Anchorage

Le Torpilleur

Shelter: NW, N, NE, E
Seabed: rock
Anchoring: Allowed

Rocky anchorage in the Calanque de Sormiou sector, east of the Pointe de Morgiou, inside the Parc National des Calanques near Marseille.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Rocky bottom, holding on isolated sand pockets only. Shelter from NW, N, NE and E winds including the mistral. Fully open to the south and the swell of the Golfe du Lion. Anchor in about 9 metres on the sand patches, which show clearly in the water on either side of the central rock. The cliffs funnel strong katabatic gusts under mistral. Day-boat and shuttle traffic sets up a roll through the day that eases at night.

Practical

Anchoring regulated inside the national park, consult the park's daily zoning map before dropping. Port de Morgiou 0.6 nm west has a small fishing quay with no visitor services. Port-Miou at Cassis 2.7 nm east offers mooring buoys in the fjord.

Ashore

Parc National des Calanques, created in 2012, protects the limestone coast from Marseille to Cassis. The GR 98-51 coastal trail crosses the clifftops above the anchorage. Calanque de Morgiou hamlet has two seasonal restaurants and the former cabanons of Marseille fishermen.