Harbour

Saint-Martin-de-Ré

4.3Saint-Martin-de-Ré, FranceCharente-Maritime

Maximum length: 16 m
VHF channel: 9
Maximum draught: 2.5 m

Tidal port on the north coast of the Île de Ré in Charente-Maritime, inside the star-shaped Vauban fortifications.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach from the north through a buoyed channel that dries at low water. Sill gate to the inner basin opens roughly HW plus or minus 2 h. Outer drying harbour available for vessels that can take the ground. VHF 9. Tidal range up to 6 m at springs.

Practical

220 berths in the wet basin, max draught 2.5 m. Water and electricity on pontoons. Fuel berth with diesel. Showers and capitainerie on the quai Clemenceau. Shops, bakeries and restaurants line the basin at the quayside, all within 200 m.

Ashore

Ramparts and citadel by Vauban enclose the town, UNESCO listed since 2008 as part of the Fortifications of Vauban. Musee Ernest Cognacq at 150 m on cours Pasteur. Cycle path network of the island starts from the port, 110 km of marked routes. Plage de la Cible, sand, 500 m west.

History

The citadel built from 1681 by Vauban served as the embarkation point for convicts bound for the French penal colonies of Cayenne and New Caledonia from 1873 to 1938. The last convoy left on 22 November 1938.