Anchoring at Île Sainte-Marguerite

Only a short 40 minute motor from Golfe Juan, this should be your first stop after picking up the boat.

Shallow warm waters, phosphorus in the water and an island full of hiking trails if you’re in the mood for a quick swim to shore. We anchored on the outer edge as many of the inner spots were taken by the time we arrived, our walkthrough of the boat and provisioning taking a good few hours.

Don’t forget to bring a little cash - there’s a little boat circling around selling wine and food - a novelty I cannot pass up myself.

We anchored on the white sand bottom in about 10m of water putting out 40m of chain. A little current here kept our boat straight all night and we ate our dinner in the sea as god herself intended it and skinny dipped beneath a starlit sky, restoring my long time faith that all is healed by a warm sea, a good tomato and glass of wine.

The next day we ventured in towards the middle of the channel. It was chaotic to say the least but novelties like the pizza and Prosecco delivery boat made the adventure worth it. We stayed only a few hours in the middle of the channel and eventually moved to the opposite side of the island, with a view of Cannes, where we easily secured a mooring ball beneath the towering Fort Royal.

The wall on taxi boats ferry hundreds of people to and from The island all day long. There are a few restaurants as well. We took the dinghy ashore right around 6 pm when the walk on ferries had left and the restaurant closed were closed or closing, which afforded us the entire island and its miles of gorgeous hiking trails to ourselves. While we couldn’t access the fort itself, I don’t think I’d trade the serenity for the amenities.

Felt good to stretch the legs and get some steps in!