Aber Wrac'h is a small village and port located on the river which shares its name in the commune of Landéda in the department of

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. The source of the Wrac'h river is in Trémaouézan. It travels through Ploudaniel, Le Folgoët,

Lannilis Lannilis (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France. Population Inhabitants of Lannilis are called in French language, French ' ...

and Plouguerneau and enters the ocean in the estuary between the Sainte Marguerite peninsula and the headland of the Virgin Island.

Origin of the name

The Aber Wrac'h could derive its name from the first immersed rock of its channel, “Ar Wrach”, which means “the old woman” (or the wrasse) in

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

. An alternative theory is that the name is derived from the “estuary of the fairy” which may be related to the alleged Gallo-Roman bridge located upstream of the river mouth (ruins still visible today) named Pont Krac'h (Bridge of the Devil). British accounts of the 18th and 19th Century give the town's name as Averach.

History

The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

established a

naval air station A Naval Air Station (NAS) is a military air base, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of a navy (Naval aviation). These bases are typically populated by squadron ...

on 4 June 1918 to operate

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

s during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The base closed shortly after the

First Armistice at Compiègne The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed in a railroad car, in the Compiègne Forest near the town of Compiègne, that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War I between the Entente and their las ...

Islands in the vicinity of Aber Wrac'h

They following archipelago is also referred to as the islands of Lilia : * Cézon island and its Fort * Wrac'h Island * Stagadon island * Island of Erch * Island of the Cross

Recreation

The village is a popular location and base for

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

and

kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...

.WindGURU: France - L'Aber Wrac'h
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External links

S/V Dalliance

References

* Translated from

Aber Wrac'h Aber Wrac'h is a small village and port located on the river which shares its name in the commune in France, commune of Landéda in the department of Finistère in France, located in Brittany. The source of the Wrac'h river is in Trémaouézan. ...

, French Wikipedia Villages in Brittany Populated coastal places in Brittany Ports and harbours of the English Channel {{Finistère-geo-stub