Anchorage

Solidor

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

Anchorage off the Tour Solidor in the Rance estuary, Saint-Servan, at the southern edge of Saint-Malo.

Mooring buoys
Beach

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Sand bottom with around 200 moorings, shelter from NE through SE, exposed to the W and SW swell coming up the estuary. The moorings sit below the Rance tidal barrage 2 NM south, and releases from the EDF dam make the stream strong and unpredictable, running hard into the anchorage around mid-tide; boats lie to current or to wind by turns and can foul one another, and moorings do part here. Check the dam's release times before coming and keep clear in any wind or swell. If lying against the mole, watch for rocks at its foot, seen at low water. Les Sablons marina 0.4 NM north for an all-tide refuge.

Practical

Full services at Saint-Malo Les Sablons marina. Dinard marina 1 NM west across the estuary as alternative.

Ashore

Tour Solidor, a fortified keep built in 1369 by Duke Jean IV of Brittany, now houses the Musée des Cap-Horniers on the Cape Horn trade. The Bistrot de Solidor and La Corderie sit at its foot, looking out over the tower and the Rance estuary. Intra-muros walled city of Saint-Malo at 1.5 km north along the quays. Plage des Bas-Sablons at 300 m.