Lion de Mer

An emergent rocky islet about 1.3 km off the Saint-Raphael shore, it drops away on every side but presents its main wall and the Grotte a Corail on the south face toward the open Mediterranean. The mainland and the Esterel massif shelter it through the west and northwest (Mistral) and around the north, while the Maures and Saint-Tropez coast 10-16 km to the southwest largely blocks the Libeccio. That leaves the southern arc open: south and southeast wind-wave (Scirocco, longest fetch) is the dominant exposure, easing off through the east. Diving usually shifts to the leeward lee of the rock when southerly or easterly winds build.