Anchorage

Pointe de Pipady

4.3FranceVar

Shelter: N, NE, W, NW
Seabed: algae, sand
Anchoring: Allowed

Anchorage off the Mourillon headland at the eastern entrance of Toulon's Petite Rade, sand and algae bottom.

Beach
Seagrass

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach from the south clear of the Grand Rade shipping lane used by the French Navy and the Corsica ferries. Keep well off the Pipady rocks marked by a south cardinal. Holding is uneven on the algae patches, shift until the anchor bites in the sand.

Practical

No services on the mooring. Saint-Louis du Mourillon harbour lies 0.4 NM NE and Toulon Darse Nord 0.8 NM N for water, diesel and provisioning.

Ashore

Mourillon beaches reached on foot along the coast path, around 500 m to the north. Fort Saint-Louis from the 17th century sits just above the anchorage. Toulon old town and the Cours Lafayette Provençal market are 2 km to the west.

History

The Toulon roadstead has been the main Mediterranean base of the French Navy since Louis XIV and Vauban reshaped the arsenal in the late 17th century. The French fleet was scuttled here in November 1942 to keep it out of German hands.