on board

[scoty]

planning for winter 2015,,,,anyone spent a winter either in ROTA or PUERTO GELVES (Seville)

I would appreciate your oppinions on the for and against, or even an alternative.

Thanks in advance

 

[macd]

I'm sure you'll get responses re Rota (doesn't PawPaw hang around there?)
I've visited Gelves to see friends who did winter there. They thoroughly enjoyed it. They're not on the forum but I'd be happy to pass any specific questions on to them on your behalf if you don't get much first person response.

BTW, the twitching isn't bad on the way up the Guadalquivir.

As to alternatives, I enjoyed Ayamonte (twice).

 

[Mistroma]

I'm sure you'll get responses re Rota (doesn't PawPaw hang around there?)
I've visited Gelves to see friends who did winter there. They thoroughly enjoyed it. They're not on the forum but I'd be happy to pass any specific questions on to them on your behalf if you don't get much first person response.

BTW, the twitching isn't bad on the way up the Guadalquivir.

As to alternatives, I enjoyed Ayamonte (twice).

I couldn't get the boat into Ayamonte this year, even at high water springs. I can check the date to get the tide height but it was quite a high one. We draw 2.1m and couldn't find any safe spot on the fingers either side of the outer pontoon. I had asked the office before entering and they directed me to these pontoons as they had greatest depth. It is possible that they were wrong and inner berths might be better, but you'd need to check with a reliable source (berth holder?).

I think that the tidal range was 2.8m - 0.7m and the sounder was only showing 3.3m at most on the outer berths. So I'd only have 1.2m at LW if I am remembering correctly. I do know that I did just turn around and leave immediately.

 

[ribrage]

Rota is a good spot, we didn't winter there but did spend a while roaming the town and also catching the ferry across to Cadiz when we passed through, it wasn't expensive and there was plenty to do, Id certainly have been happy spending the winter in Rota, the only annoying thing was the number of stray cats sleeping on the boats.

 

[Nostrodamus]

We spent a week in Rota and loved it but I imagine it could be a little quiet in winter. There is a cheap bus from there every day to Seville which is one of our favourite cities.
We did speak to someone who tried to get into Seville for the winter but the marina was booked up so it is worth checking early.

 

[macd]

We did speak to someone who tried to get into Seville for the winter but the marina was booked up so it is worth checking early.

Seville and Puerto Gelves are quite distinct, indeed some miles apart, as you may know.

 

[macd]

Porto Gelves
This is text of a reply from a friend who wintered at Gelves a few years ago and is still in touch with people there:

My information on Gelves is rather out of date; last visit more than 4 years ago. [person] is still living on [their boat name] and has been there since about 2005. The marina is owned by the local authority and suffers from lack of investment so toilets are antiquated and WIFI is dodgy but security good and the staff friendly. Some basic cafes, then more in Gelves village centre; the nearest larger supermarket was Lidl, a short bus trip, but I seem to remember someone saying that another one had emerged closer by. [my boat's] air draft is just over 18m and we came under the cables close to the top of the tide; they look lower and are incorrectly signed.

Another piece of mis-information relates pilotage notes. The entire trip up-river can be done on one tide starting at slack water at the village on the bend close to the mouth. There is no need to punch the tide as stated in the notes.