Mouillage

Baie de Bandol

3.0FranceVar

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

Anchorage in the bay of Bandol in the Var, between the mainland and the Île de Bendor 300 m offshore.

Mooring buoys
Beach

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach from the south, leaving the Ile de Bendor to starboard. The bay is open to the south and south-west, and shelter holds well with winds from NW through N to NE. It rolls readily with a SW swell and with daytime motorboat wash even in calm weather, so a stern anchor to hold the bow to the swell helps. Anchor on sand in 4 to 8 metres inshore; the posidonia, which is protected, lies further out towards the open sea. No buoyed channel, sound carefully when closing the beach.

Practical

Drop on sand in 4 to 8 metres clear of the protected posidonia. The white buoys off the beach are private, held under AOT permits, and must not be used; anchor on the sand alongside the buoy field. Land the tender at the yellow jetty in the port of Bandol, 0.5 nm west, where fuel, water and provisions are available and fresh water can be taken at the quay for a fee. Port de la Gorguette sits 0.7 nm south-east for smaller shelter.

Ashore

The seafront promenade of Bandol runs along the Quai de Gaulle, reached by tender in under ten minutes, with a small market held daily on the church square. Ile de Bendor, developed by Paul Ricard in the 1950s, has a small harbour, a diving club and a maritime exhibition space. The GR 51 coastal path climbs to the Cap de l'Aigle with views back over the bay.

History

Bandol was fortified under Louis XIV and developed as a wine shipping port in the 19th century for the AOC Bandol vineyards on the surrounding hillsides.