Anchorage

Anse de Pen-Hir

Shelter: NW, N, NE, W, E
Seabed: sand
Anchoring: Allowed

Open anchorage at the foot of the Pointe de Pen-Hir, on the Crozon peninsula in western Brittany.

Beach

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach from the S leaving the Tas de Pois, a line of four rock stacks running WSW off the point, well clear to starboard. The bottom is sand with good holding, but two rocks are charted in the middle of the bay and more uncover close under the cliff, so keep off the edges. Anchor in about 7 to 9 metres. Sheltered from NW, N, NE, W and E, wide open to the S and SW. Even in northerlies the Atlantic swell wraps around the point and rolls the anchorage near high water, so use it by day in settled weather.

Practical

No services at anchor. Land on the beach or the small ramp, but not in the hour or two either side of high water on big tides, when surf and uncovering rock make it dangerous. Camaret-sur-Mer and the Bassin du Nautique lie 1.5 nm NE and N, about 40 minutes on foot, with water, fuel, a capitainerie and all shops in the town.

Ashore

A creperie and bar sit at the top of the beach steps with a view over the anchorage, often busy in season and with occasional live music. Sea caves along the cliffs can be explored by dinghy. The Pointe de Pen-Hir is classified as a grand site de France and sits on the GR34 coastal path. The Cross of Pen-Hir, erected in 1960, commemorates Free French Forces and Bretons killed during the Second World War. The Musée Mémorial de la Bataille de l'Atlantique stands 1 km inland on the same headland.