Predictable floods on this causeway, Passage du Gois

Calling all fools, daredevils, and people who welcome unhappy surprises or have always wanted to pilot a submarine. The Passage du Gois challenges you to beat its rapidly rising tides. Not respecting tide timetables, or the many flashing and nonflashing red warning signs, will result in submerging your car under 12 feet of water and having to be rescued or climbing one of nine rescue poles to wait for the next low tide. This happened to five unhappily surprised people just Tuesday. Respecting timetables for low tide, you can also park your car alongside the narrow stone causeway and taking your small bucket, walk across the sand to collect edible seashells, mostly clams, oysters, and cockles to enjoy later with your favorite white wine.

Yesterday, Emmanuelle, tour guide from our hotel, drove us 2.5 miles across Le Passage du Gois—at low tide! She showed us lots of photos of inundated vehicles whose drivers dared and lost to the Bay of Bourgneuf, the waters between the mainland point of Gois and the island, Île de Noirmoutier. The island had prehistoric inhabitants, and the only means of access was by boats, which the Vikings used to attack the island’s monastery in 799 A.D. Gradually, the bay silted up, and people and animals could walk across at low tide. The Passage du Gois first appeared on a map in 1701. In fact, the name Gois derives from the verb goiser, to walk getting one’s shoes wet.

In 1780, the first buoys were installed along the causeway. In 1786, 18 balises, or rescue poles, were installed, of which 9 remain today. In 1840, regular crossings by horsedrawn carriages or on horseback were offered. From 1935 to 1939, paving stones were laid on the sandbank causeway. Finally, in 1971, a bridge, unflooded at any time of day, was built to link the mainland village Fromentine with l’Île de Noirmoutier.

Taking calculated risks on the Passage du Gois are athletes running the Foulées du Gois race at the onset of high tide and Tour de France cyclists in 1993, 1999, when one took a serious fall on the slippery surface, and 2011. And of course, intrepid tour guides like Emmanuelle.

This last photo is of an inlet at Port du Bec, just after the Passage du Gois. It is used by professional oyster fishermen. I include this photo to show the height difference between low tide, where these boats sit in the mud, and high tide, the level of the wooden piers.