Anchorage

Île aux Moines

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

Anchorage off the largest island of the Golfe du Morbihan, between Port-Blanc and Arradon, south Brittany.

Mooring buoys
Visitor buoys
Beach
Seagrass

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Enter the Golfe du Morbihan through the Port-Navalo pass with the flood; tidal streams reach 8 knots in the narrows at springs. Approach the island from the north and drop on sand, avoiding the algae patches shown on SHOM 7034. Holding is uneven, with weed and stones where anchors have dragged, and the current swings boats erratically, so allow room; the lengthened beach access channel has cut into the anchoring space. Shelter from NE through E to SE; exposed to W and SW gusts funnelling down the gulf.

Practical

Mooring forain with some visitor buoys laid by the commune in summer; these are managed by the town hall and treated as private, so check the boat's tonnage against the buoy. Port-Blanc landing 0.3 NM NE has a passenger ferry to the mainland every 15 minutes in season. Bakery, grocery and restaurants in the village of Le Bourg, 800 m inland from Port-Blanc, where a Petit Casino stays open on Sundays.

Ashore

Coastal footpath loops the island over 17 km. Pointe du Trec'h at the north end gives a view over the gulf and Gavrinis. Bike rental available at Port-Blanc landing. Neolithic dolmen of Penhap on the south coast, 2.5 km from Le Bourg.

History

The island was granted to the monks of Redon by Érispoë, King of Brittany, in 854, which gave it its name. It has been continuously inhabited since the Neolithic, as shown by the Kergonan cromlech, the largest stone circle in continental France.