Harbour

Auray - Saint-Goustan

4.4Saint Goustan, FranceMorbihan

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Maximum length: 12 m
VHF channel: 9
Maximum draught: 1.9 m

River port of 154 berths on the Loc'h river at Auray, 7 nautical miles upstream from the Gulf of Morbihan.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Enter the Gulf of Morbihan at Port-Navalo against the tide if possible, then up the Loc'h river past Le Bono. Strong tidal streams in the Gulf, up to 8 knots at Port-Navalo narrows on spring tides. Buoyed channel up to Saint-Goustan. Max draught 1.9 m, parts of the river dry at low water springs. VHF 9.

Practical

154 berths, about 50 for visitors on the pontoons below the old stone bridge. Water and electricity on pontoons. Showers and toilets at the capitainerie. Restaurants and cafes on the Place Saint-Sauveur cobbled square. Auray town centre on the hill above, 15 minutes on foot up the stepped street.

Ashore

Place Saint-Sauveur and the stone bridge of 1477 at the quayside, half-timbered houses from the 15th and 16th centuries along Rue Saint-Rene. GR34 coastal footpath along the Loc'h estuary down to Le Bono, 3 km. Market in Auray upper town on Monday morning.

History

Benjamin Franklin landed at Saint-Goustan in December 1776 on his way to negotiate the French alliance with Louis XVI, after his ship Reprisal was forced by storms to divert from Nantes. A plaque on the Quai Franklin marks the event. The port handled coastal trade in wine, salt and grain until the 19th century.