Charente-Maritime (Department, France): Yacht clubs

Last modified: 2005-04-09 by ivan sache
Keywords: charente-maritime | oleron | letters: yco (blue) | royan | anchor (black) | letters: rr (black) | ars-en-re | anchors: 2 (blue) | lighthouse (blue) |
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• Cercle Nautique d'Ars-en-Ré
• Régates de Royan
• Société des Régates de la Rochelle
• Yacht Club de l'Océan

See also:

• France
• Charente-Maritime (Department, France)
• France: Yacht clubs

Cercle Nautique d'Ars-en-Ré

by Ivan Sache

The island of Ré, aka the white island (l'île blanche) is located in the Atlantic Ocean, a few miles off the port of La Rochelle. A bridge is linking the island to the mainland. Ré is some 30 km long and less than 10 km width. From the Hundred Years' War to the fall of Napoléon's Empire, the island was disputed by France and Britain. In 1625, the island was besieged by Duke of Buckingham. The fort of Saint-Martin was assaulted on 6 November but the garrison commanded by Toiras resisted. King of France Louis XIII sent from La Rochelle fresh troops commanded by Marshal Schomberg. The Brits were defeated by Toiras and Schomberg, who captured six cannons and 46 flags.
Ré is today an extremely popular and crowded summer vacation place. Its most famous tourist is the former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.

The port of Ars-en-Ré (1,083 inhabitants) is located on the south-western shore of the island. The streets of the old village are so narrow that the corners of the houses had to be trimmed to allow teams to turn. In the past, the port of Ars was used to export salt produced on the island to Holland and Scandinavia. The narrow bell-tower of the St. Etienne's church, painted in black and white, was used as a beacon.
Ars is located close to the Whales' lighthouse (phare des Baleines), built on the westernmost point of the island. The lighthouse was built in 1854 to replace an older lighttower; it is 55 m high and served by an helicoidal stair with 257 steps. The lighthouse was named after the Whales' cove (conche des Baleines), located east of the lighthouse, where hundreds of whales are said to have beached in the Roman times.

Cercle Nautique d'Ars-en-Ré was founded in 1953.Its burgee is horizontally divided yellow-light blue-yellow (1:2:1). In the middle of the light blue stripe is shown the Whales' Lighthouse, flanked by two mirrored blue anchors.

Ivan Sache, 28 December 2004

Régates de Royan