Saint-François tide times

Saint-François occupies the eastern tip of Grande-Terre, the flat limestone wing of Guadeloupe, where the island's southern reef coast meets the open Atlantic. The town has a marina — the second largest in Guadeloupe — and serves as the passenger ferry terminal for La Désirade (8 km to the east across the Guadeloupe Passage) and Marie-Galante (25 km to the SE). The ferry routes run daily and are weather-dependent; the Guadeloupe Passage between Grande-Terre and La Désirade is an exposed crossing with trade-wind swell running from the east.

The eastern coast of Grande-Terre from Saint-François north to Pointe des Châteaux receives consistent Atlantic swell that has crossed the open ocean from the coast of Africa. The reef fringe provides partial protection but the windward beach faces — Anse à la Gourde east of town, and the beaches around Pointe des Châteaux — are energetic by Caribbean standards: breaking reef and exposed headlands. Tidal range at Saint-François is 0.3–0.5 m, mixed semidiurnal, the same regime as the wider Lesser Antilles. The reef flat at Anse à la Gourde partially exposes at low spring tide; the break on the outer reef is more exposed at low water when the reef crest is shallower.

Pointe des Châteaux is 8 km east of town, the literal eastern tip of Grande-Terre and of Guadeloupe proper. The limestone headland has been eroded into natural arches and pointed rock formations by Atlantic wave action over millennia; the English name "Castles Point" reflects what the eroded limestone looks like from offshore. A cross on the highest point — accessible by a short marked trail — gives a 360° view: La Désirade to the east, Marie-Galante to the SE, and the Atlantic horizon to the north and east. The walk to the cross takes 20 minutes from the car park. Sea conditions at the point are often rough even in settled trade-wind weather; do not attempt to access the rock platforms at the tip in swells above 1.0 m.

The lagoon at Étang Saint-François, on the western leeward side of the town peninsula, is the opposite of the exposed Atlantic coast: calm, shallow, protected water with a sandy bottom and consistent wind. Windsurfers and kitesurfers use this lagoon for training and recreational sailing. The trade wind runs across the lagoon at cross-onshore angle; the protected water is forgiving for learning. Equipment rental is available on the lagoon shoreline. Tidal variation in the lagoon is small — the narrow connection to the open sea limits tidal exchange — but the water level does drop 0.2–0.3 m on low spring tides, reducing the already-shallow depth on the inner lagoon edges.

The beach at Raisins Clairs, 2 km west of the town centre on the south coast, is the most accessible and popular beach near Saint-François. It faces SSW into relatively calm water protected by the reef. The beach is white coral sand with shallow water good for families and swimmers. At low spring tide the reef flat begins to show at the outer edge, 200–300 m offshore; the lagoon between beach and reef is swimable at all tide stages. The water taxi to the outer reef for snorkelling departs from Raisins Clairs beach; guides time dives on the reef edge to high or incoming water for maximum visibility over the coral.

Fishing from Saint-François marina targets both the leeward bay and the open Atlantic. The marina channel and the bay south of town give shore fishing access to snapper and jack in the structure around the dock walls. Offshore, the passage between Grande-Terre and La Désirade concentrates pelagic species on the eastbound current: wahoo, dorado, and occasional marlin are taken by trolling from sport fishing charters operating from the marina. The passage fishing is weather-dependent; 15+ knots of trade wind with 1.5+ m swell makes the Guadeloupe Passage uncomfortable and limits trolling depth control.

Tide data for Saint-François comes from the Open-Meteo Marine API, a gridded global ocean model. Timing accuracy is ±45 minutes, height accuracy ±0.2–0.3 m. SHOM publishes harmonic predictions for Guadeloupe referenced to Pointe-à-Pitre with secondary corrections for Saint-François.