Leaving a Boat Unattended for Some Time

[Navwoman]

Just wondered what experience people have of leaving their yacht in a marina for between 1 - 3 months.

I have noticed a really big difference between the marinas in the western and eastern Mediterranean. In Spain, the marineros are forever checking warps and fenders especially before stormy weather is due to pass through, but my experience in Turkey has been that the boat was completely ignored - in fact I returned once to the berth and it wasn't there. Panic set in, only to be told by marina staff that they needed my berth for someone else and so moved my boat! Needless to say, I moved the boat to another marina.

Looking for somewhere to leave the boat mid- February to April, not worried about sailing there, just want a secure berth. Recommendations please.

[Joefloki]

You have no guarantee at all, that a marina looks for you boat,even if they say.
What we did when we left the boat over the winter in the MED:
We asked some people who were living on the boat to take a look on our boat. This has always worked well.

[rivonia]

Hi Navwoman,

Well we have noticed that unless you are in a realy good marina where all the staff are well trained re YACHTS/MARINA duties then it is not a secure as you may think. When we traveled through the Med we did find that the GREEKS were the best for looking after yachts left over win ter.

Peter

[beneteau-500]

i thought you would pick karpaz peter as your the boat watcher/ keeper there and surly navwomen you would also pick karpaz as you have said its a great marina in previous threads .

[Navwoman]

I originally planned to overwinter 2012/2013 at Karpaz Gate Marina, but decided that I needed a marina with more facilities. I was disappointed with the marinas I visited in Turkey and at the moment am thinking of returning to Almerimar (Spain) because from previous experience the marineros there really look after the boats ie check the warps, particularly when they know bad weather is expected.

[yeloya]

Hi navwomen,

I am surprised that you get so bad experience in Turkish marinas. How many of them have you been to and by curiosity can you give some names so we all avoid them ?

I have seen quite a bit of marina including entire Med, Caribbean and of course in Turkey. Obviously everyone has different expectations and attributes to rank a marina but Turkish marina that I have been to so far, are much better than in any other country that I've been to. With one exception though, they are awfully expensive and only Maillorca could beat their prices.
Moreover, in every country there are good marinas and bad marinas..

In Spain and Italy, the basic problem is language, noone speaks english, most of them don't listen to VHF and don't answer the phones anyway. The service is poor, it's very hard to get a reliable Wifi, even if you pay for it. Technical assistance is not easy to get and very expensive. (I've paid for a simple oil change in Spain 150 €)
If you need any help for docking / undocking, forget it.. I haven't seen anybody, anywhere outside Turkey. But again, the prices are really prohibitive, particularly in places like Göçek or İstanbul..

Cheers

Yeloya

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by yeloya

Hi navwomen,

I am surprised that you get so bad experience in Turkish marinas. How many of them have you been to and by curiosity can you give some names so we all avoid them ?

I have seen quite a bit of marina including entire Med, Caribbean and of course in Turkey. Obviously everyone has different expectations and attributes to rank a marina but Turkish marina that I have been to so far, are much better than in any other country that I've been to. With one exception though, they are awfully expensive and only Maillorca could beat their prices.
Moreover, in every country there are good marinas and bad marinas..

In Spain and Italy, the basic problem is language, noone speaks english, most of them don't listen to VHF and don't answer the phones anyway. The service is poor, it's very hard to get a reliable Wifi, even if you pay for it. Technical assistance is not easy to get and very expensive. (I've paid for a simple oil change in Spain 150 &euro
If you need any help for docking / undocking, forget it.. I haven't seen anybody, anywhere outside Turkey. But again, the prices are really prohibitive, particularly in places like Göçek or İstanbul..

Cheers

Yeloya

I've sailed extensively in the med.

Many marinas help e you to dock, especially the expensive ones !

I would never presume that a Marina will look after my unattended boat , unless I am prepared to pay gardinage. I have not been disappointed yet.

some marinas have good technical backup , buts its expensive. some have little. ( of course its expensive look at all those fancy boats )

Dave

[Buena Vista]

Not sure which marina(s) you are talking about in Turkey but we left our boat at Netsel in Marmaris over winter, having spent 4 months there over summer, and the guys there are great.

There are lots of live aboards there too and I am sure, having got to know quite a few, that they would keep an eye on a boat if asked. Personally I pay guardiennage, which not only looks after the boat but cleans it too while I am away.

Cheers
Brownie

[ka4wja]

I'm not really clear where in Europe/Med you are looking at....

Originally Posted by Navwoman

Just wondered what experience people have of leaving their yacht in a marina for between 1 - 3 months.

Looking for somewhere to leave the boat mid- February to April, not worried about sailing there, just want a secure berth. Recommendations please.

I can give you a good recommendation of Marina Bay, Gibraltar....

http://marinabay.gi/

I've left my boat there (unattended) for 11-12 weeks at a time, and have never had a problem....
Karl Bisset, the dockmaster, is a real nice guy.....that special "Gibraltarian" mix of professional and low-key....he and his staff kept an eye on my boat and I never had a worry....

They have pretty decent winter discounts and I believe they'll still give you an additional discount for CASH (British pounds), maybe not....but you can ask....

Gib is certainly not centrally located in the middle of the Med....but if you're looking for "recommendations", there is mine....

Fair winds...
John
s/v Annie Laurie

[Navwoman]

Thank you John on s/v Annie Laurie for a direct answer to my question. Yes, Marina Bay in Gibraltar has always been a reliable choice.

Since 2006, I have skippered/crewed extensively and only last year was on the EMYR Rally which visited Turkish marinas from Istanbul to Mersin. I have also stayed in marinas from Camarinhas in NW Spain, Portugal, SE Spain, Balearics, Sardinia, Italy, Sicily Greece and numerous Greek Islands.

Having said that, I have never left a yacht completely unattended in a marina for more than 3 weeks at a time and this time I want to leave two yachts for a period of 8 - 10 weeks.

With regards to paying for guardienage, that doesn't necessarily mean the marina staff will look after the boat - in one marina I just turned up and the boat was filthy and yet when I went in to pay my final bill they invoiced me for cleaning it the day before I arrived! It was later deleted from my account.

Everything is negotiable, paying cash is a definite factor (but I still insist on a receipt) and yes, it does help to speak a few words of the local language. A smile also goes a long way!

Almerimar and Lefkas are two marinas that I visited in 2008 and both have been recommended to me on another forum. Currently at anchor in Sicily, so it depends on the weather forecast which way I shall go.

Thank you for your input.

Navwoman

[multihullsailor6]

Hi Navwoman,

From personal experience

- I fully support the Marina Bay Gibraltar comment

- can say that the staff at Yacht Port Cartagena in Spain will certainly look after your boat. I left mine there for 11 weeks unattended and no prblems encountered

- same goes for the marina in Marina di Ragusa, Sicily. The guys here check every day with their inflatibles on the boats, especially if a blow is forecast and then during the blow.

[boatman61]

I was a liveaboard along E.Spain and the Islands in the '90's... most marinas had a semi-permanant UK/Dutch/German contingent who 'did work'... kept an eye on a boat and hosed it down once a week... rates varied from 50-100 euros a month... in some places the dust seems to eat into the grp staining it so this was worth the price..
As to lines failing in a blow.. my experience in Marina Bay, Agua Dulce (Hello Jessica), Andratx and a few other places its usually all hands on deck with the live aboards as most of us knew the folks and the fact they'd do the same for us.. hopefully
Almerimar is just to big for that... so unless someone is on your dock your problem won't be spotted till the motorbike patrol comes round... thats not saying its a crap place... just to damn big..
And the 99% of the Marinhiero's back then were a great bunch...

[Buena Vista]

If you are currently in Sicily, try Marina di Ragusa on southern Sicily Marina di Ragusa's Tourist Port - Official Website. Practically new marina with attentive staff and reasonable rates.

I left my boat there for 4 weeks last year and it was looked after just fine, the marineros even jumped on board and attached extra ground lines when a blow was expected. I also have a friend who has left his boat there over winter.

Cheers
Brownie

[donradcliffe]

Seems to me there was a big blow in Gibraltar a couple of years back which damaged both marinas and the boats in them. Almerimar has zilch security compared to the Turkish marinas.

Paying for guardienage is no guarantee that you will get guardienage--better to give a liveaboard your email address and a couple of bottles of wine. Make sure you double up the lines and move the boat further from usual from the quay, but you should be fine.

[beneteau-500]

well i think karpaz marina is a good secure place and the guys there do check daily on your boats and the security guy does a walk around of a night up and down the pontoons checking yachts