Anchorage

Plage des Sables Rouges

Shelter: NW, W, SW
Seabed: sand, rock, algae
Anchoring: Allowed

Anchorage off the SE coast of the Île de Groix, Morbihan, facing a beach where the sand contains garnets that give it its red colour.

Mooring buoys
Visitor buoys
Beach

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach from the S in clear weather. The bottom is sand with rock and weed, so pick a clear sand spot and check the anchor is well set through the weed. The mooring buoys off the beach take boats up to about 8 m only, so larger boats anchor. Sheltered from NW, W and SW but exposed to the SE, and it rolls in any west or north-west swell even without wind; avoid it in a southerly.

Practical

No facilities at the beach. Land the tender on one of the small beaches, but keep the outboard lifted when crossing the line of yellow swim-zone buoys, which the gendarmerie enforces with fines; row the last stretch. Locmaria village is about 15 minutes on foot. Port-Tudy, the main harbour of Groix 1,6 NM NW, has water, diesel, showers and the Lorient ferry, with shops in Groix 0,8 km inland.

Ashore

Coastal path of the island runs along the cliffs above the beach. Site classified in 1982 for its geological interest, the red sand comes from the erosion of local mica schist rich in garnet. Réserve naturelle François Le Bail protects the eastern tip of the island 2 km to the E.