Berthing costs

[DaiB]

Just finished a 4 month cruise down France/N Spain and part of Portugal.
For 12m x 4m visitor berth average for the period £14.2.
Most expensive Santander at £26
Best value was a toss up between Pova da Varzim at £7.2 and Roche Bernard at £5.7
If your thinking of doing this area I can send you the full price breakdown for the ports we visited. Mail me at oystermagic@hotmail.com.
We anchored for 59 nights and not once were we charged, bit different to the Scilly Isles!!!!

 

[Guest]

did the same trip but as far as santander, and found the same thing for a 10mx4.4m cat. french harbour master told us it was illegal there to charge for anchoring. you had to provide services.
any ports west of santander that you would recommend (or suggest avoid) for next year

 

[DaiB]

San Vincente de la Baraquere: suggest only go at neaps, tidal swirls are quite bad ay springs.
Ribadesella: We were there at the time of the Rio Sella canoe decent and it was crowded and dirty, mind you we did stay five days anyway, alongside the wall, no charge.
Cuderillo: not much room for more than 3 boats to anchor.
Ribadeo: alongside wall, no charge, nice place.
Puerto Alumina: good anchorage
Cederia: lovely enclosed anchorage, carefull with the dingy though, ours was "stabbed"
Sada: same price as the bouys at La Coruna but a nice marina 20 mins by bus to La Coruna
Lage: New pontoons, room for 4 visitors but very good anchorage anyway.
Camarinas: good anchorage, stacks of room.
Muros:good anchorage but try Ensenada de Bornelle, few miles NE, brilliant.
Sanjencho: Expensive but brand new and posh marina
Combarro: brill anchorage, stacks of room
Ensenada de Barre: good anchorage, off a nudist beach!
Bayona: full, crowded marina but good anchorage.
Allow plenty of time for the "rias", we spent a month but could easily have spent a season.

 

[charles_reed]

Generally speaking anchoring or tieing up where no facilities (electrics/water) are provided, is free.

Suggest:-
1. Castro Urdiales - pick up a buoy in the centre of the harbour off the Club Nautico, excellent club, good food pretty town.
2. Colindres - at the end of the Ria de Santona, tie up to one of the mooring buoys in the centre of the harbour, 3 days free after that talk to the Port Authorities, has an outstanding Saturday market all folk very friendly to the situation of crew disablement due to strong drink.
3. Viviero - £4 for 10m, super quiet marina, a much better bet, for my money, than Santander, Gijon or la Coruna for endpoint for Biscay crossing. Go up between the breakwaters, past the fishing harbour to port, for about 3/4 mile.
4. Gijon, Santander both overpriced (£7/night) but clean and good onshore facilities, la Coruna similar price, overcrowded, appalling marinas and filthy, oily harbour.
5. Lage (or Laxe) excellent anchorage, superb beach limited town facilities
6. Good anchorage just off the wall by the n entrance to the fishing harbour at Muros - shelves rapidly so do a couple of sonar runs to decide where to drop the hook. Excellent marina at Pontorsin if open to the adiabatics.
7. In the Ria de Arousa, miss Aguinas, Villagarcia has a new marina (£6/night) and is excellent for a train visit to Santiago de Compostella
8. Bayona - excellent anchorage, good town, grudging facilities from the Club Nautico marina.

The Rias Altas and Biaxas deserve about 4 months serious cruising, and during that period you needn't spend 2 nights in the same anchorage.

9. Viana do Castello - watch out for an adiabatic increase of at least beaufort2 on entering, marina just before M'sieu Eiffel's double decker bridge £5/night. Pretty town, excellent central market.
10. Nazare - eccentric English harbourmaster, the only safe-in-onshore-winds harbour on the coast. Need a bike into town, rather tourist.
11. Cascais - expensive marina, anchor under the Castello, sheltered by the marina, use the mass-transit rail into Lisboa. Good expensive chandleries/mechanics/electronics.
12. Sines - odd marina, nice town, only decent stopover into the Algarve
13. Lagos - overpriced, overdeveloped, overBrit. But just 20 mins away is the most delightful anchorage in Alvor.
14. Olhao - anchor just past the fishing harbour, looks yucky but charming old town. The Pilot is innaccurate - the E channel only has one buoy and a major bar to surmount just before getting out to sea - watch out for the tunny net between here and Tavira
15. Guadiana River - a must for a serious cruiser. Annie has got it almost totally wrong, Mertola is still, after 2500 years the head of navigation, a magic town with Almohad mosque, extensive Roman remains (even down to brickwork in the watergate ruins). Any one interested in further extensive info e-mail me.

 

[Apetts]

I am looking to take an 11m yacht on a trip down the French coast, North Spain etc. to the med next season. How easy/ difficult is it to find a suitable, safe berth/ marina to leave the boat through the winter. Do you have to make advanced arrangements or is it possible to find space easily?

 

[DaiB]

We left our boat in Nazare, pre arranged before the summer. During the time we were there two weeks ago 2 boats were looking for winter layup but were having problems finding space.
Book early and try to arrange it before you leave on the cruise.