Best anchorages and harbours in Vendée

Gracie Ferrande

Anchorage off Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie on the Vendée coast, close to the entrance of the Vie estuary.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Plage du Grand Traict

Open anchorage off the sandy beach of Grand Traict on the Guérande peninsula, between Pornichet and Le Croisic, on the southern Loire-Atlantique coast.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Bassin de St Nazaire

Locked commercial basin at the mouth of the Loire in Saint-Nazaire, no longer open to pleasure craft and now reserved for commercial shipping.

Le Gois échouage

Drying anchorage on mud in the Baie de Bourgneuf along the Passage du Gois, the tidal causeway linking Noirmoutier to the mainland, in the Pays de la Loire.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Cale d'accès du Paradis

Slipway on the Loire between Le Pellerin and Couëron, downstream of Nantes. Anchoring is prohibited.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE

Couëron

River harbour of 36 berths on the right bank of the Loire, 15 km downstream from Nantes.

Fromentine

Tidal harbour at La Barre-de-Monts, at the northern entrance of the Goulet de Fromentine, opposite the Noirmoutier bridge.

Île du Pilier

Sand anchorage off the Île du Pilier, a granite islet 2.7 NM northwest of L'Herbaudière on Noirmoutier, Vendée.

• Sheltered SW, S

La Nor

Anchorage in the baie de Bourgneuf, Pays de la Loire, mud bottom with good holding, open to westerly weather.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Lavau-sur-Loire

Small tidal harbour on the north bank of the Loire estuary between Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, in the Brière regional park.

Le Cormier

Anchorage on the Jade coast near Pornic, sand and rock bottom, shelter from NE through E and from SW through SE.

• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Le Pont Neuf

Tidal harbour on the Goulet de Fromentine channel, commune of La Barre-de-Monts in northern Vendée, opposite Noirmoutier.

Les Formes

Mud-bottom anchorage in the Baie de Bourgneuf, southern Loire-Atlantique, sheltered from NW and W.

• Sheltered NW, W

Parc Fromentine

Sand-bottom anchorage in the Goulet de Fromentine, off the Vendée coast, near the bridge to Île de Noirmoutier.

• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Plage des Carrés

Mooring field off the plage des Carrés at Pornic, on the Jade coast of Loire-Atlantique, sand bottom, sheltered from N, NE and E winds.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Plage du Veillon

Anchorage off the sandy Veillon beach at the mouth of the Payré estuary, south of Talmont-Saint-Hilaire in Vendée.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Pointe du Bec

Rocky anchorage off Pornichet on the southern Brittany coast, just east of the Baie de La Baule.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Port des Brochets

Drying tidal harbour on the north shore of the Baie de Bourgneuf, commune of Bouin in the Vendée marshes.

Port des Champs

Small drying harbour at the edge of the Bouin polders, on the east side of the Baie de Bourgneuf.

Port du Bec

Oyster harbour on the north side of the Baie de Bourgneuf, commune of Beauvoir-sur-Mer, known for its timber jetties.

Port Saint-Michel

Open anchorage off the south coast of the Le Croisic peninsula, Loire-Atlantique.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Port st gildas

Marina of 288 berths at Préfailles, on the south side of the Pointe Saint-Gildas at the entrance of the Loire estuary.

Vieux port

Old drying harbour at the head of the Anse de Pornic in Loire-Atlantique, overlooked by the 13th-century château de Gilles de Rais.