Île Houat

The chart section above covers the Bay of Quiberon, it is without doubt one of the best places in Europe to paddle.  The islands demand a visit, and without doubt will remain an unforgettable experience. At this time of year they are at their best, it’s far too early for the tourists.
This was a rather hastily prepared trip, actually decided on the night before ….  all the camping kit was back stored in the house 3 hrs away.
Houat is however close enough to consider as a day trip from either Pointe de Conguel or from Point St Gildas.A little to the west of St-Gildas is the small fishing harbour Port des Moines, it’s ideally located for setting off to Houat. There are two slips although a little steep, and good parking at the top. Last month I sold the Vito and bought myself a Transit. The major difference was the height. The Vito with kayaks on the roof was a centimetre under 2.4 M.
The Transit with its medium roof starts at 2.4 M and with the kayaks on now is just under 3M.I had to extend the handle of the karitek rack, but once done I can now load single handed. The rack must be 10 years old now, but still in service and working well.

However this new height places me firmly in camper van territory, which is not all good news. This particular part of the edpartment has strict views about campers and over the last few years on the Sarzeau peninsula it has become increasingly difficult to park near to a beach or other launch pointIt is now becoming increasingly common to come across these types of height restrictions.  It is rare to have these height restrictions at the Ports and Harbours because of the obvious commercial activity involving higher vehicles.

There were signs excluding campervans from the Port but no height restriction.

We set out on a flat blue sea with brilliant sunshine, it was a good feeling to be paddling in T-shirts again.The visibility wasn’t so good, we struggled to see the island until we were around 3 miles off, and then quickly found ourselves filling in the detail
The enormous beach was deserted, but further into the summer it will be much different, without doubt early spring is the best time to visit.
The storms earlier in the year have accelerated the erosion around the island, but there is plenty of new grass gaining a new foothold in the sands and dunes

There is plenty of evidence of just how much damage has been done ….
Here you can see pickets suspended from their wire in free air, they earlier marked the boundary of the protected zone.
The coast here is magnificent,  with spectacular golden sands

We walked on up the pathway through the dunes looking back down onto the bay

Always plenty to see here ….

There appeared to be plenty of aimless wandering

All too quickly the afternoon passed, it was time to rejoin our kayaks and prepare for the 6.5 mile crossing back
Finally, back on the mainland we were treated to a rather splendid sunset.