While confinement had prevented the first spring navigation, marinas were not hiding their expectations on the eve of the summer season. At the end of August, the heart of the season behind them, the interviewed harbour managers draw up a contrasted balance sheet according to the sea facades. Relief nevertheless predominates.
A dense and anticipated season in the Atlantic ports
"In La Rochelle, the season has been good, but it does not make up for the losses of the spring" sums up Bertrand Moquay, director of the La Rochelle marina and president of the Atlantic Marina Association (APPA), before giving the context. "The bodies of water have been active. The return to navigation took place as early as the month of May, as we were able to be heard by the Castex Mission. But the people remained on their navigational water bodies. For the stopovers, this happened later. There was heavy traffic between July 10 and August 10. It ended earlier than usual. They were mostly French. The number of overnight stays by foreigners at port of call fell by 50% over the year, although they accounted for 20% of the total number of overnight stays. The British clientele, traditionally present in May-June, fell by 70% over the first 6 months, or 900 overnight stays."
The management of the health protocol did not pose any particular problem. "We maintained the traditional operation with 2 disinfections per day. Apart from a few customers who were afraid to wear masks for the first few days, a few reminders were enough and it worked well," confides Bertrand Moquay.
New Resident Boaters Save the Season at Le Havre
At the Le Havre marina, the numbers of visitors are more deteriorated. "For visiting yachtsmen, the season is bad. There was -25% in July and August and -70% in June. In July, the French were down 5%, but the international clientele, which accounts for 1/3 of overnight stays, fell by 45%. Fortunately, the closure of the Channel Islands brought us a Dutch clientele visiting the Baie de Seine" explains Julien Lebas, harbour master in the Normandy town.
Fortunately, the craneing/handling season was only staggered as boaters did not give up launching. One piece of good news sheds some light on the situation. "The second-hand and sales market has been quite active. We have more new annual contracts in June, July and August than usual," the marina manager is pleased to report.
Happy surprise for the Mediterranean ports
The season was also very condensed in the Mediterranean. Véronique Tourrel-Clément, General Delegate of the Union des Ports de Plaisance de Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur (UPACA) evokes positive feedback from its members. "We did not expect such a good surprise, despite the absence of the foreigners traditionally present, coming from Russia or the Emirates. The season was short but intense, especially in August. It is not yet known whether it will catch up with spring."
Beyond overnight stays, the representative of the association notes positive indicators for the charter companies present in the ports. "There has been a lot of small and medium boat rentals. But also a boom in jet-ski rentals."
While the impact of weather and the presence of foreign boaters varies by coastline, the summer season appears to have been higher than pre-summer estimates. September may be the time to reach the 2019 level.
