Heading to la Mala
Today, we invite you to discover the bay of Saint-Laurent. This outing is considered to be Level 4 from the Club, the highest level, and also includes a final quiz.
Crédit photo : Rémy Vanroy – Plage de la Mala
To the west, paradise
Solar navigation lets you enjoy a Zen lifestyle west of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, your point of embarkation. Bays and, above all, heavenly creeks, such as the Paloma beach and the David Niven anchorage, line your itinerary. Now let’s head for new horizons.
To the east, too
Located after the Èze-sur-mer, the village of Cap d’Ail overlooks the sea from the steep cliffs and woodlands of the Mediterranean basin. The village extends to the bay of Saint-Laurent, known for its natural beauty. To access this heavenly place by boat from the seaZen boarding area, you will have to walk along the coastline to the east.
How to reach La Mala beach from the sea?
After leaving the beach of La Petite Afrique (Little Africa), set sail for the cliffs of Cap Roux. This step passed, go directly to the Cabuel point without entering the cove of Eze. Continue your route along the relief, particularly impressive at this place. You will pass in front of the prestigious Cap Estel hotel, one of the most exclusive of the Côte d’Azur with a unique point of view from the sea.
View of the Cap Estel Hotel from the sea, © seaZen 2018
A few minutes later, you arrive at the bottom of the bay. You can not go wrong by recognizing the white umbrellas of the Réserve de la Mala or the red umbrellas of the Éden Plage.
At anchor you can enjoy one of the shuttles that will be more than happy to drop you on the beach to have lunch in one of these two charming restaurants.
Eden Beach Restaurant in La Mala, © seaZen 2018
You can also have lunch aboard the seaZen. The solar boat design is exceptionally comfortable for lunch on a boat of this size. In addition you are a short distance from swimming the impressive cave of La Mala in Cap d’Ail. Be careful, some rocks can fall off cliffs, do not stay just below it would not be safe!
La Mala cave – Cap d’Ail, © seaZen 2018
Our solar navigation tips
This very pleasant navigation is reserved for the most experienced members of the Club, as the distance to be covered is greater and requires a better understanding of the sea.
With the prevailing winds blowing from the east, you’re likely to encounter a contrary swell and a starboard tack wind. You should therefore aim for Cap d’Ail (further to the right), which will compensate for the drift. If you don’t do this, it’s not a problem at all, in fact the drift will make you follow the coastline, which is also charming. You’ll then enter the magnificent bay of Èze, which we’ll talk about in another article. However, your journey time may be longer. It’s up to you to decide, depending on your crew’s motivations.
On the return journey, assuming the prevailing wind is from the east, you’ll be on a favorable course, all the more so as you’ll be pushed along by the Ligurian current. This current runs along the Mediterranean coast from Liguria in Italy to Gibraltar… Well-known to sailors and fishermen alike, this one-knot current fluctuates with the seasons.
Navigation map from Beaulieu to La Mala
You will also adjust the speed according to the comfort of navigation with the waves. Probably at 3-4 knots one way to La Mala, you will reach 4-5 knots back. It is thus necessary to schedule 1 hour to the go by contrary wind while rounding a little in the bay of Eze. For the return a little more than half an hour, may be necessary, according to all these parameters and of sunshine. Remember that you must make the boat loaded, it is even possible to make it 100% load.
You might have to schedule a few minutes more to maneuver the boat in the harbors and clean the boat as you found it.
Quiz
Try this quiz to prepare yourself. We hope you’ll have as much fun as we did concocting a few trick questions!
At the end of the test, you can compare your results with those of other skippers. All results remain anonymous.