Anchorage

Baie de Loia

Shelter: SE, S, SW
Seabed: rock, sand
Anchoring: Allowed

Anchorage in the Bay of Txingudi on the Franco-Spanish border, opposite Hendaye, with a mixed rock and sand bottom.

Beach

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Enter the Bidasoa estuary between Cabo Higuer to the SW and Pointe Sainte-Anne to the NE. The bay is protected from SE, S and SW winds but exposed to the north. Watch the strong ebb current off the estuary mouth and the shifting sand bar at the entrance. Approach at half tide or above.

Practical

Anchor on sand clear of rocky patches. Holding is variable due to the mix of rock and sand, so check the set of the anchor. Hendaye marina lies 1.8 nautical miles to the SW and the Yacht Club Basque is 2.8 nautical miles to the east in Hondarribia.

Ashore

Plage d'Hendaye, 3 km of sand along the bay, and the Domaine d'Abbadia coastal path starting from Pointe Sainte-Anne. Hondarribia old town on the Spanish side, reachable by the cross-border ferry from Hendaye.

Story

The Bidasoa marks the land border between France and Spain, and the small Île des Faisans in mid-river is shared sovereignty that alternates between the two states every six months since the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees.