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The port of call which pays particular attention to the appearance of its town and boats
If you are looking for a true Provençal town, you will be delighted by the port of call of Sanary. Everything is done to preserve its heritage from the houses to the boats. A brightly-coloured port of call.
At open sea you can easily locate the port of Sanary thanks to its remarkable landmark – the red Bau cliff - (the word “Bau” comes from the Provençal word “bol” meaning a prominent cliff, like Les Baux de Provence), which is a beautiful red-coloured granitic headland, which is not to be confused with the Sicié Cape or the Carqueiranne Cape. Once you have sailed past this headland, you will discover, towards port, a block of low flats, which have been built right up against the cliff. The harbour master’s office, which is a small white house with blue shutters, is difficult to see because of its small size (it claims to be the smallest harbour master’s office on the Mediterranean but those in Marseillan and Carro are also in the running for top place…!). It is located at the end of the block of flats. This landmark means that the entrance to the port is very near. Welcome to Saint-Nazaire, hem I mean … to Sanary (Saint-Nazaire in Provençal)!
THE TOWN PAYS PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO ITS APPEARANCE
The port of Sanary takes its appearance to heart. In the foreground there are a number of colourful, freshly repainted, traditional boats, which glow i
n the sun. Behind the quay there is the Town Hall, the Saint Nazaire church, the Tower, the Tower Hotel and all the Provençal-coloured façades… When you sail in to Sanary on your boat you are well aware of the attention paid by the town to its appearance. Just like a postcard? Yes, and the effect that is indeed intended.
Town policy is to renovate the façades and shop-fronts in a range of shades which confirms the Latinity of the town, and to create and enhance promenades, pedestrian streets and public spaces so as to encourage strolling with your nose to the wind, the games of boules and leisurely chatting. The heights of new buildings are limited.
As the port is not only in the heart of the town but a town centre in itself, this urban planning approach had to apply in the same way to Sanary’s nautical zone. “We didn’t want a whole line of large plastic boats moored on the quays to block the view”, said Serge Sourd, the harbour master. The end result is that the pointus (a Provençal fishing boat), other types of fishing boats, traditional elegant yachts and all sailing vessels are in the foreground while the motor boats are to be found in the background.
POINTUS AND BARQUETTES (NAMES OF PROVENÇAL FISHING BOATS)
Sanary has been pulling out all the stops since 2004 to be recognised as a site for the safeguard of maritime heritage. While the pointu (term for a fishing boat used by the people from Toulon) or the barquette (used by the people from Marseilles) are not seen as often in the
ports in southern France, in Sanary a sixth of the 650 permanent boats in the port are made from wood, and 80 of them are old barques (boats). Built in the main between 1850 and 1930, these boats, which were generally six metres in length, are ideal for fishing in all weather. The hull with a double stem is perfect for sailing in Mediterranean short, sharp waves, the lateen handles the thirty-two winds that you encounter in the Provence perfectly and its carefully thought out round shape provides fishermen with the necessary room to work.
Among the designers of these boats, there are celebrities such as Ruopolo, whose barquettes used to burn on the beaches not so long ago when they were too old, are today worth if they are restored with top-quality workmanship between ten and fifteen thousand euros! But there are also hundreds of unknown carpenters who, the majority of the time, have built this heritage which can be seen today with nothing more than their own memory and talent, from young elm, oak and ash for the ribs, from Aleppo pine for the planking, from oak for the keel in one piece…
ONLY TRADITIONAL VESSELS
The port of Sanary also has about twenty wooden “jewels” – traditional Mediterranean yachts. Certain of them are classed as 
Maritime Heritage. The harbour master is indefatigable on the subject. When questioned, he brings out a thick file containing mooring requests, spreading out before use photographs of elegant boats built between the end of the 19th century and the 1930s. Wooden boats are guaranteed of their moorings and benefit from privileged rates. In exchange their owners must also take great care of them, take them out for sails and take part in port events.
One of such port events is called the Virée, which has been organised since 2007 by the Sanary Pointu Association. The event includes regattas, a number of sails in and around the port, visits on board by walkers… One hundred and twenty-three boats, some of which came from the Thau country (Sète), took part in 2008. The event will take place from 4 to 7 June this year and coincides with the Journées de la Mer (Maritime Days), launched by the Ministry for Ecology.
Perhaps a postcard but under no circumstances a museum.
