Where the river meets open water

A Tour Base With Boats, Guides and Local Knowledge

Our pontoon sits at the last bend before the river widens into the sea, which makes it the natural starting point for almost everything worth doing here. We hire out small motorboats, kayaks and paddleboards by the hour or the week, supply licensed skippers and guides who grew up on this water, run scheduled trips upstream and along the coast, and handle the practical parts of a day out: fuel, permits, charts, life jackets, dry bags and a safe place to leave the car. The desk opens at seven, the coffee is good, and nobody is sold a boat they should not be driving.

Hire & Trips Availability

Long narrow boat running downstream between green banks

Boats from 2 to 12 seats

Skippers & guides licensed for these waters

Open 07:00–20:00 in season

Wooden fishing boat moored at a jetty below forested hills

About us

Twenty Years on the Same Stretch of Water

The base started as a shed with four hire boats run by a family that had fished the river mouth for three generations. It grew because visitors kept asking the same questions — where can we go, is it safe, who can take us — and because the answers were always given honestly, including the times when the answer was that today is not a good day to go out. That reputation is the whole business. Every skipper and guide on the roster is either from the villages along this estuary or has worked here for at least five seasons.

The fleet is chosen for the conditions rather than for photographs: stable open boats with low freeboard for the channels, a covered launch for cold or wet days, sit-on-top kayaks that a beginner cannot easily capsize, and two larger craft licensed for twelve passengers. Engines are serviced on a fixed schedule, hulls are checked weekly, and every boat carries an anchor, bailer, throw line, flares, first-aid kit and a charged radio. Handovers include a real briefing, not a signature on a disclaimer.

We also act as the informal information point for the area, because somebody has to. The desk holds current tide tables, charts marked with sandbanks and no-go zones, weather printouts, bus times, a list of which restaurants are open out of season, and honest advice about which beach is worth the walk. None of that earns money directly; all of it is why people come back and send their friends.

Advantages

Why People Book Here Rather Than Anywhere Else

Six things that make a day on the water straightforward instead of stressful.

Row of hire boats tied along a wooden pontoon

Honest Advice Before You Pay

The desk will tell you plainly when a trip is a bad idea: wrong wind for the coast, tide too low for the upper channels, swell that will make the crossing unpleasant for children, or simply too little experience for the boat you had in mind. We would rather move a booking or refund it than send someone out for the sake of a day's rental. That policy costs us income on perhaps twenty days a season and it is the single most common thing mentioned in reviews. It also means that when we say conditions are good, guests can rely on it completely.

Boats Matched to the Driver

Hirers are assessed briefly but genuinely: what have you driven before, where do you plan to go, who is on board. From that we recommend a boat rather than simply renting the largest one available. Beginners get low-powered, forgiving hulls and a route within sheltered water; experienced skippers get something faster and a wider area. Handovers take fifteen minutes and cover starting, stopping, mooring, anchoring, the kill cord, radio use and what to do if the engine stops. Nobody leaves the pontoon until they have manoeuvred the boat themselves under supervision.

Local Guides, Not Scripts

Our guides live here. They know which creek has otters, where the seals haul out on a falling tide, which ruined jetty is safe to land at, and which village bakery opens at six. Trips are shaped around what is happening that week rather than a fixed commentary, and guides speak plainly about the fishing industry, the shifting sandbanks and the way the estuary has changed. Visitors who want a quiet run with no talking get exactly that, and those who ask questions usually end up staying out an hour longer than planned.

Everything Included, Nothing Padded

Hire prices include fuel for the agreed range, life jackets in every size, dry bags, a chart marked with hazards, an anchor and mooring lines, a cool box, and parking. There is no cleaning fee, no fuel surcharge calculated afterwards and no deposit taken beyond a modest, clearly stated amount that is returned the same day. Guided trips include equipment, refreshments and transfers from the village. If a trip is cut short by weather, the unused portion is refunded automatically rather than after a negotiation.

Real Safety Cover

Every hire is logged with a planned area and expected return, and the desk calls if a boat is late before anybody else would notice. A rescue boat is kept fuelled and crewed during opening hours, our staff hold current first-aid and powerboat qualifications, and we maintain a direct link with the coastguard station. Radios are supplied with a channel already set and explained. In twenty seasons we have recovered a fair number of broken-down boats and several people who hired elsewhere, which tells you why the system exists.

A Base That Is Actually Useful

The building matters more than people expect. There are hot showers, a changing room, lockers, a drying rail, toilets, a covered terrace, a kettle that anyone may use and a small shop selling the things people forget: sunscreen, hats, dry socks, batteries, waterproof phone cases and a decent sandwich. Wetsuits, boots and warm layers are loaned free. Groups can leave luggage between check-out and a late boat, and cars can stay overnight without charge if you are camping upriver.

Large vessel passing the wide mouth of a river

Services

What You Can Book

Self-drive hire, skippered trips, guided tours, courses and logistics for anyone working on the water.

Self-Drive Boat Hire

Open motorboats from four to eight seats, hired by the hour, half day, day or week, with fuel, safety equipment, chart and briefing included. No licence is required for the smaller engines under local rules, and our handover covers everything needed to use them confidently. Boats can be taken upstream through the channels, along the sheltered coast within an agreed area, or to two islands with landing beaches. A picnic pack, cool box, fishing rods and a parasol can be added, and a mechanic is on call throughout the day.

Skippered Charters

For those who would rather not drive, a licensed skipper takes the wheel for a half or full day, on a route agreed with you: a run up the river to the old locks, a coastal trip to the seal banks, an evening cruise with the light behind the headland, or simply a taxi to a beach with a pick-up time. Larger boats carry up to twelve passengers with a covered cabin, toilet and cool storage. Catering can be arranged from the village kitchen, and skippers will happily stop wherever something interesting appears.

Guided Nature and Fishing Trips

Scheduled departures with a naturalist or a fishing guide, running most days in season. Nature trips visit the seal haul-out, the tern colony at a respectful distance and the creeks where otters and kingfishers are regular, with binoculars and a telescope supplied. Fishing trips target whatever is running, with rods, bait, permits and instruction included and a strict catch-and-release policy above the agreed limits. Both run at capped group sizes, include refreshments, and are timed to the tide rather than to the clock.

Kayaks, Paddleboards and Wetsuits

Sit-on-top kayaks, touring kayaks, paddleboards and a small sailing dinghy are available by the hour or the day, with wetsuits, buoyancy aids, helmets and dry bags supplied at no extra cost. A marked route card shows the sheltered loop suitable for beginners and the longer paddles for those with experience, including where the current runs hard on the ebb. Instruction is available for first-timers, guided paddles run twice a week, and a safety boat shadows any group of more than six people.

Courses and Certification

Two-day powerboat handling courses, day courses in navigation and tidal planning, radio operator certification and first aid at sea, all taught by instructors who work these waters daily rather than in a classroom on the coast. Class sizes stay at four per boat, theory is taught in the base's meeting room and practice takes place in the estuary and out through the entrance. Courses run year-round, and returning students can book refresher sessions of a single morning before taking their own boat out again after winter.

Support, Transfers and Group Logistics

We handle the awkward jobs: transfers to and from campsites and landings, delivery of kayaks upriver so a group can paddle downstream, luggage transport for multi-day trips, safety cover for swims and races, and support boats for film crews and surveyors. Trailer parking, slipway access, fresh water, fuel and a workshop are available to visiting boat owners. For events we provide marshals, radios and a briefing plan, and we have worked with local clubs on the same annual races for more than a decade.

Contacts

Bookings and Conditions

Call or write with your dates, group size and what you would like to do. We will tell you what is available, what the water is likely to be doing and whether a skipper would make the day better.

Course places, event support and enquiries from visiting boat owners go to the same desk.

Office

20 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75005 Paris, France

Phone

+33 1 43 54 91 27

anchorpointbase@icloud.com

Season

April–October daily 07:00–20:00; winter by arrangement