Anchorage

Baie de Gatseau

Shelter: N, SW, W, NW
Seabed: sand
Anchoring: Allowed

Sand anchorage off the Pointe de Gatseau, at the southern tip of Ile d'Oleron.

Beach

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Sand bottom, good holding. Shelter from N, SW, W and NW. Open to S and SE. Approach via the Pertuis de Maumusson, a tidal passage known for shifting sand banks, dangerous in any swell against an ebb and best timed on a rising tide in calm weather. Enter about two hours before high water, leaving the red Gatseau buoy to port then following the channel marks; chart depths at the entrance are unreliable and have shifted. Swell can work in at high water and make an overnight stay roll, and the tidal current runs hard.

Practical

No services at the anchorage. Saint-Trojan-les-Bains at 2.3 nm north has a small drying harbour, shops and a tourist train through the forest. Dry-stack port of Mus de Loup 3.3 nm east, on the inland side of the island.

Ashore

Pointe de Gatseau beach extends several kilometres on the Atlantic side. Saint-Trojan pine forest of 2 000 hectares starts at the beach and is crossed by a 1905 narrow-gauge tourist train running from April to October.