Ceuta

25931

25931

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We're planning to bring a boat to the Algarve from Ibiza at the end of April. Time will be a bit short and Sod's law says that we will have contrary winds. Does anyone have experience of Ceuta or Mellilla ? Is it possible to leave the boat for, say, a month and is there likely to be room in Gib.?
Jim
 
We were in Ceuta a couple of years ago on our passage from Portimao to Almerimar. The marina is not massive but big enough. If leaving your boat for some time you'd want to book ahead for one of the pontoons rather than tieing up to the wall as we did which was convenient for going into town but does put you in the public eye as the marina is right in the town although there is a guard on the road entrance.
The marina is well sheltered as it's in a separate dock inside the commercial port.
Security in Ceuta is good as the Spainish police keep a tight check on just about everything as this is a prime location for drug running and people smuggling into Europe.

Have you cosidered Marina Smir 10 miles down the coast from Ceuta and in Morocco? It's a big modern marina and when we were there there was acres of space available.

As for Gib. you will need to ask someone who is there. We stayed at Queensway Quay marina which is quieter than the alternatives but does suffer from surges in rough weather so probably not good for long term mooring. Having said that the marina staff are very good and look after boats well if the weather kicks up.

Enjoy your sail.

Colin
 
Hiya, I got local knowledge!

If you need to leave the boat somewhere, then I guess ease of travel acess is the priority.

Gib now has limited berthing, try a phone call to Marina Bay 00350 200 73300 or Queensway 00350 200 44700 to ask about reserving a berth. Best done early. Big advantage is airport in walking distance.

Ceuta is not the best place to leave a yacht unattended, suffers fron surge in East winds. The pontoons are for locals only. You would be stern to a floating pontoon on a lazy line. Travel will involve ferry to Algeceras and onwards by bus/taxi to Malaga or Gib aiport. PITA.

Smir is great with loadsa room but again access is poor, taxi or bus(!) to Ceuta, cross border and same as above. Advantges, cheap and no booking.

Melilla is cheap as chips. Nador is the Maroc bit, think it is now serviced by a Brit airline?? Otherwise quite a long ferry ride to Malaga. Other downside is you are still 100 miles shy of the Straits and could get stuck with weather.

If you are coming from the direction of the Balearics, there are a number of marinas towards Gib where berthing is easy....coz they've gone a bit pricey. Estepona or La Duquesa probably best bet although still a way from Airports. Benelmadena is 20 mins from Malaga airport but less secure.

Isn't it nice to have choices!!!!

Hope this helps.
 
ceuta

I was in Ceuta in february. I wouldn't leave a boat unattended there- lots of surge from easterlies, as someone said above. Not sure I'd really be happy leaving it in Gib either, though I know a lot of people do (and its considerably cheaper than ceuta!). At least there are lots of people around in Gib...
 
We were in Gib (Marina Bay) for 18 months. Left Grehan for a week or so during which time a westerly gale happened and our pulpit got crunched against the concrete jetty- surge is a real problem in the right (wrong) circumstances, but not as constant as at Queensway. When we were at M.B security was non-existent (main gate always open) but we never heard of anything being nicked. Can't say that marina staff were overly concerned to look after boats either - the yacht next to us (owners never in evidence during the entire time) frayed its warps and started hitting its bowsprit against the jetty. Even though one's not meant to interfere with someone else's boat after a couple of days of this I decided enough was enough and went onboard and did my best to secure and protect her. Staff had noticed the situation but basically did nothing. This all sounds very negative, but we did actually enjoy our time there.
Also lifted out at Marina Smir, which we thought was pretty good albeit no spares and geographically isolated. Interesting (sad) damage info. about the cat berthed there - can believe it, again not much evidence of ordinary marina staff being much concerned to 'look after' boats. The lifting out, however, was very carefully and professionally done. Almost the best I've known. Maybe the best.
Other alternatives might include Sotogrande (pricey, safe, fairly isolated), Estepona (safe, was popular), Duquesa (small-ish) and Fuengirola (not bad, a little bit rough and ready, easy to get to Malaga airport). Have berthed in Benalmadena one night - wouldn't leave a boat there for long unattended.
 
This is shaping up to be a good lesson .....lift out in this area if you need to leave the boat unattended for any time.

Agree with boatyard at Smir, lifted there twice over the years and it was very good. Also much cheaper than anywhere else local.

Shame about damage to the Catamaran, again with 20/20 hindsight and if the hoist is wide enough (suspect it is) then storage ashore seems a good solution.
 
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