I came with my OVNI 395 at the beginning of November 2015 to Puerto Libertad from Puerto Amistad, because I had to haul out my boat. On entering the marina I had to first give my credit card and I was disappointed at the welcome this exclusive marina gave me.

A day later I met Jeremy from Steward Yates & Servicios and I was skeptical about the shipyard after the reception the day before. What a surprise! I met a competent and helpful guy and I gave him a work list because I wanted to go home for the next 5 months. In May 2016 I came back to the boat and now the 2nd surprise – 90% of the work was well done!

Marisol at Steward Yates & Servicios is an extremely helpful person. She organized for me 2 workers for 1 Week so that I could put the boat into the water at the exact date that we programed. Once in the water, the motor didn’t run! A Yanmar specialist checked and found that all the tubes were very dirty. We decided the day before leaving to clean the tank with 100 gallons of diesel in. Marisol organized this in a half day! Also she did the paperwork for clearing in the Galápagos Islands together with the agent Bolivar Pesantes in Galápagos, a very helpful person too.

If you are in need of any boat work, I would strongly recommend Stewart Yates & Servicios. The business is owned by Marisol Stewart and Jeremy Whalen and has been in operation for over 14 years. Their work is top quality, very reasonably priced and on schedule. There doesn’t seem to be anything they can’t handle. Their services include stainless, paint, carpentry, canvas, rigging, fiberglass, electrical and mechanical. They also run a small chandlery and are licensed importers in Ecuador.
Puerta Lucia Yacht Club in Salinas Ecuador, is a very convenient stop before crossing the Pacific or heading south. The climate is perfect for vessel storage with light rains only a few times a year, low humidity and zero lightning strikes. For pullout the marina has a 50 ton travel lift. The location is also a great place to restock. With a ten minute taxi ride you will find large grocery and hardware stores. Even a good sized marine chandlery and mall with a movie theatre. In an ocean of boatyards Stewart Yates & Servicios is heads above the rest.

Georg Herzberg
SY Galatea II

I have just spent 10 months in Puerto Lucia Yacht Club (it is about $800 USD a month to keep your boat ashore) after sailing there from El Salvador. First. when we arrived last year (April 2014) we were forced to anchor off for 3 days of “Quarantine”. Next, we had to have an agent and we were given “Napoleon” who seemed OK. Then a Julia Delgado arrived alongside NOE shipping agency and said we HAD to have her. We gave her her fee of 500 USD and we dutifully changed.

I was assured by her and a customs agent who has since retired that we would have no problem in leaving my 36-foot yacht there ashore for 10 months while I went back to the UK providing that, after 3 months, I filled in a form that they would e-mail me for an Extension. This I dutifully did. However Julia Delgado the agent then in July 2014 e-mailed and said I had to return to Ecuador as “there was a problem”. As it happened I couldn’t as I had broken some ribs and I sent her a medical certificate saying I was unfit to travel. When I was fit enough to travel I arrived there in early February 2015 and Julia took me to the customs office in Las Salinas who said I owed $70,000 USD.No idea what for!! However, as I had been unable to travel and had medical certificates which I had all previously sent to Julia my fine was reduced to $3,800 USD!! No-one would explain to me why I was being fined.

In the meantime, I was working with Marisol Stewart the owner of Stewart Yates & Servicios to repair my yacht. Marisol was amazing. She phoned the customs and said this was incredible and that I should not have to pay ANY fine. And thanks to her I didn’t!!

Moreover, the Services of her company were outstanding and very reasonable. I had a lot of excellent work done by Pancho and Nicky which ranged over new VHF ariels, new window, oil seals, skilled woodwork, liferaft servicing, cutlass bearing repair, chain galvanizing etc.

Another French yacht which had spent the same amount of time there and used Napoleon as the agent had absolutely no problems despite the owner being away in France for a year.

So either NOE shipping agency and Julia was totally incompetent or there were some very strange things going on. Thanks, Marisol for great work on the yacht and all your help. We left for Chile in mid-February 2015 along the coastal route.

Michael Marshall

Sand and Foam

Posted on behalf of Hans-Rudolf Lehmann, SY IBIS
I have just recently arrived in Ecuador and as Ecuadorian citizen I am in the process of re-establishing myself in the country. Up to now, Ecuador has a very reduced oportunity to cruisers to stay and we are very concerned at this point to change the infrastructure for cruisers.

This is what we have achieved at this point:
1. The new city administration of Salinas has almost finished the public access to the beach in Salinas.
2. The new city administration of Salinas is very open to discuss a project for a Marina with city administration for about 48 vessels between 25 and 60 feet.
3. The new administration of Salinas in cooperation with the National office for tourism will review the procedures to document the boat for tourism and suggest the national administration a different procedure to facilitate a less expensive and more efficient way to visit the country by boating.

In the meantime we are setting 10 mooring buoys in Salinas just outside the yacht club, which can be reserved at the email lehmannhr@gmail.com at a cost of USD 15 a day, or USD 350 monthly. We also provide water service to the boat, electricity provided by 110 V generator and fuel provision to the boat. Our agent will service the boat permit with the custom office, immigration and port clearing. Communication to the e-mail lehmannhr@gmail.com
Best regards and fair winds
Hans