Anchorage

Golfe de Fréjus

Shelter: W, NW
Seabed: sand
Anchoring: Allowed

Sand anchorage in the Golfe de Fréjus between Fréjus and Saint-Aygulf, western Estérel coast, Var.

Beach

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Wide open approach from the SE. Sand bottom with good holding in 3 to 6 metres, keep clear of the marked swimming zones close inshore during summer. Shelter from W and NW, exposed to mistral gusts that funnel down the Argens valley and to the easterly swell.

Practical

Port-Fréjus marina 0.7 nautical miles NE has 700 berths, fuel, water and a travelift. Port de Saint-Aygulf 1.2 nautical miles south is smaller with 280 berths.

Ashore

Fréjus old town has a Roman amphitheatre from the 1st century that held 10000 spectators, the remains of an aqueduct, and a 5th century baptistery among the oldest in France. Beach of Fréjus-Plage stretches 3 kilometres along the gulf. Red porphyry of the Estérel massif begins 4 kilometres east towards Agay.

History

Fréjus was founded as Forum Julii by Julius Caesar in 49 BC as a naval base, and became one of the main ports of the Roman fleet under Augustus. The harbour silted up during the Middle Ages and the modern marina was dug in the 1980s on the site of the ancient port basin.