Some Wintering Options in
Portugal, Spain, Morocco and Gibraltar

Note: This part of the website was originally created without the concept of frames being used. So the navigation is a little clumbsy and I didn't have time to toally rebuild this part of the site. The links to the various brochures and photos are on this page. You can always get back to this page by clicking on the link Wintering Summary Page in the left pane after clicking on one of the brochure/photo pages. You will need to then scroll down to where you were to go on. Of course to get back to the site home page, click on Home.

As we reached the end of our cruising destination for 2004 we began to explore various options to winter Sugilite. We looked at marinas in Portugal, Southern Atlantic Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco and Southern Mediterranean Spain. During this exploration, we collected a number of brochures and price lists and took some photos. This was not an exhaustive survey of marinas in this part of the world. There are many other options available to you. This just happens to be a review of the ones we visited.

We finally ended up in choosing Rota as our final destination. But here are scans of the brochures we picked up, scans of the price lists and a few photos of the various marinas. The scans are available to you in high resolution (much longer download times but you will have better printing results) and low resolution (quicker download, but if you want to print it, then you will lose some detail).

A quick overview of the various marinas was compiled for a letter sent to SSCA. Additional detail on the various marinas visited follows. In scanning the brochures, I did not scan all of the pages. Those pages which were only advertisements, I skipped. We also took some pictures of the various marinas as we visited. Here is what we collected from North to South.

Note on the links: Click the description name for a low resolution image suitable for viewing on a screen. Next to the link description are links called (High Res). Click on the (High Res) if you want to be able to print a page or brochure. Be sure you have a fast internet connection before you click on (High Res).

Note on the Prices quoted: For all marinas listed here you will have a scan of the actual price list given to us for this season (2004). In the text, I've quoted the price for our boat to be on the hard from September 1 to April 30 (9 months), including haul out, storage, splashing and VAT taxes. This can give you a relative relationship of the various marinas to each other. Actual pricing can vary dramatically depending on whether you are in or out of the water, the high season dates used by the marina, whether you pay in advance or not and/or by credit card and use of electricity or water. When calculating rates from the rate cards, be sure to add VAT taxes (19% Portugal, 16% Spain, 0% Gibraltar and Morocco).

N. Spain

We didn't really consider wintering here because it was too far north i.e., north of Portugal, but I collected some data anyway.

Portosin -- A small marina with an excellent reputation. English was good and they have a marina WIFI network for internet. But we though the price was too high to consider at 4,038 Euros ($4,996), plus it was too far north for us.

Portugal

We looked at several Portuguese marinas, mostly in the Algarve region. In general you could characterize the typical Portuguese marina is very upscale and pricey. The English have "discovered" this part of the world and the Portuguese make it easy for them to vacation and keep their boats here. Three good options here are Cascais, Lagos and Vilamoura. All of these marinas appear to be first class and expensive with the exception of hardstanding at Lagos. This was quite reasonable for some reason. We have also heard good things about wintering in Seville, but we did not visit there.

Cascais -- At the mouth of the river leading to Lisbon. A modern fairly new upscale marina with lots of shopping and restaurants. Only an hour by train to Lisbon. Several small marine stores located in the marina. The adjacent town is very upscale with trendy shops and restaurants. They had hard-standing available, but my notes do not have the prices. Price for in-water berth 3,123 Euros($3,864). Security was very good with locked pontoons. English was very good. Excellent internet access in town where you could plug in a laptop at the internet café.

Lagos -- Great sailing along the Algarve, because the typical wind direction is from the NW and as the coast runs East/West you have little fetch for the waves to build. Also close to Lagos are some great grottos to explore by dinghy. The yard was one of the best we saw and the security arrangements were the best anywhere. Excellent English spoken by the yard personnel and the hardstanding price was attractive. Lagos was one of our favorite places. Other cruisers though found it a little too touristy. Lots of restaurants and fun shops. Cute town and the place has been discovered by the English. Lots of English park their boats in Lagos and use them as condos. Security at the hard-standing yard was excellent with electronic fences and constant video recording. There were a couple of fairly good marine stores at the yard. There was a marina wide WIFI network. Price was 1,911 Euros ($2,364). You could even join the local health club with a wonderful swimming pool for 210 euros per month (which included up to 3 additional crew), or 550 euros per year

Portimao --The hard-standing area is across the river from the main marina and our impressions are based upon the situation at the hard-standing area as the main marina was very modern, clean and seemed to be efficiently run. The hard-standing area, though, looked like the developers at one time had great plans, but they just never materialized. Security was limited with open gates. Boats were typically only supported with wood sticks. English was very limited. Great Internet in town. Could not find the chandlery, but there must be one somewhere. Price 2,199 Euros ($2,720)..

Vilamoura -- A very successful planned resort community started more than 20 years ago and very touristy and upscale. The marina yard staff was probably the most professional we encountered. Security was excellent. But we were told that we could only keep our boat on the hard until the end of January. At that time we would have to move into a slip, which they could arrange for us. Since then, we have heard through other cruisers, that they tell this to everyone, and once you are in the yard, you will be able to stay without being moved into a slip. This might be true, we don’t know for sure. English and internet access was excellent. Marine store at the yard. Price assuming 9 months of hard-standing 3,422 Euros ($4,234). The marina also provides a free pumpout service for all yachts.

Southern Spain

Southern Spain can be divided into two parts, the Atlantic side of the Straights of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean side. In Spain, both sides are known as the Andalucia. There is a company (or state agency -- I'm not sure) called the Junta de Andalucia which owns/manages 11 of the ports/marinas in the area. They produce a nice free brochure (see below) which has a picture, list of services and a map of ALL of the marinas in the Andalucia. The map on page 6 gives a very good overview of the Andalucia and where each of the marinas are located.

For the eleven ports managed/owned by the Junta, all of the rates are the same. It doesn't matter which marina you visit. However, not all of the marinas are at the same level of sophistication or infrastructure. On the Atlantic side, we visited Rota and Puerto America. On the Mediterranean side we visited Marbella. Only Rota (our final destination) met our requirements. We have heard from other cruisers that Chipiona (half day north of Rota) is also an excellent option.

Andalucia Brochure

Rota - Located on the North side of Cadiz Bay and next to the large American naval base by the same name. The marina is owned by the Junta de Andalucia. We have just heard that since September 1st, they will no longer allow you to stay in your boat while on the hard. This initially was one of the plusses for this marina, but the Junta has changed the policy for all of the marinas they manage. The town of Rota is very much a Spanish holiday resort and quite cute. Amazingly, you will find practically no graffiti on the walls. Lots of free cultural events in the evening, two Mexican restaurants and free internet at the library (very close to the marina). Boats are placed into metal cradles when on the hard and the price was good.  The yard was very clean and the security seemed to be good. The brochure copied below is for all 11 of the marinas owned/managed by the Junta. Price is 1,508 Euros ($1,866).

Comments on Rota after our return -

We along with Triumph, Tapestry, Blue Heron and Alcid, wintered over in Rota for the 2004-2005 season. We were were overall pleased with our stay and I think from talking to the other crews, that they generally had no complaints either. Some comments in no particular order that may prove helpful or interesting.

You can no longer sleep on your boat while it is on the hard. You will need to stay in town or on someone else's boat.

We had our bottom painted with two coats of anti-fouling. Javier, who is generally the yard mechanic and speaks very little English, did good work. Our price was 300 euros, which we though was a bargain.

The yard has installed security cameras since last year.

There is now a small internet copy store in town which will allow you to plug in your own laptop.

There are a lot of wind storms which happen over the winter. The red sand from Africa will penetrate your exposed lines. Best to cover as much as possible. We covered Sugilite with blue tarps. The heavier ones did OK, the cheapies were shredded.

Fany in the office speaks English. Her email is rota@eppa.es If you plan to launch around May 1st, it would be best to schedule way ahead for a launch time. The yard is working on a limited schedule during this week and the slots could be booked.

The small marine store has closed down. There is a very small new one started in the hard-standing yard, but parts are very limited and he mostly services outboard engines.

Puerto Sherry -- We couldn't understand why this port was highly recommended by the RCC Atlantic Portugal and Spain cruising guide. It looks to have been started as a planned resort community 15 or so years ago. But, the company went bankrupt more than 7 years ago. The construction was halted in mid stream and the place has the appearance of a WWII bombed out city. Anyway, here are copies of the flyers we picked up. If you really want to stay there, the price is 1,766 Euros ($2,184). We've since talked to some other cruisers who over-wintered (staying on the boat) in Puerto Sherry and they thouroughly enjoyed their winter. There is another part of the town that is more lively, but is a bit of a walk to get to.

Aguadulce -- Very highly recommended by many cruisers we met. So this was in direct opposition to our impression. It is located on the Mediterranean side of Straights and close to the large city of Almeria. I would have had no problems with hauling out or staying there, I just didn't feel comfortable with leaving the boat there unattended because of the perceived lack of security. Price 1,997 Euros ($2,470).

Gibraltar

Much to our surprise, we found Gib very expensive and crowded and a bit shabby. If you are in need of parts, your best chance of locating them will be in Gib, but you will pay for the privilege. Another advantage, is if you need to get parts shipped in, you won't have to go through the bureaucracy that you will encounter in Spain or Portugal. Food is also very expensive, but the selection at Safeway is tremendous. The only good deal is diesel, much less expensive than in Spain or Portugal.

I didn't locate any hard-standing facilities, but I didn't try too hard. There are only three marinas available. One of them, Shepards, has been sold and is in the process of being turned into a condo development. I understand that Shepards will move somewhere else. Queensway we did not visit but we understand they have floating pontoons, which the other two don't. Price 1,323 Pounds ($2,423) for inwater.

Morocco

Smir -- We wouldn't have even considered Morocco, if we hadn't visited there. Smir is a very modern upscale marina managed by a Spanish company. It is about 25 miles South of Gibraltar. Security seems to be very good, since the King keeps his boat there. But it is more expensive than Spain. In fact it is so expensive that the marina is usually fairly empty. Couldn’t find internet access. English was very good. Price 24,982 Dh. ($2,848).