mcanderson
Well-Known Member
Anyone anchored off Cap D'Ail Eden Plage? Thinking of turning in a different direction next time we are on board and leaving Beaulieu Sur Mer. Will be for a day of lounging and swimming.
Cap D'Ail
- Thread starter mcanderson
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DAW
Well-Known Member
Plage Mala is one of my favorite places to spend the day - but you need to get there before lunch to secure a good location, especially at the weekend.
We find the best place to anchor is lined up with the centre of the beach and just inside the 5 knot buoys. You avoid the dozens of noisy, smaller boats/RIBs which mostly go closer to the beach and also it seems to avoid the worst of the swell created by the larger boats on their way to/from Monaco. For the same reason, we try to avoid going too close to the cliffs as they seem to reflect and amplify everything. If you visit on a weekday, its much quieter so this is not really a consideration.
Depth this far out is 10-15m, so you'll need plenty of chain. Depending upon size/draft you could go closer to the shore, or even try tucking in behind the headland if there's room. This always seems to be the best place to be, but if you're above 40ft you need to be sure of your draft and confident/brave with close quarters handling.
Access to the beach on foot is relatively challenging and its expensive to rent sun loungers, etc. so it doesn't seem to get too busy even in the height of summer. If you're interested, the restaurant is an excellent place for lunch or dinner, but definitely not cheap.
Everyone starts to disappear from about 5pm onwards as the sun starts to go down behind the mountain and you're mostly in the shade, but after a long day we find this can actually be the best time of the day and its only 15-20 minutes back to Beaulieu, so you don't really need to leave early.
If for whatever reason the conditions at Plage Mala aren't great or its too busy, you can easily head back towards Beaulieu and anchor off the beach at Eze which is more open but less prone to "trapping" the swell.
Good luck!
We find the best place to anchor is lined up with the centre of the beach and just inside the 5 knot buoys. You avoid the dozens of noisy, smaller boats/RIBs which mostly go closer to the beach and also it seems to avoid the worst of the swell created by the larger boats on their way to/from Monaco. For the same reason, we try to avoid going too close to the cliffs as they seem to reflect and amplify everything. If you visit on a weekday, its much quieter so this is not really a consideration.
Depth this far out is 10-15m, so you'll need plenty of chain. Depending upon size/draft you could go closer to the shore, or even try tucking in behind the headland if there's room. This always seems to be the best place to be, but if you're above 40ft you need to be sure of your draft and confident/brave with close quarters handling.
Access to the beach on foot is relatively challenging and its expensive to rent sun loungers, etc. so it doesn't seem to get too busy even in the height of summer. If you're interested, the restaurant is an excellent place for lunch or dinner, but definitely not cheap.
Everyone starts to disappear from about 5pm onwards as the sun starts to go down behind the mountain and you're mostly in the shade, but after a long day we find this can actually be the best time of the day and its only 15-20 minutes back to Beaulieu, so you don't really need to leave early.
If for whatever reason the conditions at Plage Mala aren't great or its too busy, you can easily head back towards Beaulieu and anchor off the beach at Eze which is more open but less prone to "trapping" the swell.
Good luck!
mcanderson
Well-Known Member
DAW,
Thanks for a great write up. I will give it ago on our next trip down.
Thanks for a great write up. I will give it ago on our next trip down.
jfm
Well-Known Member
Nope but went to anchor near Paloma beach on Saturday and turned around because it was full of jellyfish. First ones I've seen this year. Villefranche was fine so perhaps they were swimming westwards or something. I'm back down next weekend and going to Corsica
Last edited:
mcanderson
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately with work and other commitments we won't be back until 1 Sep. However we will be down for 2 weeks!
Only 12 working days. But who counts.
Only 12 working days. But who counts.
