Chartering around the Hyères islands: the rules in Port-Cros and off Porquerolles

Porquerolles, Port-Cros and the Île du Levant lie off Hyères on the French Riviera, a few hours from the charter bases around Hyères, Toulon and Le Lavandou. For crews flying in from Britain or the Netherlands they are an easy first taste of the south of France. Port-Cros and much of Porquerolles belong to the Port-Cros national park, and most of the Île du Levant is a military zone; the limits are on the chart and in the base's pilot notes. In July and August the bays fill early, and late arrivals often find nowhere to stop.

The national park and the French maritime prefecture set the rules off Porquerolles and around Port-Cros. To protect the seagrass meadows anchoring is restricted or banned in parts, several bays have mooring buoy fields, and speed and distance limits apply close inshore. Fishing, diving and watersports are zoned as well. The detail changes from season to season, so ask for the current paperwork at handover and check with the park itself. On certificates, the base applies what France asks of a charter skipper, usually an ICC or equivalent.

The mistral is the weather that matters most. It blows from the north west, can arrive hard with little warning and often lasts for several days. Choose anchorages in the lee of the islands and expect the passage back to the base to be a slog against wind and sea. Listen to the French coastal radio forecasts and keep a spare day before the return. If you damage someone else's boat or property with the charter yacht you are personally liable, so your own skipper liability insurance belongs in the preparations.

Worth remembering

Around the Hyères islands the national park decides where you may stop.