Gibraltar Information

chasroberts

chasroberts

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Any of you guys spent extended periods in Gibraltar? We are planning to spend 6-8months based there next year. I have work (the dreaded word) on a contract related to the new Ocean Village Marina complex.

I want to take my boat there (36') and live on her for the duration. I have seen some horribleness about boats being liable for 12% tax after 90 days and other such unpleasantness with long stays.

Anyone out there who can give me up to date info on the dos and donts of all this would be a saint. Please either pm me or leave a number where I can get back to you for a chat.

Many thanks

Chas and Julie Roberts
Southerly 105 Noosa
 
I have been in and out of Gib lots of times - wintered there and left the boat there - never heard of a 90 day tax - Excellent place - really cannot see any problems - marinabay is the one near where sheppards was http://www.marinabay.gi to make sure go to their web site and email them and ask the questions about tax and costs.

Lots of fun to be had in Gib - very few problems - Spain just a walk across the boarder has everything Gib does not have... Lucky to have a reason for being there.. michael.briant@wanadoo.fr if you want specifics..
 
We spent a couple of weeks in Gib this summer and looked into wintering there. I spoke to quite a few liveaboards, mainly in Queensway Quay. There are plenty of good things to say about Gib over nearby Spanish towns, or Costa del Sol, however, for us, the real downside was evidence of bad surge in the marinas. I saw really heavy steel springs, cleats, chains, warps and rings that had bent or snapped like toys. Boats do seem to get damaged in Gib as a result of the weather. If you decide to winter there, do pay special attention to your moorings and don't skimp on quality or quantity. Sheppards is the only chandlery and they are very expensive as well as poorly-stocked in comparison with UK or Spanish chandleries. Buy your mooring stuff before you get there, and any liveaboard spares you will need (e.g. spare water pump, toilet parts, etc.). Having said that, I am sure that you will enjoy your stay...there are loads of nice and interesting folk about.
 
Slightly disagree with Eloise. We have also been many times - the last being three weeks ago and had to plead for a berth in Queensway. An Oz boat arrived here (Lagos) this morning saying that he was turned away from Marina Bay even though every other space was empty.

Information about the place is very out of date. Even the 2005 Straits Sailing Guide (7 quid including about 90 typos) lists three marinas (there are only two). Marina Bay is described as 'sophisticated' with a good selection of bars and restaurants (there are three) he also mentions the NEW Tesco Checkout Supermarket (which has now closed) along with the health and dental clinic (also closed).

Sheppards Chandlery is much diminished and their claim of getting anything to the Rock is no longer valid. They were not even able to help me with an oil filter or diagnosis of a generator fault.

There are, however, some good points:

Nice people with a sense of pride
Cheap booze
Cheap fuel
Proximity to Spain
Airport close and good flights
English spoken
WiFi access (but not v cheap at the moment)
No tax (you can fly things in for Yacht in Transit)

BTW, if you do get a winter berth in Queensway (where the staff and facilities are excellent)you will spend most of the day in the shadow of the Rock. We met a boat in Estepona who left Gib because of this.

Like everything it is a matter of taste. I just felt I should point out our experiences.
 
Many thanks to you all for your input. Anyone else got any thoughts please feel free to add your comments. This is all going to be a bit of a leap into the dark it seems so we will have to see how it goes.

Once again many thanks.

Chas Roberts
S105 Noosa
 
If you find all the marinas full when you arrive you will need to anchor on the far side of the runway or over at La Linea and wait for a vacancy. There is no official place to get water for boats at anchor (AFAIK) and in any case you pay 1p per litre of water in Gib. You can usually get water from either the BP or the Shell fuelling station (adjacent to the Customs clearance point at 'Waterport') but they will only let you have water when you are fuelling - and even then they might not let you take very much. For this reason don't brim your tank when you arrive as you might need to take fuel in small lots so you can take on water as you need it.
 
Hi Lemain,

Yes, we heard about these 'restrictions' when we went there the first time, but had no problems at all getting water. Maybe it's because we're what the Spanish anyway, call a 'leetle boat', but we chatted with the guys at Marina Bay and made arrangements that allowed us to get water as required. The charges were as you described and the quantities a matter of trust between us.

We've been there several times since and, whilst normally we go on the quay when we have gone out to anchor (e.g. when there's a nasty swell forecast or immediately prior to an early-hours passage start) the same arrangement has been used. I hope there hasn't been a policy change there now!

By the way, it's almost four years since we last called in to Almerimar (my sister and her husband were also over-wintering there) and I hope you are thoroughly enjoying yourselves there!!!

Regards Jerry
 
Jerry, I think that in Gib it all depends on how busy they are. When we arrived at the end of July it was very busy and after anchoring behind the runway for nearly a week, we decided to take a berth at Queensway Quay for the rest of our stay (another week) as the prices were quite reasonable - around £10 per day for a 15m berth and one of my non-boaty daughters was coming down to stay for a week. Getting a berth there was a matter of getting on the right side of Jackie - (yes ma'am!). We didn't stay at Marina Bay - something put me off, can't say what...just a feeling....a personal thing. We liked Queensway Quay.

We are enjoying Almerimar though from what I have heard, it has changed considerably over the last four years. We are in Darsena 3, by Rincon de Ted, which is reasonably quiet. Plenty of nice folks about and a reasonable social life. The daily net on channel 67 helps to create a community spirit. Almerimar is now full. We got here in the second week of September and got one of the last 15m berths.
 
Jackie was great to us - mind you we did have an 18 month old nipper to provide distractions. He is available for hire at 3 euro per hour, or the price of a beer!
 
Hi Lemain,

Good Lord!! It's lovely to know Jackie's still there! She and SWMBO struck up a really good friendship from the first time we went to Queensway.

Very useful too, 'cos when we arrived out of the blue one day a year or so later and found the place was 'full', she got us to tuck into a corner for a few hours, then whizzed us into a berth as soon as another boat cleared off!! Great lady!!

We too like the place, although the last couple of times, we went to Marina Bay because Queensway suffers particularly badly in easteries (strangely) and, of course, there were sustained winds from that direction!!

Absit O, hope your having a good time in Lagos and I'll pass on your good wishes etc to P and B as soon as I can make contact again.

Kind regards to you both

Jerry
 
We have also used Queensway for the past two summers and this year were turned away from Marina Quay despite space being apparently available.
It seems the free space was airport side of the marina where they claimed a restriction on mast heights prohibited us from being moored.............
Anyway - Queensway was OK this summer - a bit cleaner than the previous year - and the shade from the rock an absolute blessing on the hottest days.......
JOHN
 
Hi Jerry, Jackie was alive and kicking when we were there! Plenty of people were turned away on what seemed like her whim - tone of voice, nationalilty, type of boat, who knows, but I never saw any logic in it!

They were finishing off the new island at Queensway Quay when we were there - when we entered there was no island, when we left a couple of weeks later, it was there! There was evidence that the surge might be worse though maybe we ought to wait for someone who has experienced it in various winds to give us the true picture.
 
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