Glénan Archipelago

Island diving runs from Île Saint-Nicolas, where CIP Glénan is the only dive centre on the islands. It is an association whose activities are reserved for its members, so divers join it and stay on the island full board, on stays of 2 days with 3 dives or 5 days with 7 dives. Its boat crosses from Concarneau in about 1h40. Actisub, a Fouesnant club, also runs its own boat to the sites around the islands. The sites are spread throughout the archipelago, so there is always somewhere to dive whatever the weather, though the weather and the run out to the sites can make conditions sporting.

Underwater the archipelago is a mix of plateaux and drop-offs, with canyons and wrecks to the west. At Les Bluiniers, cylindrical holes of 1 to 3 m, worn by turning pebbles where the Odet once flowed, trap crabs that cannot climb their smooth, curved walls. The Orseolo Pietro lies slightly tilted to starboard, its propeller shaft hung with sea fans, and a dense shoal of pouting circles it for the whole dive. Bass, congers, lobsters, torpedo rays, John Dory, octopus, monkfish and dogfish all turn up around the islands.

The exploration boat takes divers of every level, and the centre teaches the Niveau 1 course with no prior certificate needed, so newer divers can train and explore in the same place. Life on Saint-Nicolas is collective: stays are in dormitories or tents, meals are shared, and everyone is asked to help in the kitchen and with loading and unloading the boat. It suits divers who enjoy that community life; those wanting private rooms and their own meals will not get them at the centre.