Rules in Spain

[longjohnsilver]

Now we have our small boat here and having gone out a few times, I understand that you can't cross the yellow buoys indicating a swim area. However quite a few beaches, mostly small and remote, don't have these buoys, does that mean that you can go closer in or do the rules apply to all beaches regardless of being buoyed or not? Also many of the larger beaches do not yet have these buoys in place, although they are shown on the chart. I still keep well away from these areas, but I also see they have channels to presumably to allow boats to come ashore.

Have tried googling this but with no success, so any practical guidance will be appreciated.

 

[Bouba]

No idea but in France it only applies to beaches that are buoyed off. Most beaches are only buoyed in summer and most have either a channel for boats or a part of the beach free for boats. You can row ashore in the buoyed parts but some of the roped and buoyed places are for children and you probably shouldn't row in them either.

 

[julians]

If its not roped off you can technically go closer in,but you might get some complaints from people swimming in the area, the main thing is to use common sense,dont anchor right in the middle of where people are swimming or will want to swim. Ie stay a sensible distance away from the shore

With regard to the channel that sometimes exists ,this is to allow small tenders/dinghys etc to access the beach, so dont sail your large boat (large boat means anything that isnt a dinghy/jet ski sized thing) down here,or anchor in it,or anchor in such a way as to block it.

 

[oldgit]

Once went inside a couple of those bouys in an inflatable to collect some folks from the beach,was chased back out and told off in no uncertain terms by a chap on jetski.

 

[Hurricane]

We took our RIB down a marked channel onto the town beach in SC last summer - and got shouted at.
It wasn't a big deal - we were going to have sardines on the beach so we headed over to one of the lagoon restaurants instead.
The point here is that I wasn't in the mood for arguing but I guess it would have been ok.

Conversely, we anchored off Peniscola a few years ago with the idea of going into one of their restaurants.
The boat was safe - anchored in lots of sand.
But when we tried to go past the swim buoys into the town, a beach patrol came out and told us to park the RIB in the nearest marina - 2 miles away!!
We argued our case and they let us row the tender through the swim buoys to a quay where we tied the RIB up.
All worked out but it can be a bit of a PIA - particularly on mainland Spain.

 

[adey]

I got told off by the Guardia near Peniscola. They told me 200m was the limit in the whole of Spain.
I showed them the pilot book with the anchorage shown but they just shrugged. "200m sir"
They were polite enough.

 

[pan]

The 200m rule in Spain is a treated a bit like all rules in southern EU countries..... applied if they feel like it...sometimes they are enforced, sometimes not! Even the marked channels for access to the shore are subjective, can depend if you are local or not, had a run in a time or two off Rapita beach with the jetrib, ok to drop people off on the beach down the channel, but no anchoring or tying it off in the channel !.... the local jetski guys moor up on the channel bouys without a murmur from the beach guards, suppose it's who you know. We don't go to that beach restaurant anymore... their loss I'm pleased to say. (saves me a fortune!)

 

[Hurricane]

The 200m rule in Spain is a treated a bit like all rules in southern EU countries..... applied if they feel like it...sometimes they are enforced, sometimes not! Even the marked channels for access to the shore are subjective, can depend if you are local or not, had a run in a time or two off Rapita beach with the jetrib, ok to drop people off on the beach down the channel, but no anchoring or tying it off in the channel !.... the local jetski guys moor up on the channel bouys without a murmur from the beach guards, suppose it's who you know. We don't go to that beach restaurant anymore... their loss I'm pleased to say. (saves me a fortune!)

You probably mean this beach!!

Never had any problems in the Trenc

 

[jrudge]

Op bear in mind it is the very start of the season and many swim bouys will not be out yet

Last year the swim areas seemed bigger than in the past

 

[julians]

Op bear in mind it is the very start of the season and many swim bouys will not be out yet

Last year the swim areas seemed bigger than in the past

Yes,they do seem to be enlarging the swim areas in a lot of bays