Le Donator (Prosper Schiaffino)

The Donator lies mid-channel in the Grande Passe between Porquerolles and Port-Cros, essentially co-located with the neighbouring Grec (Sagona) wreck about 550 m to the south and sharing its exposure. The southern arc is fully open to the Mediterranean, where the Scirocco (S-SE) builds the longest-fetch waves and the Libeccio (SW) adds swell. Porquerolles island and the Petit Sarranier rock to the west, with the Giens peninsula and the Hyeres mainland to the northwest, shadow the landward sectors and blunt the Mistral as its wind funnels down the channel; Port-Cros, some 8 km east, screens the long Mediterranean swell from the eastern quarter. The passage concentrates tide- and wind-driven flow, producing the frequently strong, sometimes violent down-current the site is known for.