Agadir and the Atlantic crossing

[fliti]

We have decided to sail to Agadir from Gib next month. First question is do any members have experience of Agadir as a port of call and base for a few months? Next, have any members any comment on the idea of using Agadir as the point of departure for a transatlantic crossing to Barbados in early Jan? A couple of extra days on passage but a useful bail out option in Canaries 2-3 days out if we find we have forgotten the marmalade or the prop drops off. Any weather implications for a departure in early Jan compared to the usual Canaries?

 

[capnsensible]

Been there a few times, like it a lot. Very nice marina, bit touristy ashore (put it this way, my favourite place is the ' British Sports Bar'!!)

To visit, use as a boat park for a few days, well excellent. Easy trips to inland Maroc.

As a start off for transat ( done a fair few), not really. Getting victuals to last will be time consuming and not of the best for longevity. May also pick up many legged guests!

Much easier to depart from Canaries with easy language plus full victualling and engineering back up. Chandlers especially. Cheaper fuel too, its pricey in Agadir.

Wind usually bit aft of beam if heading for Lanzarote, watch out for the stronger wind cell often sat off Essouria. And 10 billion lobster pots!

From Gib also good pit stops (short ones) Mohammedia, Rabat (careful of swell), Safi, Essouria if not windy....good anchorage there too.

Have a good trip!

 

[phantomlady]

We spent a couple of months in Agadir October/November 2010. The marina is great, the prices are very reasonable and the staff are fab.
Morocco is a very interesting country. We made a trip inland to Marrakech which was fantastic. Travelled on the bus for £8.00!
There are minuses....
Alcohol is expensive as it's a muslim country so stock up in Portugal or Spain before you get there.
There's a lot of paperwork to do, having said that the officials are all very courteous and friendly (in our experience) but things don't happen in a hurry.
Whilst we were there we experienced a patch of very bad weather and the surge in the marina was awful. I've never been seasick whilst berthed before Very worried for the safety of our boat for a while and snapped a few ropes and a fairlead.
I would agree that leaving for an atlantic crossing is much more convenient from the canaries.

 

[fliti]

We spent a couple of months in Agadir Whilst we were there we experienced a patch of very bad weather and the surge in the marina was awful. I've never been seasick whilst berthed before Very worried for the safety of our boat for a while and snapped a few ropes and a fairlead.
I would agree that leaving for an atlantic crossing is much more convenient from the canaries.

Phantomlady, your last comment has me a bit worried as we are intending to leave the yacht parked for a couple of months from mid August to mid October. Would you leave a yacht unattended there during that time? Is there any part of the marina less prone to that swell?

 

[phantomlady]

I don't want to worry you. We were in a particularly exposed part of the marina as we are a little constrained by draft (2.3m). However, during a lull we did manage to move further in (there was plenty of space it was just a question of manoevring the boat!)
The staff at the marina, particularly the manager, are all superb and are constantly checking all berthed vessels and readjusting ropes etc day and night and I would trust them 100% - they are all experienced seamen. When we moved our yacht under less than ideal conditions they all helped and the marina RIB was on hand to act as a giant fender. Believe me nothing is too much trouble for these guys!
It's just unfortunate that the place is prone to bad surge when the wind and swell is in a certain direction. We would leave our boat again, I think we were just unfortunate last time.

 

[Roberto]

also, if the marina is not full, they put only one boat between two finger pontoons, with mooring lines on both sides, cannot ask for anything better


re the crossing, imho a one two day stop in the canaries would be a lot better for provisioning, depending what your tastes are ..

 

[lenseman]

We have decided to sail to Agadir from Gib next month. First question is do any members have experience of Agadir as a port of call and base for a few months? . . . .

If you look at Noonsite you will get further information. In fact Noonsite should be part of your laptops bookmarked information web links:

http://www.noonsite.com/Countries/Morocco/Agadir

http://www.noonsite.com/

 

[macd]

Next, have any members any comment on the idea of using Agadir as the point of departure for a transatlantic crossing to Barbados in early Jan?

I was there in early Jan about 12 years ago. Possibly not typical, but it was bloody cold, wet and miserable.

 

[fliti]

also, if the marina is not full, they put only one boat between two finger pontoons, with mooring lines on both sides, cannot ask for anything better


re the crossing, imho a one two day stop in the canaries would be a lot better for provisioning, depending what your tastes are ..

Roberto, I took a look at your blog. If you had to make one stop on the Moroccan coast before Agadir, where would u go?

Stephen

 

[Ariadne]

I don't want to worry you. We were in a particularly exposed part of the marina as we are a little constrained by draft (2.3m). However, during a lull we did manage to move further in (there was plenty of space it was just a question of manoevring the boat!)
The staff at the marina, particularly the manager, are all superb and are constantly checking all berthed vessels and readjusting ropes etc day and night and I would trust them 100% - they are all experienced seamen. When we moved our yacht under less than ideal conditions they all helped and the marina RIB was on hand to act as a giant fender. Believe me nothing is too much trouble for these guys!
It's just unfortunate that the place is prone to bad surge when the wind and swell is in a certain direction. We would leave our boat again, I think we were just unfortunate last time.

Aye, what the mad woman says!

We were there at the same time and it was rough, we burst a 36" fender, parted 2 x 25mm mooring lines bent the shock springs and my daughter was sea-sick while on the pontoon. The Port Captain closed the port for a few days stopping arrivals and departures.

Now saying that, they are very good at looking after your boat for you as well, and if there is room they will get you to a better mooring/berth if there is 1 available. The staff on the pontoons with ropes most of the time sorting out unattended boats, many of which hadn't tied up expecting no more than mere zephyr of wind! The place was nice, easy to get around, people very friendly and good food.

I'd sail for Las Palmas and do your storing, etc from there unless you want a boat load of multi legged store-a-ways! The food is better and they are used to dealing with all vessel needs for the Atlantic. Miss the Cape Verdes sail straight to Gambia, explore the river and head west from there; you'll be pleasantly surprised!

 

[Roberto]

Roberto, I took a look at your blog. If you had to make one stop on the Moroccan coast before Agadir, where would u go?

Stephen

Hello Stephen,
sorry for the delay, I had written an answer a couple of days ago then the Wifi here went out and I lost it all... anyway:

If you had to choose one stop in Morocco en route to Agadir, where would that be?

The biggest problem is swell, which makes most Moroccan ports very dangerous.
With a moderate swell, if you need a marina, Mohammedia (just south of Casablanca) is nice, the manager M. Moujoumi (sp?) is very nice and helpful. The surge from the swell will be felt inside the marina, but it is mostly ok. There will be other yachts (the manager said during november and december the marina is packed up, but they will usually find a place for everyone), there is a swimming pool nearby, a couple of good restaurants.
If you take a taxi they can bring you to those French style huge supermarkets where you can virtually find everything.

We liked a lot Essaouira too, a lot more touristy but well worth a visit; you will probably have to raft alongside the local "rnli" boat. The entrance may seem difficult, there are a few rocks on the sides, but honestly it is straightforward, we came in with quite a bit of wind and did not experience any difficulties.
(A story from a fellow boat, which had their engine intermittedly stopped while on the final approach: three persons, husband, pregnant wife, 2yo daughter. They call Essaouira radio on the VHF, we are coming in, the engine has stopped a few times, we do not need assistance but just want to let you know. Once they berthed alongside the rescue boat, there was half the village waiting for them on the quay, they were immediately boarded by a doctor who checked the pregnant lady, then the child, then came the police, while the firemen RIB was circling around. Everything ended up with a giant nice fish barbecue ah ah ah )

All other ports (Asilah, El Jadida, Rabat/Bouregreg, etc) are very dangerous even with moderate (say just 1m) swell. Safi can be accessed, it is a big fishing port but with very basic facilities for yachts (say none).

Second, can you put some more detail behind the advice not to start the transat from Agadir? I speak french and arabic so should have no communication hassles and hopefully Gib will see to any technical requirements. I have no special memories from Canaries so no particular desire to go back but maybe I am missing something?

We spent a few days in Agadir, before heading to the Canaries. As everywhere in Morocco we found people very nice and helpful; as an aside, we have *never* been asked for any sort of baksheesh along all the Tangiers-Agadir stretch ports.
As always, any comments about places is very personal, so is mine: Agadir left me with the impression of a rich Moroccan family sons' place: jetskis, powerboats, fashion shops, etc, not the kind of places I like the most, so despite the great kindness of everyone (even during daylight, during Ramadan) we just waited for a nice weather interval to go to the Canaries.
A local guy named "Euro", he said is pronounced "awraw", helped us check the injectors (took thelm off and went to an injection pump mechanic), at the end of the day said "just pay me what you think it is right", a rare attitude. The following day there was "le vent du sahara", temperatures skyrocketed to 40-42+ degrees under shadow, it was like breathing air straight from above a fire, we had to keep the two girls bathing inside a small bathtub the whole day, and "awraw" came with chocolates for them.

I agree with you about the Canaries; the only places we have really liked is San Sebastian in La Gomera island (oh, and Mogan in Gran Canaria too): quite a lot of boats getting ready for a longer crossing (Caribbean, Cape Verdes, West Africa...), a very nice atmosphere, low profile, without all the flapping flags of the ARC

Last, did you stop in Cape Verde and if so, any comments?

No, we did not. Again, a personal choice: all the comments we heard were about wonderful islands (a few other boats after their Atlantic circuits said the CV were the highlights of their trip), beautiful walks up the mountains, etc; we have two young daughters so going for long walks was not an option, as were not the (mostly) rolly anchorages, so we skipped them, from la Gomera we went to Dakar in Senegal.
May I say again, other boats went to the CV and were very happy to have done so.
FWIW, a French boat I met a couple of days ago here in the Azores reported a friend of his was attacked while on the boat on the hard in Mindelo, he was repeatedly hit with a winch handle at night, died the following morning after having agonized for many hours. He reported this happened about one month ago, I have not been able to cross check.


I would second Ariadne suggestion about Banjul, even if you do not go upriver (which I would heartily recommend if you like to see your boat in the unusual company of crocodiles, hippoes, chimps etc), the city has everything for provisioning.
Dakar (or Ziguinchor in Casamance) has everything too, but we liked Gambia a lot more (and there are a lot fewer boats).



regards, hopefully we will meet one day ?
roberto

 

[tcm]

We have decided to sail to Agadir from Gib next month. First question is do any members have experience of Agadir as a port of call and base for a few months? Next, have any members any comment on the idea of using Agadir as the point of departure for a transatlantic crossing to Barbados in early Jan? A couple of extra days on passage but a useful bail out option in Canaries 2-3 days out if we find we have forgotten the marmalade or the prop drops off. Any weather implications for a departure in early Jan compared to the usual Canaries?

I think it's a teeny bit mad to start further back from the Canaries startline on the basis of creating an artificial stop-off, isn't it? Yes, i think so. Cos on the same basis you could have a new Everest Base Camp in Heathrow, same argument, no? But i know what you mean.

From Lanzarote (Calero) or (probably better, really) Las Palmas on Gran Canaria you still have the bailout of Gomera if the props drop off.

Actually, props dropping off not a show-stopper, possibly faster.

Capnsensible advice worthwhile as he has worked around there as sailboat instructor for last 5-10 years. Meanwhle i have been doin some transats..

Weather differences - meh, nah not much. On average there will likely be better developed trades in Jan and potentially brisker carib winds in January too... but on a SPECIFIC year, well, might be better winds on the date you pick, might not.