With regards to getting gas bottles filled at the DISA plant (see https://www.noonsite.com/Countries/CanaryIslands/LasPalmasdeGranCanaria/DISA for directions) we’ve had variable success with them this week.

On the first visit they said that they can only fill two cylinders per customer, not three as shown on the Noonsite page. We returned the next day to fill our third cylinder and was told that it was ‘impossible’ as it had the ‘wrong valve’. It had exactly the same valve as the cylinders they’d filled the day before.

Friends on another boat have had a similarly random experience. The excuse that they got was that it wasn’t possible to see the hydraulic test date despite the fact that it was clearly visible and their bottle was 4 years ‘newer’ than the ones that we managed to get filled.

I guess it depends on who picks up the bottles on the day you visit. The RolNautic chandlers are able to fill some bottles, but they’re eye-wateringly expensive.

I was in Las Palmas in January 2017 and the marina had no space for a 10m yacht. I spent 4 days at the waiting pier and was finally asked to leave or go to the anchorage. My repairs were not completed, but my boat was seaworthy, so I left.
Puerto de Las Nieves – albeit small – was much more accommodating, and I could finish everything there.

Fast forward to April 2017 and my visit of the islands is complete, so I was looking for a place where I could leave my boat for 3 months (April, May and June, maybe July). I sent (the marina) many emails with no answers, and many phone calls were not returned. Finally, I decided to just show up.

They told me they would give me a spot for 3 months, but I would have to stay on board, which defeated the purpose. They could not find a spot for a 10m yacht for 3 months during low season in spite of all the free space!

Although the staff is friendly, this port is the most disorganised port I’ve seen. I feel it takes months of advance planning to have a spot there. Or maybe they just don’t care.

We are on the pontoon next to the reception. For a week now we have been complaining that the showers in the building close by, just east of the CEPSA fuel dock has no hot water. Yesterday, just after midday we got hold of the marina manager who promised the problem had been fixed and that we just had to wait for the boiler to warm up. Still this morning no hot water.

When we once again reported the problem in the marina office the person knew nothing of the mater. It seems as if you can report a problem an infinite number of times but a written notice is soon ignored.

We asked Alisios Sailing Center if it’s possible to repair our 3 sails (main, Genoa and cutter). They said we have first to bring our sails to them. Before they can not say if it’s possible to do that kind of repairs (very usual repairs in my opinion).

They couldn’t say us a date it will be finished. So we said we will bring our sails one by one so they could start with the repairs on our cutter sail so that we could still do our sailing trip to La Gomera with the remaining sails.

After our trip, we visited the shop (No phone call was made to us that it is repaired). In the shop, they said the sail was repaired and asked us to pay the bill. I looked at our sail and couldn’t really spot out the repairs where repairs were needed in our opinion, so I asked kindly if they can show me the repairs they made.

Unwilling they tried to find the spots. They found some indeed, big patches of repairs, where I didn’t know of any damaged spots. Next time I go to the sailmaker, I ask him to open these patches, to see what’s under these patches.

When I asked if it’s not possible to repair the spots I wanted to get repaired, they answered very annoyed that it’s difficult and they have to open a big seam. And if their sewing machine brokes down, it takes a long time to repair the machine.

I just thought “Yes ok, as a sailmaker you have to open a seam from time to time. And if my sewing machine broke down all the time as a sailmaker, I would buy me a second one and don’t make their problem customers one.”

I just stopped any further repairs on my two other sails. When talking to others on the pontoons, they said they know of others having no good experiences.

In my opinion, they don’t want to fix the problem of the customers, they just look if they can earn some little money on little repairs. Wouldnt have been a problem if they just have honestly said that to me before they start any repairs.

This comment was posted elsewhere on the site – 26 October 2015:
I can confirm that the DISA plant in Gran Canaria does refill propane bottles/tanks. We have a 6 kg Calor bottle/tank from the UK. They filled it with no adaptor needed. Take the highway from the Muelle Deportivo towards the airport, about 17 km.

Take the Salinetas exit. There is an IKEA Almacen, which is the second IKEA on the way to the airport. Go past that and take a right on the second roundabout, in front of the Mercadora supermarket. The entrance to the DISA plant is on your left. They also filled smaller propane bottles from Croatia with no adaptor required.

This charge was for Light Dues. See http://www.noonsite.com/Countries/CanaryIslands?rc=Formalities#Fees for more details. As Light Dues are charged every 30 days, it does make short stays expensive.

Marina internet is now via a paid service, approx 10 euro a week, cheaper for longer. Laundry open 24 hours. Oct 2014