Sargassum at Anse de Lorient: today's conditions
Light
A bit of weed
Anse de Lorient fronts the village of the same name on the north coast of Saint-Barthélemy. Rock and shallow reef close part of the water, and the point at the end of the bay picks up one of the island's best known waves whenever a north swell runs.
What you get here is the sargassum picture for Lorient today: the morning observation, a 0 to 5 rating and a map with the beaches next door. It changes daily, which is the whole point, since a photo taken in another season says nothing about the sand this week.
Anse de Lorient on the sargassum map
What to know about this beach
Lorient opens north, on the exposed face of Saint-Barthélemy. North and northeast swells run in with little to slow them, bringing whatever drifts offshore, sargassum included. The beach therefore follows the rhythm of arrivals more closely than the southern coves, which sit only a few minutes away by road.
Rock and reef along part of the bay create corners where the water barely moves. What settles in them stays longer than on the open middle of the beach, which the shore break keeps stirring. A solid swell, on the other hand, can clear in one tide what a slack wind allowed to gather the day before. That fast turnover is what the morning rating exists to translate.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Lorient more exposed than the southern coves?
It opens north, on the windward face of Saint-Barthélemy. North and northeast swells enter with nothing substantial in the way, and they carry in whatever happens to be drifting offshore.
How do I check Lorient before heading to the village?
This page gives the morning state: a 0 to 5 rating and the FanGass map, updated daily for Lorient. The map also shows how the neighbouring beaches look at the same moment.
Does sargassum affect the surf spot?
The wave breaks off the point, away from the inner beach where weed gathers first. A heavy arrival can still fill the water column and make paddling out unpleasant, so check before loading the board.
Do the rocks along the shore make a difference?
Yes. Sheltered corners behind rock circulate less water and hold a deposit longer than the middle of the bay, where the shore break keeps working the sand over.