TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

We were fortunate to find such a friendly, convenient and comfortable place in which to winter at short notice (not to mention reasonably priced). Although on the hard, it wasn’t that bad. Most of the time the shower and toilet block was our own and a grey water tank (hose to a large plastic can) enabled us to cook and wash up on board without making a mess of the immaculate yard. You can get fed up with climbing up and down a ladder though, especially with heavy shopping although the folding bikes made shopping trips very easy and once again proved invaluable. To think we were unsure when we bought them.

Had we been afloat in the marina the problem would have been horrendous fouling on the stern gear (funnily not too bad on the hull). The local tip is to dive and put a plastic bag over the prop. However, the marina is safe and sheltered from the sea and never threatened by any bad weather (unlike Juan Carles in Valencia which can be dangerous).

Once warmer weather arrived other boat owners returned and we made new friends of different nationalities: British, Dutch, American, French… Our only criticism (and it’s our failing) is that, apart from the staff at the marina and clubhouse and local shops, we didn’t mix with the locals or learn much Spanish.

The small town is not very touristy and all the better for it. Although a holiday resort with fine, safe beaches it’s not really on the package tour scene and is still a working town. It provides the needs for daily life, has a vibrant fishing fleet and you can watch the catch being auctioned. It’s also another ‘Port Velcro’ – we’ve met a number of people who only intended to stay briefly and who’ve now been there a few years.

The marina is well run by MDL Mediterranean and it’s popularity was helped by the deals that could be had on long term leases when the marina first opened. Its downside is that it’s not a direct journey to either Valencia or Barcelona airport and Ryan Air only operates from the local airport, Reus, during the summer.