Wintering in Portugal or Spain

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tinaburgess

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Just leaving Florida after 7years away and heading to Europe via Bermuda and the Azores. We need to winter somewhere before heading into the Med. Typical liveaboards on a tight budget. Any suggestions as to where we can either anchor or very reasonable place to haulout in either Spain or Portugal would be most welcome. Emails welcome : tinawburgess@hotmail.com. Cheers
 
I am aware people overwinter in Alvor on the Algrave, good anchorage, costs nothing. If you are prepared to pay for a marina Berth, Almerimar is about the cheapest in the western med Around 900 euros for 6 months for upto 12 m, electricity (if required is about 4-5 euros per day on top of this. Some people did without, others just used it once a week to keep the batteries topped up.
 
You might want to try Cueta in North Africa across the straight from Gib. Its Spanish and quite cheap. Ive been there a few times but not for a couple of years.
 
If you don't want to live aboard during the winter you can haul out at Povoa de Varzim, N Portugal. Probably the cheapest marina in the eurozone. If you plan to stay on board you can winter afloat there but it can be bloody rough.

Alvore as mentioned above is sheltered but narrow and shoals quickly, You's need to use a kedge to avoid swinging if you have any kind of draught. When we were there last spring it was quite full with Cats. Little in the way of facilities either.

Another cheap place is Almerimar, southern Spain but I'd rather slit my wrists, frankly......

Rabat, Morocco, is a nice new, cheap, marina, bit far south for you but might offer some interesting travel opportunities over the winter months.

C.
 
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It is possible to haul out and live on board in Povoa de Varzim. A fair bit north, but near enough to Porto on the excellent metro.

Second the Rio Formosa (free anchorage, Bruce's yard, Faro airport) and Rio Guadiana as options, although I have heard reports of occasional serious winter flood conditions, up river in the Guadiana.

Alvor is very tight for space in the summer - don't know about the winter.

Another option in Portugal is the Sopromar boat yard in Lagos, which has very good facilities, with the possibility of living and working on board whilst hauled out. A train station is next to the yard, with regular services to Faro and thence to the airport.

There is the obvious domestic inconvenience in living on board on the hard and AFAIK no Spanish marina will permit liveaboards on the hard standing.
 
Rio Guadiana

Rio Guadiana, we were there last spring. They had some pretty heavy flooding a few weeks before we arrived. A number of boats had had problems with trees, swept downstream, hitting them. One boat ended up on the beach at Ayamonte. Owner reportedly got a 10,000 euro bill for the removal of his engine, all that was left apparently.

The water runs pretty quick there. Just my 2p worth.
 
JayBee said:
It is possible to haul out and live on board in Povoa de Varzim. A fair bit north, but near enough to Porto on the excellent metro.

Second the Rio Formosa (free anchorage, Bruce's yard, Faro airport) and Rio Guadiana as options, although I have heard reports of occasional serious winter flood conditions, up river in the Guadiana.

Alvor is very tight for space in the summer - don't know about the winter.

Another option in Portugal is the Sopromar boat yard in Lagos, which has very good facilities, with the possibility of living and working on board whilst hauled out. A train station is next to the yard, with regular services to Faro and thence to the airport.

There is the obvious domestic inconvenience in living on board on the hard and AFAIK no Spanish marina will permit liveaboards on the hard standing.
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I think you may find Sopromar a bit more expensive than Bruces, though Lagos is nice. Sopromar seem to have a good reputation for their work though Bruces may be better for DIY
 
Sy-Revolution said:
Rio Guadiana, we were there last spring. They had some pretty heavy flooding a few weeks before we arrived. A number of boats had had problems with trees, swept downstream, hitting them. One boat ended up on the beach at Ayamonte.
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Presumably spring 2010? The deluge lasted two months and was the worst in living memory. Very atypical conditions.
 
Sy-Revolution said:
Rio Guadiana, we were there last spring. They had some pretty heavy flooding a few weeks before we arrived. A number of boats had had problems with trees, swept downstream, hitting them. One boat ended up on the beach at Ayamonte. Owner reportedly got a 10,000 euro bill for the removal of his engine, all that was left apparently.

The water runs pretty quick there. Just my 2p worth.
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Agree, we were there last summer and even then the water was running quite fast. Saw a smallish tree going down river seemed to miss the boats but would be weary of leaving my boat there for any length of time. However I am aware people do on a regular basis so perhaps the chances of being hit are low.
 
jordanbasset said:
Agree, we were there last summer and even then the water was running quite fast. Saw a smallish tree going down river seemed to miss the boats but would be weary of leaving my boat there for any length of time. However I am aware people do on a regular basis so perhaps the chances of being hit are low.
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See my post #11.
The chances of being hit in Feb/March last year were fairly high. Torrential rains fell continuously for at least two months, to the extent that the pontoons up river at Alcotim and Sanlucar were up to two metres underwater. Outflow prevented the incoming tide reaching that far upstream for weeks on end. But to stress, these were the worst rains for 50 years and no guide to normal conditions. Locals still talk about them in disbelief.

Normally the problem after more moderate rains isn't logs but rafts of floating bamboo which build up around the rode and can induce dragging. So you need extra groundtackle if wintering (but then, don't you always?), and preferably find somewhere out of the main current. Despite last year's experience the river hosted plenty of liveaboards during the winter just ended, with no serious ill-effects to the best of my knowledge. (I wintered downstream at Ayamonte.)
 
Pontoons 2m under? Where did you hear that?!!! Not so. Just scaremongering. The river rose approx 4metres, and boats had to leave the pontoons, but they were not under water ( although the quay at the head of the walkways was). The worry with the pontoons is that in increased flow the upstream ends can dip - and in any case, neither Sanlucar or Alcoutim pontoons are insured - you pay only for the services; water and electricity.

The very large dam upstream at Alqueva was responsible for much of the increased flow as it was letting out during the wettest winter for over 70 years. The river was flowing downstream for an extended period for this reason. Some boats dragged due to waterlogged logs in their rode, but most were OK.

However, unless you can find a caretaker for your boat, I would never leave it unattended in the river, the holding is very variable, and after last years deluge I feel there is less mud in places. It is not always a problem with your moor that gets you into trouble, but other unattended and uncared for boats that may drag onto yours. Also, with the tidal nature of the river, continuous turning can twist and shorten the chain considerably, resulting in sudden unexpected drags.

It never ceases to amaze me how many owners just up and leave their boats, seemingly without a care in the world. And how many of them are insured I wonder?
 
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Incidentally - if the Alqueva dam had not been controlling the flow in the river, it is possible that we would have had a flood of 1997 proportions as there was more rain last winter than that year. Hopefully, the dam will prevent that sort of flooding now.
 
maxi77 said:
I think you may find Sopromar a bit more expensive than Bruces, though Lagos is nice. Sopromar seem to have a good reputation for their work though Bruces may be better for DIY
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I have just had a quote from Sopromar.

10m lift out/in, powerwash and six months ashore: €1770.00.

Not exactly bargain basement. In fact, it is €200.00 more expensive than taking the nine months contract afloat and three months in the yard.
 
chinita said:
I have just had a quote from Sopromar.

10m lift out/in, powerwash and six months ashore: €1770.00.

Not exactly bargain basement. In fact, it is €200.00 more expensive than taking the nine months contract afloat and three months in the yard.
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A problem with Sopromar is the time and cost of getting to/from Lagos for early or late flights when no trains running.
 
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