With our water tanks re-filled, fridge replenished with ice, and galley cupboards re-stocked, we left the hustle and bustle of Port Joinville and headed down the coast to the south of the island.

The eastern edge of the Île d’Yeu is lined with vast sandy beaches and appealing inlets: we liked the look of Anse des Vieilles, a small cove just past the island’s southernmost tip. There were a few other boats anchored here before us, but possibly some sailors are put off by the numerous yellow swimming buoys that extend quite far out into the bay – restricting both how close you can anchor to the shoreline, and how many boats can actually fit within the shelter of the bay. We were anchored some distance away and consequently let out 45m of chain but, other than a longer dinghy ride to reach the shore, this didn’t really bother us. One other potential downside to this anchorage is the swell coming in from the west, which kicked in with force around 3am, making for a very bouncy night.

Otherwise, Anse des Vieilles is a pretty and peaceful spot, with a coastal path that makes for a good walk ashore, where there’s an ice-cream van, public toilets, kayak hire and recycling facilities serving the many beach-goers here. There’s also a designated stone harbour for tenders, which is useful for landing one’s dinghy when the beach is busy.

We had to press on to Les Sables the following morning if we were to reach La Rochelle by the weekend, but hoped to return to Ile d’Yeu on our way back to Brittany at the end of August.