ship was rediscovered by two young Swedes, keen to explore the seas. Far from being discouraged by the ship’s dilapidated condition, the two adventurers embarked on a vast restoration project, which was completed eight years later, in 1987. The Marité thus found a new life and a new purpose, alternating pleasure cruises between the Baltic and North Seas. For one voyage, she even found herself back in Fécamp, her port of birth.

1998 marked a new stage in the life of the old Newfoundlander. Her owners decided to sell her, and thanks to a large-scale mobilization on the part of several associations and leading figures in French navigation, the Marité found her way back to Normandy. She then served as anambassador for the region for several years, taking part in a number of major events dedicated to the world of the sea. For one season, she was also used as a TV set for the Thalassa TV show. In 2006, however, the Marité began to tire: it was time for a rejuvenating treatment, and so she was taken to dry dock in Cherbourg, where she underwent six years of restoration to bring her back to her former youth and appearance. She was then repatriated to Granville, her new home port. Today, the Marité ply the coasts of La Manche, offering full- and half-day outings to the public. She also takes part in a number of festive events, such as the Grande Armada in Rouen, and offers entertainment on the quayside. The last French terre-neuvier, this famous three-masted ship, which turns 100 in 2023, is considered by many to be a symbol of the Grande Pêche in Normandy, and an essential part of the Destination.

Sailing aboard Marité

La Granvillaise

Flagship of the Granville fleet

Created by the Association des Amis des Vieux Gréements, La Granvillaise is the youngest of Granville’s traditional ships, and was born of a desire to bring Norman sailing know-how up to date. A perfect replica of a late 19th-century bisquine, construction began in 1988, one year after the launch of La Cancalaise, its neighbor across the street. It was the creation of this little Breton vessel that motivated the association and the people of Granville to launch and finance the project: after all, there can be no Cancalaise bisquine without a Granville bisquine! Indeed, there is a traditional rivalry between the two major towns in the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel, dating back to the early 19th century. The bisquines of that era were originally designed as fishing boats, specialized in “picking” oysters and other shellfish from the seabed. Their lightness and the size of their imposing sails gave them the power needed to pull the dredge used to harvest the oysters lying on the seabed.

They also enabled them to take part in regattas, local races organized by sailors from Granville and Cancale. The first was held in 1846, and quickly became an institution, a veritable cockfight between the inhabitants of the two points of the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel. The regatta reached its golden age in the early 1900s, before suffering several major setbacks. The economic crisis and the decimation of oyster populations caused by a virulent disease led to a drop in bisquine fishing activity, and the Second World War sounded the death knell for the regatta. The construction of La Granvillaise was therefore seen as an opportunity to pay tribute to these traditions. The new bisquine is based on the 1897 plans for La Rose-Marie, with the same light hull and imposing sails as her predecessors. After two years’ work, La Granvillaise was launched on April 15, 1990, and on that day, some 10,000 people turned out to admire the christening of the first Granville-built bisquine in over 70 years. Today, La Granvillaise offers visitors the chance to rediscover this fishing and regatta tradition. Half-day and full-day trips are organized in the Bay of Granville and as far as the Chausey Islands.

Poster Regates De Granville 1894 Collectionneur De Granville

Lentree Du Port Le Jour Des Regates Collectionneur De Granville

2017 Charles Marie Copyright Esprit Grand Large

Le Charles-Marie

Metamorphosis of a trawler

The Charles-Marie is a special case among the Destination’s old rigs. Designed at the Servain workshops in Granville in 1968, she was originally a trawler: a vessel built for local fishing, but motorized and, above all, without sails! Nevertheless, it was a sturdy, solid boat that worked for thirty years under the command of its captain, Jean-Pierre Thélot, and then his successor, Pierre Berteau. Then, in 1998, Berteau commissioned the construction of a new trawler, the Charles-Marie II, which raised questions about the future of the first vessel. A new association, this time from Agon-Coutainville, took over. Created a year earlier, the Ponton association took ownership of the Charles-Marie and breathed new life into her through a major restoration session at the Legueltel shipyard in Blainville-sur-Mer. After two years of work, the trawler has undergone a metamorphosis: she now has the appearance of a Dundee-type charter (or expedition) sailboat, with a 180m² sail area.

Re-launched in 2000, the Charles-Marie is dedicated to the discovery or rediscovery of traditional sailing. Over the past 23 years, she has sailed several thousand miles along the French coast and taken part in numerous events, including the Grande Armada and the start of the Route du Rhum in Saint-Malo. Its home port, however, remains Granville, and each season is dedicated to showcasing the Destination’s maritime riches. Trips are organized to the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel or to the Chausey Islands. Le Charles-Marie also offers longer cruises, allowing travelers to explore the Channel Islands or the Emerald Coast. And whatever the destination, the vocation remains the same: to introduce you to the traditional Norman world of sailing.

History and heritage