Harbour

Rade De L'île D'Aix

Name: Rade De L'île D'Aix
Address: Île-d'Aix, FR

3.3Île-d'Aix, FranceCharente-Maritime

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Maximum draught: 4 ft

Open roadstead east of the Île d'Aix in the Pertuis d'Antioche, between Fouras and Oléron, with sand and mud holding.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Anchor east of the island between Fort de la Rade and Pointe Sainte-Catherine, or pick up one of the white visitor buoys in about 2 metres at chart datum. Protected from W by the island, exposed to E and SE. Maximum draught 1.3 m on the inner moorings, deeper water further offshore, and the innermost rows take the ground in soft mud at low water. Coming in from the west, watch for a mussel stake and shallow water, and note that oyster beds begin just beyond the last buoy. Strong tidal streams in the Pertuis, springs up to 3 knots, plan arrivals with the tide.

Practical

Council visitor moorings laid in summer at 10 euros per buoy, no pontoon berths, no fuel, no water on the shore. The harbour master is on hand to help. Dinghy landing at the village slipway near Fort de la Rade. Small grocery, bakery and two restaurants in the village, 300 m from the slipway.

Ashore

No private cars on the Île d'Aix, movement on foot, by bicycle or horse-drawn cart. Fort de la Rade at the south tip 400 m walk, and Musée Napoléon in the house where the emperor spent his last days on French soil in July 1815, 600 m from the slipway. The Musée Africain is also in the village, and the Hôtel Le Napoléonien has a restaurant. Fort Boyard visible 2.5 nm to the south-west.

History

Aix was fortified by Vauban from 1699 and strengthened under Napoleon to defend the Rochefort naval arsenal. Napoleon stayed at the Maison de l'Empereur from 12 to 15 July 1815 before surrendering to HMS Bellerophon and departing for exile on Saint Helena.