Some of you may have read the novel “All The Light We Cannot See”, by American author, Anthony Doerr, which was published in 2014. The story of a blind French girl who fled Paris in 1940 and spent the years, of German occupation, in St Malo, with her extended family.
This highly acclaimed novel has been turned into a 4 part mini series, available to watch on Netflix. Much of the filming revolves around the impending liberation of St Malo, by American forces in August 1944. In some of the beach scenes a number of islands are visible offshore, the larger island on the horizon is Cezembre.
A paddle out from St Malo, to Cezembre, is an enjoyable short day trip. There is a large convenient slip on the northern side of the marina between St Malo and St Servan, which is an ideal departure point. Heading out towards Cezembre it is necessary to pass the entrance of the marina and the main port of St Malo, both are really busy with commercial and pleasure traffic, so follow the maritime regulations and watch for other boats and ships.
Paddle towards Le Pt Bé before starting the crossing towards Cezembre, and make sure that you know your buoyage as there is a busy shipping lane to cross. The best advice is look left and right, cross the channel at right angles and keep up a brisk rate. The channel isn’t that wide so you should soon be in safer waters. Meandering through the reefs which stretch to the south of the island. Ahead the large sandy beach is an obvious attraction, but you might want to consider a circumnavigation of Cezembre, before landing.
In contrast to the sandy south coast, the north coast has steep cliffs with no obvious landing places. Rocky headlands punctuated by small coves. The waters off the north coast have always been more lively than those encountered off the south coast, which can result in some entertaining conditions at times.
When paddling in the area a wide variety of birds may be seen, Razorbills started to breed on the cliffs in 1987 and Guillemots in 1992 whilst during the summer months a range of terns and gulls will be encountered in the waters around the Island.
The Germans in St Malo, surrendered on the 17th August 1944, the battle for the city beginning on the 4th August. The German garrison on Cezembre, held out against heavy bombardment, from both the sea and air until the 2nd September 1944. Having walked around the island a few times, and witnessed the destruction, in the 1990’s it is impossible to imagine what it must have been like to have been on the island the last two weeks of August 1944.
The coastline of this area of Brittany is an amazing playground for sea kayaking and an area that I have enjoyed exploring for the best part of 40 years. There are enjoyable day trips heading both east and west from St Malo, depending upon the tidal streams. A real bonus is if it is too windy to paddle on the sea, it is only short a short drive to the sheltered waters of the Rance Estuary.
I think many paddlers ignore the kayaking potential of the waters around St Malo. Arriving on the ferry and heading straight to the classic areas such as Ile de Brehat in the north and Morbihan to the south. Next time you are in the area though why not spend some time paddling in the waters depicted in the book and Netflix series, “All The Light We Cannot Sea”, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Great read both your article and the book. I was disappointed by the dramatisation of the book as it was changed significantly, key characters barely appeared.
Having never paddled in St Malo as you mentioned, it's the port we arrive and depart from, extra time must be factored in for future exploration. Thanks for the highlight.