Port

St Seurin d'Uzet

Name: St Seurin d'Uzet
Address: Chenac-Saint-Seurin-d'Uzet, FR

1.2Chenac-Saint-Seurin-d'Uzet, FranceGironde

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Type: Harbour

Tidal drying harbour on the right bank of the Gironde estuary, 15 km downstream of Mortagne-sur-Gironde, in Charente-Maritime.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach via the buoyed channel from the Gironde, entry around HW plus or minus 2 hours. Port dries completely at low water on firm mud, and access really suits shallow, flat-bottomed local craft more than deeper-draught yachts. Currents in the estuary run up to 3 knots on springs. Neighbouring mooring of Les Monards 1.1 NM to the north-west and port of Mortagne-sur-Gironde 2.3 NM to the south-east offer deeper water alternatives.

Practical

Free pontoon berths and mooring piles on the mud. No services at the pontoon. Bakery, bar and one restaurant in the village 200 m away. Nearest fuel at Mortagne.

Ashore

Carrelets, the stilted square-net fishing huts of the estuary, line the riverbank within walking distance. Église Saint-Saturnin, 12th century Romanesque nave with a bell tower added in the 15th century, at the top of the village. GR 360 coastal footpath from the port to the Talmont clifftop church, 12 km south-east.

History

Saint-Seurin-d'Uzet was the capital of French caviar between 1920 and 1950, when Russian émigré Émile Prunier set up a fishery that processed up to 5 tonnes of sturgeon eggs a year. A small museum and memorial plaque on the quay recall the trade, which collapsed with the sturgeon population in the 1960s.