Benalmadena Marina surge

[Sea Devil]

We had almost completed our 'summer cruise' http://www.michaelbriant.com/cruise_1995.htm when head winds forced us to abort to Velez Malaga for the rest of the night, then onto Benalmadena the next day just to make a bit of progress towards Gibraltar.

We were welcomed in Benalmadena that afternoon and given a 'very nice' berth for a couple of nights. Huh! That night was quite the worst I have ever spent in a marina with the noise of the warps coming up tight and the boat swaying.

I asked to be moved to a better place but was told that was not possible but, they would send some marineros round to haul us tightly off the quay. Three burley men duly arrived and hauled us off really tightly against the stern lines. That night the wind got up and it made the first night look like a gently experience. I spent much of the night rigging extra lines as four of mine broke.

The following morning the wind dropped but the surge continued - in no virtually no wind, the berth was still untenable - look here:- http://www.michaelbriant.com/cruise_1995.htm bit of UTube video ex my phone... The guy on the boat next door fell in trying to get ashore and had to be rescued by us and although I had the stern fended off the risk of damage to the boat was self evident as an enhanced westerly blow was forecast for the PM...

I insisted on being moved and a 'safe' place was found for Paw Paw away from the surge area.

Really recommend that if you go into Benalmadena you refuse to be placed on the first Quay after the Reception area as marked on the chart. It is not fit for purpose if the wind is in the West.

The video and notes of the experience are towards the end of the page........

They made all the excuses in the world from climate change to El nino but I suspect it something to do with silting and lack of proper dredging - or it needs more breakwater at the entrance.

Michael

 

[ribrage]

The weather is blowing hard on shore - sadly all these marinas along the Spanish mainland coast with a few exceptions experience strong surge , we are hit hard the last few days as well ,

we took a clue from all the other boats in the marina and fitted heavy stainless springs to our stern lines which prevent hard snatching some months back and to dampen the motion

if your open to advice ?

if you rig spring lines across you stern criss crossing each other you will slow a lot of that motion down and add some shock cord into your passerell lift so that it springs back up as you get on and off - yours comes real close to dropping below the level of the quay and could get folded in half or worse still punched through the stern of your yacht.

The " marinas "aren't really designed with live boards in mind - more park it up and walk away hoping someone else will care for it when they are gone.

Marinero has been busy !

 

[SteveSarabande]

We left Benalmadena earlier today. It was quite a storm. We were lucky to be parked on the pontoon behind the marina office.

I felt sorry for the boat on the fuel berth, he took a pounding

 

[Sea Devil]

if your open to advice ?

if you rig spring lines across you stern criss crossing each other you will slow a lot of that motion down and add some shock cord into your passerell lift so that it springs back up as you get on and off - yours comes real close to dropping below the level of the quay and could get folded in half or worse still punched through the stern of your yacht.

The " marinas "aren't really designed with live boards in mind - more park it up and walk away hoping someone else will care for it when they are gone. /QUOTE]

The problem is that the positions of my aft cleats do not allow the stern lines to cross... They will chafe on the scoop edges. I would need to install 2 other cleats and I am loath to do that as I have 4 very large springs at the end of each of the warps that are attached to my permanent berth and they work fine.

I keep Paw Paw in Queensway Quay Gibraltar, which also has a surge, but even in really strong winds 50K+ - the surge is nothing compared to Benalmadena with 25-30 knotson on that particular quay just after the reception quay. Indeed, most of the marinas on the Spanish coast have some surge in certain conditions but the two nights I spent in a washing machine in Benalmadena were worse than almost anything I experienced sailing around the world!

Benalmadena has a serious problem and maybe they need to spend some money on tank testing the solution as they did so successfully in Queensway Quay. They also need to seek a refund from the charm and customer satisfaction school as the course totally failed.. The only way I got them to take my complaints seriously was to take their photographs and tell them I would be writing about the marina in local newspapers and yachting press... Then suddenly there was a proper, safe place for Paw Paw and Louise and me... But I watched them put other boats in the same berth one of which was rocking and rolling dangerously making it impossible for the crew to get ashore.

 

[Palarran]

It really doesn't look like much of a surge from the video IMO. What I notice is the jerk of the boat is very abrupt when moving out. Are the lines you tied to the quay mooring lines or sailing lines? They seem to have no spring. It's like they are tied to exactly stop at the point your gangway would fall in the water.

 

[Sea Devil]

This was the remains of the surge with no wind at all - a calm, and a flat calm sea - imagine what it was like some hours previously when there was 25k blowing in!!!

The lines used were expensive multiplaite, purpose made, mooring lines correctly sized for the boat. During the night when the boat was seriously surging and rolling 3 broke and I replace them in the dark, until I ran out, then one was replaced by a mooring line in polyester which also broke then as things calmed down with the dawn the situation stabilised.

This was a berth we took for a couple of nights because the wind was heavily on the nose for getting back to Gibraltar where our permanent berth which has 2 sternlines and 2 springs from midships all to the pontoon. At the pontoon end there are heavy duty springs - because we leave the boat there to go home to Spain and cannot look after her in a blow - the marina staff are excellent and do adjust mooring lines when appropriate.

Yes of course, in the calm conditions when I shot that bit of 'surge' video, the mooring lines were all adjusted so that it was possible to get ashore without the passerel falling into the water, When the 74 year old man fell from his passerel into the water, trying to get off his boat to go to the office to complain, we were able to go ashore with lines and pull him up the 6-7 feet from the water to the quayside.

We had previously had 3 very strong marinaos come aboard and pull the headlines up very, very tight and then I winched the boat back on the warps towards the quay! And still she surged.

I have spent many years in the Med between Gibraltar and Turkey and let me assure you that in a westerly wind the berths in Benalmadena, on the end of Quay after the reception quay, are not fit for purpose and are a danger not only to moored boats but to their crew. When we parked up it was fine with no surge but as the wind came a little north of west the conditions and surge deteriorated - only fenders and the replacement of broken lines - 4!!! stopped the boat from damage.

Michael

 

[Heckler]

We had almost completed our 'summer cruise' http://www.michaelbriant.com/cruise_1995.htm when head winds forced us to abort to Velez Malaga for the rest of the night, then onto Benalmadena the next day just to make a bit of progress towards Gibraltar.

We were welcomed in Benalmadena that afternoon and given a 'very nice' berth for a couple of nights. Huh! That night was quite the worst I have ever spent in a marina with the noise of the warps coming up tight and the boat swaying.

I asked to be moved to a better place but was told that was not possible but, they would send some marineros round to haul us tightly off the quay. Three burley men duly arrived and hauled us off really tightly against the stern lines. That night the wind got up and it made the first night look like a gently experience. I spent much of the night rigging extra lines as four of mine broke.

The following morning the wind dropped but the surge continued - in no virtually no wind, the berth was still untenable - look here:- http://www.michaelbriant.com/cruise_1995.htm bit of UTube video ex my phone... The guy on the boat next door fell in trying to get ashore and had to be rescued by us and although I had the stern fended off the risk of damage to the boat was self evident as an enhanced westerly blow was forecast for the PM...

I insisted on being moved and a 'safe' place was found for Paw Paw away from the surge area.

Really recommend that if you go into Benalmadena you refuse to be placed on the first Quay after the Reception area as marked on the chart. It is not fit for purpose if the wind is in the West.

The video and notes of the experience are towards the end of the page........

They made all the excuses in the world from climate change to El nino but I suspect it something to do with silting and lack of proper dredging - or it needs more breakwater at the entrance.

Michael

Very enjoyable blog, thank you for the info
S

 

[capnsensible]

May be worth noting that most of the Costa Del Sol marinas are prone to silting and entry depths change.

Easterly winds generally bring the worst swell and make some places dangerous to enter....or leave!

 

[MAURICE]

Hi
Ive been sailing the coast of spain since 2000 and i never bother stopping anymore in any of the marinas on the costa del sol. Firstly due to cost and secondly the lack of of any customer care.
Maurice

 

[wazza]

Blimey... Well I for one thought the surge was outrageous.! And even worse if these were "calm" conditions.!!! Must take a wicked toll on your boat :-(