Canary Island Marinas

Does anyone have personal experience of marinas in the Canaries with regard to:

- swell (preferably lack of swell)

- security

- hygiene (absence of cockroaches and rats)

- general facilities for crew well-being and boat maintenance

I need to choose a place to leave my boat unattended for 5-6 weeks and would appreciate any advice.

Thanks Richard (Swan 40 Moksha)

Hi Richard,

I have personal experience over a longer time only with one marina in the Canaries: Pasito Blanco on the southern coast of Cran Canaria. I was repairing a boat there and stayed for a couple of weeks. However, that was almost three years ago.

The facilities were clean, staff helpful and friendly. The marina is inside an apartment village and access is controlled and guarded. No security problems I could see. And in the month I stayed we had virtually no rain. At the same time, Las Palmas of Gran Canaria had rain every day. I cannot remember swell which might be a good sign. I usually can remember heavy swell.

The one drawback was that there was nothing in terms of recreation ... no restaurant, no bar, just a micro-market, so you would probably need to rent a car to even get away from the place (or take the public bus). However, if you plan to leave the boat anyway, that should not be a problem.

Best regards,
Martin

Hi Richard,

I have recently booked a berth at Puerto de Mogan on the south/west coast of Gran Canaria from end July this year to early May '13. It is a well planned and organised harbour with lots of restaurants surrounding the marina. My plan is to to travel to and fro during the winter, and they tell me the boat (a 38) will be well looked after in my absence. My insurance company (Pantaenius) saw no problem in leaving the boat for several weeks unattended by myself. Hope this might be helpful.

Kind regards,

Terje

Richard,

I left my boat in the marina at San Sebastian de la Gomera for 6-8 weeks before setting off across the Atlantic via Cape Verdes in 2007.

There was negligible swell. The security was good. There were no cockroaches. There is a good supermarket in town where we did our provisioning, which delivered to the boat. There is a hardware shop where you could buy the odd bit of chandlery. There is a sailing club only 200m from the marina with a swimming pool. There are good restaurants in town of the local variety, not 4 star. There is a beautiful rain forest in the interior which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and really worth a visit. If you are a keen walker you should definitely take one of the many trails.

There are flights into Tenerife and regular ferries from the south end of Tenerife to San Sebastian.

If you are not already totally sold on La Gomera, Columbus took his departure for the New World from San Sebastian de la Gomera

Anthony Fawcett Wotan 411-40