Mouillage

Calanque du Cap Nègre

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Shelter: N, NE, E
Seabed: sand, algae
Anchoring: Allowed

Regulated buoy field of around 40 to 70 moorings in the calanque below Cap Nègre, on the coast of Le Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer between Le Lavandou and Cavalaire, where anchoring is restricted once the buoys are laid.

Visitor buoys
Pontoon
Beach

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach from the south, staying clear of the dark rock of Cap Nègre to the east. The bottom is mostly posidonia with few sand patches, so anchoring is hard outside the buoy zone; a ZMEL mooring field is now laid in season and anchoring is prohibited while the buoys are in place. Shelter from N, NE and E winds. Exposed to S and SW swell, untenable in mistral reaching this section of coast.

Practical

Seasonal ZMEL mooring field managed from Cavalaire, free by day and charged at night, booked on the Zmel Cavalaire website or by scanning the QR code on the buoy. Prices run high, from about 13 euros for an 8 m boat to over 50 euros for a 13 m one. Buoys are assigned by boat length, but they are few and the on-site numbers do not always match the chart, so allow time to find the right one. A beach nightclub can be loud late into the night. No services ashore. Closest refuges at Le Lavandou, 2.9 NM west, and Bormes-les-Mimosas, 3.5 NM SW.

Ashore

Cap Nègre is known for the private property of the Bruni family, long associated with Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Coastal footpath sentier du littoral east towards Pramousquier beach and west towards Cavalière, both around 1 to 2 km along the rocky shore.

History

The cap itself takes its name from its dark volcanic rock, visible on approach. In August 1944, it was one of the landing points of the Allied Operation Dragoon on the Provence coast, with commandos of the 1er Bataillon de Choc scaling the cliff at night.