A Quest for The Holy Grail

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This summer I hope to saddle up my (hopefully) trusty bucket and venture forth on a quest unto lands of better coffee and finer fare. North Iberia beckons most strongly, with Bilbao (Las Arenas) being my ideal, but of course there are so many aspects and issues to consider, not least the tax matter.
Obviously though, I can't start to dream about my nights in cultured climes if I haven't got a hope of getting into (or affording) a berth that I can stumble into after all that Rioja. So... Do anyone have inside knowledge and secret sneaky rumours of the whereabouts of the Holy Grail; i.e. A reasonably priced marina in a nice area (town, not Styx), which doesn't require me to cryogenically store myself and (35') yacht until the next ice age arrives and a berth comes free?
Jem. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Withthe devestation of the Galician economy with declining fish stocks and an uncompetitive farming industry and almost zero manufacturing Galicia is looking towards green tourism to balance the books,Green tourism basically that any tourist that appears on the horizon is v rich and is willing to pay overthe top prices to discover the other Spain,the rest the cheapo economy class are on their way tp torremollinos.There are places to anchour and certainly in the summer much cooler,but beware the water is cold!
 
Thanks Metabarca, but the Med's just not for me. Not yet at least. Although in the long term, I do hope to do a cruise to Croatia to revisit some old haunts from a season I worked a flotilla.
Talking to one Port Captain, I was told that there was no Lista de Espera at the place, but need to go with a Spanish speaker to clear it up I guess. I don't really care for Santander itself, although the region is nice. Bayonne is certainly a nice town, but I'd go for Spain if possible.
La Coruna is again, not such a great city in my mind, but a nice region, and if I could get a vacant marina berth or a free mooring, I'd certainly go for it. How about Gijon?
Cold water's not an issue, I'm a E Coast sailor now, and work in the North N Sea/Atlantic.
Cheers, Jem.
 
The holy grail indeed, might try the knights templar, you've got about as much chance! Seriuosly though it will prove very difficult and also pretty expensive, just not the marinas available.
 
N Spain

Generally very under-developed as a sailing area. Such marinas as there are oversubscribed.
During the sailing season you'll be lucky to even get a berth, never mind one that's economically priced. However it's one of the great areas for cruising and there are plenty of NON-Marina berths.

Here are some of the possibles that I've been in.

Donostia, Club Reale - snooty and a rip-off avoid like plague. Try the Basque Circo Nautic, they might find you a tight-squeeze berth (but only a transit) in the darsena. Easily the best food in Spain, don't speak French or prices will double or Spanish when you're liable, if lucky, to just be ignored.

Zumaya - rained continuously whilst I was there and I got trapped in the church for a local worthy's funeral, v friendly, usually space in the marina, fairly pricey but a superb shipyard next door turning out 1 deep sea FV a month - seems to be evens between longliners and stern-trawls. Bags of space in marina, reasonably good facilities ashore but a long walk into town.

Abra Getxo - in Bilbo, expensive as hell, but usually space and gardiennage and excellent shoreside facilities.

Castro Urdiales - chance of picking up a mooring off the yacht club, excellent food, cheerful Brit running the local evangelical church. Wonderful examples of now not to build arches and domes in the cathedral.

Colindres - get the stream going in, springs run about 5 knots, go right into the fishing port at the end, 5 days free then vamoose. Huddle onto one of the central mooring buoys weekend and marvel at the parking as the FVs come in on Friday night. Superb market - all seem to cordially hate their neighbours the Basques.

Santander - use the Club Reale (Darsena Molendre) at the entrance unless you love the sound of jets taking off and landing - nice city, marina expensive, club ashore swish and gins ginormous (they pour till U tell them to stop), tonic expensive and they don't know about pink gins.

Llanes - not mentioned in Pilots but probably safest on N coast if like a submarine pen. No water, power but lots of fish and fantastically friendly to boot.

Ribasdella - pretty harbour, tie up at quay, only 1 decent restaurant in the street parallel to quay, chef born in Paddington Hospital. Great place for exploring Picos, probably the most striking part of Spain.

Gijon, ghastly, overcrowded, lots of petty crime in season, with rocks which give you frights when in 8m of water - got to keep well out until you get the line right coming in on 180 with the two pierhead lights in line.

Leave out Ribadeo, very short of alongside berths, determinedly antagonistic Yacht Club and bad holding just by the bridge where all the French anchor.

Viviero is probably your best bet, past the fishing port, up the canalised river is a very pleasant marina, usually with lots of pontoons spare. Supermarket next door power and water but a trek to get diesel and to the bancomat.

Rio de Cediera good anchorage to await conditions for going round the corner, townside dries, bars good but shopping iffy.

La Coruna - lovely town, the most grotty and run-down slums as marinas - hid alongside "Bloodhound" (Edinburgh's ex-boat) in the Club Reale thanks to Jean-Pierre who swore I was a member of the RYS in cognito.

Ria de Corme y Lage, fantastic holding and beach off Lage, with good protection, (sat out SW 35 knots with an Ovni last seen in Ile town ashore very tiny but large outdoor market Thursday. Other side exposed and run down. Small harbour but shallow.

After that the Rias Biaxas - best cruising next to Western Isles that I've seen.

Awful cider in Asturias, and best beer next to Czech in Europe in Galicia - "Estrella Galicia", food is best in Basqueland, Picos scenery stunning.
 
Bilboa is great.

Spent 6 weeks last year cruising around. Fantastic weather , food and drink.

Mainly anchored in harbours or natural bays.

Bilboa Royal Yacht club is a bit expensive at about £20 per night but it includes acces to the swimming pool, club room and restaurant.

You can anchor up just outside the marina and take a dingy in to the landing pontoon. (don't look to the beach to the right. Too many topless babes)

Only 1 euro by train from marina to airport and ryanair flights to stansted for about £15 each way.

Yep. Holy grail! IMHO
 
Rias de Galica Food and drink good ,stay away from tourist bits,some of the most inauspicious bars are the best.Best time to cruise is may and june,july and august is the time of the foggs and peak tourist time and the wretched north wind!
 
Some good pointers coming in here, and yes, it seems I am right about this being as hard to trace as JC's beaker. This has been my favourite (shore-side) travelling spot for the last few years, usually on a motorbike though, so I've got to know a fair bit of the land side, and adore it. Bilbao is probably my no1 city in Europe, hence my desire. Am not keen on Getxo at all, very expensive and damned ugly marina. Donostia/SS is too touristy and stuck away in a corner. Santander gets all the Brits stuck waiting for a delayed ferry that Bilbao manages to escape, and it's a rather grim town (IMHO), besides the town Marina's supposedly too snotty and the other's stuck along a motorway.
Admittedly I was only in Gijon the night of a cider fiesta, and left early the next day, so not a good chance to see it really.
Zumaya is OK, and marina looks good, but a bit remote and the town's a tad bland. Strangely, I rode through and saw a survey boat being built; a year later a was called out to work on it! (more bizarrely, while I was riding through Santiago DC, returning to continue into Gijon!).
I think I saw a new marina being built in Bermeo, but need to look into this.
I heard a rumour that new fast train links are to be built within a few years to Galicia- true Mogy?
And yes, the Picos are wonderful.
Cheers all, Jem.
 
yES galicia will be linked to Portugal and the meseta by a fast train and they have finalized the paperwork for the transcantabrican highway,and of course there is Ryan Air to coruña ans Santiago,this is going to bethe newTuscany!I hoping George Cluney will by a house nearby and bump the prices up!!!!
 
Nooooooo, I can't afford to buy an outhouse, let alone a home until the baot is paid off. Give me a couple of years, let me buy my little retreat (NOT a holiday home!) and THEN George can come on by.
And I certainly hope it doesn't become the new Dordogne (I don't know Tuscany except by reputation). Jem.
 
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