Port

Port de Saint-Gildas

3.3île-d'Houat, FranceMorbihan

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Maximum length: 15 m
VHF channel: 9
Maximum draught: 0.5 m

Main harbour of the Île d'Houat, in Morbihan, southern Brittany. Around 37 berths on the drying inner pool plus visitor moorings in the outer bay.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach from the north into the bay of Er-Beg, two rock-strewn passes either side of Île aux Chevaux. Harbour entrance marked by green and red beacons. Inner pool dries, outer mooring field on white buoys. VHF 9. Maximum draught on the pontoon 0.5 m, most visiting yachts stay on the mooring buoys and use the dinghy.

Practical

37 berths inside plus a large visitor mooring field outside, operated by the commune of Houat. Fuel available at the harbour. Bakery, small grocery, a few restaurants and crêperies in the village, all within 500 m of the harbour steps.

Ashore

Sentier cotier footpath around the island, about 8 km total. Plage de Tréac'h er Gouret to the east is the best-known beach, 1.2 km from the port, white sand on a crescent bay. Ecomusee of Houat in the village covers local fishing and island life.

History

Saint-Gildas takes its name from the 6th century Breton monk Gildas le Sage, who is said to have taken refuge on the island. Houat was a lobster fishing base and still lands catch at the port today.

Story

In 1951 an epidemic wiped out the lobster stocks around Houat. The islanders rebuilt the fishery by importing Canadian lobsters, releasing them around the island from the 1960s onward.