Anchorage

L'ile aux moines

Seabed: mud
Anchoring: Forbidden

Visitor mooring buoys off Port-Blanc on the north-east shore of the Île aux Moines, in the Golfe du Morbihan, Brittany.

Mooring buoys

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Enter the gulf through the Port-Navalo pass at slack water. Currents in the narrows run to 8 knots on spring tides. The buoy field lies off Port-Blanc, the ferry pier facing Port-Blanc on the mainland. Mud bottom. Give way to the Izenah ferry which crosses every 15 minutes in season.

Practical

Moorings managed by the Syndicat Mixte du Golfe du Morbihan. No pontoon. Landing by tender at the slipway at Port-Blanc on the island. Shops, bakery and restaurants in the village 300 m from the landing.

Ashore

The island is 7 km long and 3 km wide with a marked coastal footpath running its full circumference, roughly 17 km. The dolmen of Penhap and the cromlech of Kergonan stand at the southern end of the island. Bike rental at the landing.

History

The island was granted to the abbey of Redon in 854 by Erispoe, King of Brittany, which gave rise to its name. The gulf was an oyster-farming centre from the 19th century onwards.