Lifeboat shelter

The lifeboat station was built in 1869, at a time when there were many shipwrecks between the islands of Ré and Oléron. The situation was so alarming that the Central Lifeboat Society had this shelter built near Saint-Clément-des-Baleines.

Comprising a huge hall with arches overlooking the sea on one side and the fields and village on the other, with large doors and a ‘lifeboat’ sign, it was designed to allow a group of men to cross the dune to launch the rescue boat. To help with launching, a ramp was built between the station and the sea.

Nowadays, the shelter is used only as a photo spot during beautiful sunsets.

Since autumn 2022, work has been under way to reveal the old kerbstones beneath new paving stones, making it easier to manoeuvre the trolley between the two triumphal arch entrances.