Port

Port de Girolata

4.2Osani, FranceCorsica

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Maximum length: 45 ft
VHF channel: 9
Maximum draught: 4 ft

Hamlet and anchorage on the west coast of Corsica, inside the Scandola nature reserve, accessible only by boat or mule track.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach from the west into the bay of Girolata, with the Genoese tower on Punta Rossa as leading mark. Call VHF 9 and the staff come out to lead boats to a buoy and help them moor, usually two buoys at the bow and one at the stern. Maximum draught is around 1.5 m at the inner pontoon. Do not rely on them for depth on the approach, as a boat has grounded despite giving its draught and clearance can be tight under a 2 m keel. Holding on sand is good, poor on rock to the north of the bay. Anchoring on posidonia beds is prohibited under the reserve rules.

Practical

A handful of berths on the small pontoon, the rest of the fleet on buoys or at anchor. Water in limited quantity at the quay, no fuel, no electricity. Buoys are charged, from around 40 euros in the low season to around 60 to 75 euros in August. Showers and toilets are basic and paid by token, about 3 euros for seven minutes. A recycling point also takes engine oil, filters, batteries and electrical items. Day-tripper boats crowd the quay and beach by day, so landing is easier in the evening once they leave. Bread and basic supplies delivered by boat from Calvi. No road, no pharmacy, no ATM.

Ashore

Several restaurants line the beach, among them la Cabane du Berger a few steps from the dinghy landing, le Cormoran and the Gobi Caffè, and cattle often wander the beach and the bar terraces. The Genoese tower dating from 1551 sits on the headland a 15 minute walk above the hamlet. The mule track to Girolata from the Col de la Croix reaches the beach after 1 hour 30 on foot, 6 km through the maquis. Glass bottom boat trips into the Scandola reserve run from the beach in summer.

History

Girolata was fortified by the Genoese in the 16th century to watch over the Gulf of Porto and the tuna fisheries. The hamlet remained cut off from the Corsican road network and is classified within the Scandola reserve, created in 1975 and listed as UNESCO World Heritage with the Gulf of Porto in 1983.

Story

The Scandola reserve was the first marine and terrestrial reserve created in France, and Girolata is the only inhabited hamlet in metropolitan France with no road access.