Keeping a boat in the Costa Del Sol

petem

petem

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Idly looking at Google earth (nothing more), what boating is there to be done in the Costa Del Sol? Doesn't look like there are many anchorages / coves so is it just marina hopping from PB to Estepona / Duquessa /Sotogrande with the occasional run up to Gib. Or am I missing something?
 
petem said:
Idly looking at Google earth (nothing more), what boating is there to be done in the Costa Del Sol? Doesn't look like there are many anchorages / coves so is it just marina hopping from PB to Estepona / Duquessa /Sotogrande with the occasional run up to Gib. Or am I missing something?
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As far as I know you are not missing something - hence mooring on the mainland is competitive price wise to the Islands.

I can see an argument for keeping a boat on the mainland as

- its cheaper ( often LOTS cheaper)
- you are not on the boat much out of season and a marina is a boat car park so you may as well leave it somewhere more cost effective (the labour rates and parts availability may ( only may I dont know) be cheaper
- the mainland is probably more lively in the off season
- you can head to the islands etc for you holidays / the season and then come back
- given you will always have to transit you might enjoy more varied cruising

The flip side is no nice anchorages on your door step.

I have considered this, and am (vaguely) considering for my next boat. Mooring in Mallorca is the most expensive single item relating to the boat. Fuel , maintenance etc does not even come close so if you want a bigger boat the maths are probably compelling as long as you don't mind the down side.

Of course you are visiting in peak season, but if you have a water maker and anchor out a lot that is not really an issue. Last summer in 4 weeks I was in a marina for 5 nights.

For a smaller boat I suspect the maths are not that favourable as the mooring saving in absolute cash terms is lower.

Just my view.

BTW all of this assumes that the maths matter ... and of course if they did none of us would be daft enough to own a boat in the first place.
 
I'm based Estepona. The scenery is indeed not very exciting - nothing like Mallorca for instance. Weather is of course great, although we have some windy days with a fair bit of chop. You can anchor, but many beaches are not sand but stones/pebbles (important for your choice of anchor). Most marinas are good to great, people very helpful. Prices vary widely. You do have a few beach clubs, where you can anchor and get picked up by the club's rib.
 
Coustea1 said:
I'm based Estepona. The scenery is indeed not very exciting - nothing like Mallorca for instance. Weather is of course great, although we have some windy days with a fair bit of chop. You can anchor, but many beaches are not sand but stones/pebbles (important for your choice of anchor). Most marinas are good to great, people very helpful. Prices vary widely. You do have a few beach clubs, where you can anchor and get picked up by the club's rib.
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That sounds like more fun.

Incidentally, I've got a hotel booked for 4 nights on the 21/1 (just a short break) but haven't decided if go there yet. What's the weather likely to be like? I'm not expecting it to be scorching but would be nice to be out in a shirt and sit outside for lunch.
 
- you can head to the islands etc for you holidays / the season and then come back
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We were based in Denia for one season and because the local cruising was not very interesting we cruised over to the Balearics 4 times in that season. I calculated that we spent about €4000 in extra fuel doing that and in fact that went a long way to negating any advantage of lower mooring costs on the mainland. Then you have to consider additional maintenance costs as a result of doing these long trips, additional depreciation for the extra engine hours and the hassle of having to watch the weather forecast. After just one season I concluded that berthing on the mainland didn't actually save me any money if I was going to be regularly cruising to the islands so I might as well be berthed in the islands which is how I ended up berthing in Palma for 5 yrs

The other PITA about mainland Spain is that many marinas are a long way from the nearest international airport. Denia was 1.5hrs drive from Alicante airport for example which is the last thing you need after a delayed flight on a Friday night with crotchety kids in tow. Pretty much anywhere you can moor on Majorca, Ibiza or Menorca is no more than 1hr from the airport or if you are in Palma a lot less of course. As for where I'd rather be in winter, I'd much rather be in Palma than any mainland marina I've visited
 
petem said:
Idly looking at Google earth (nothing more), what boating is there to be done in the Costa Del Sol? Doesn't look like there are many anchorages / coves so is it just marina hopping from PB to Estepona / Duquessa /Sotogrande with the occasional run up to Gib. Or am I missing something?
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We are in Duquesa and during the summer months buoys are position 50 mtres or so away from the beach for as far as the eye can see which I assume is to keep boats from venturing/anchoring any closer. I'm not 100% certain but I think they run as least as far as Estepona to the east and Sotongrande to the west. We are out there often and I can only remember seeing a handful of boats anchored over the last 10 years or so.
 
KevB said:
We are in Duquesa and during the summer months buoys are position 50 mtres or so away from the beach for as far as the eye can see which I assume is to keep boats from venturing/anchoring any closer. I'm not 100% certain but I think they run as least as far as Estepona to the east and Sotongrande to the west. We are out there often and I can only remember seeing a handful of boats anchored over the last 10 years or so.
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I do like the look of Duquesa. Do you just marina hop (nothing wrong with that)?

What boat do you have Kev?
 
I don't know much about cruising that area, but you can go to Morroco as the straits are less than 10M wide at their narrowest point. Marina Smir is the only pleasure boat port I've heard of, but i'm sure there must be others.
 
High teens to low twenties, although on 1/1 we only had 14 degrees.
Good point made by KevB - the yellow buoys prevent you from having direct access to the beach. You can swim the last 10 meters of course, or use the tender as most beaches have a marked channel for tenders, jetskis etc to reach land.
Most marinas have fuel, not all though (eg Estepona hasn't).

petem said:
That sounds like more fun.

Incidentally, I've got a hotel booked for 4 nights on the 21/1 (just a short break) but haven't decided if go there yet. What's the weather likely to be like? I'm not expecting it to be scorching but would be nice to be out in a shirt and sit outside for lunch.
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Plenty of places to anchor, I spent 6 months on the hook between Gib and Mar Minor. you will need good ground tackle as the wind can get up unexpectedly to anything up to F8 and unforecast. I spent 2 weeks in the outer harbour of Fuengirola, a week in Aguilas for no charge, Cartagena is worth a visit. As said above, a number of the beaches have yellow buoys 100m off but there are still plenty of small coves especially around the Caba de Gata area, some nudist.
I must admit though the Balearics offer much more for on the hook.
 
I'm in a similar position, I have a 60ft cruiser and was think of Costa Del Sol. I agree the boating seems limited and apart from a trip across to North Africa or up the river to Seville it would appear to be port to port stuff.

I was thinking of Sotogrande, or Gib as a base. Whilst Gib isn't the best or most picturesque marina it is a quick walk from the airport and I'd head out with the boat anyway.

Anyone had much experience with Gibraltar or Sotogrande?
 
petem said:
That sounds like more fun.

Incidentally, I've got a hotel booked for 4 nights on the 21/1 (just a short break) but haven't decided if go there yet. What's the weather likely to be like? I'm not expecting it to be scorching but would be nice to be out in a shirt and sit outside for lunch.
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I've just come back from a short break, 2nd - 6th and was pleasantly surprised how warm it was. Definitely shorts an T shirt weather (high teens) although the Spanish think we're mad. Does get cold as soon as the sun goes down behind the hills.
 
petem said:
Do you ever think of keeping a day boat there? I'd have thought a Cranchi / Windy 25 or something else big enough to blast up the cost and stop for some lunch some where would a good shout.
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My in-laws also have a place out there with my father in-law a keen fisherman. I've been trying for the last few years to persuade him to go halves on a boat. No luck yet....
We've owned our place for about 8 years and generally only get to go out during school holidays due to kids and to be honest probably haven't the time or money to run a boat out there.
As the in-laws are right on the beach (we're a five minute walk away) my current plan is to get a dinghy and outboard to play with and leave it with them.
 
We did a season in Benamadena which was fine in July and August but outside that period was very quiet.
We did Banus which was great even out of season and could atmosphere, also went to Sotogrande what a waste of time it was a ghost town in August let alone at other times.
We also found Gib very quiet as well over the weekend and other than Banus, Estapona was also good.
I would say its worth a visit for a season but I think you have so much more from the Islands that you would miss out.

I take the point about Denia on the post but we are paying 14,000 euros less and just move from June to September which works out the most cost effective way even after fuel etc.
 
Spent many years up and down the Coata DelSol based in Gib.

La Duqesa probably my favourite place.

Friends keep their 48 foot motor boat in Benelmadena and love it. Spend most of the summer there for at least the last ten years. They always nip downto Gib fora bit and take advantage of cheap fuel. Not the prettiest place but great for a couple of good restaurant nights out, beach by tender.

On the way south, anchorages just north and south ofSotogrande when wind is from west. About half the time.

Across the Straits you haveCeuta, a Spanish enclave and further down, Smir inMorocco. They did all that!

For summer cruising, I showed them round to Cadiz, the river to Seville plus also along the Algarve to Portugal. At the time they had a very economic Trader 44 which did very well bunkered on cheap Gib fuel.

So, a nice place to explore for a few seasons. Weather in Straits can blow a bit, sea is chilly so can get foggy ,but overall, neat!
 
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