Harbour

Port du Bec

Name: Port du Bec
Address: Beauvoir-sur-Mer, FR

Beauvoir-sur-Mer, FranceVendée

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Type: Harbour

Oyster harbour on the north side of the Baie de Bourgneuf, commune of Beauvoir-sur-Mer, known for its timber jetties.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach by a buoyed channel across the vasières from the south-west, workable from HW minus two hours to HW plus two. Drying channel, maximum indicated draught less than one metre. Leisure boats are not the priority, traffic is dominated by oyster punts on every tide. No night entry.

Practical

Working oyster harbour, not a marina. A few drying berths for visiting yachts with a flat bottom or bilge keels. No fuel, no pontoons, no electricity. Fish market and oyster stalls on the quay. Bakery and small supermarket in Beauvoir-sur-Mer at 5 km.

Ashore

Long wooden jetties on stilts earned the harbour the nickname Port chinois. Oyster tasting directly from producers on the quay. Passage du Gois across to Noirmoutier at 8 km, crossable only at low water and marked by rescue poles. Sentier du littoral along the dyke.

History

Built up in the twentieth century as the working port of the Bouin and Beauvoir oyster growers. The wooden jetties on pilings, extended steadily seaward as production grew, are the feature local people call le port chinois.