We spent Nov. 2011 thru April 2012 living aboard our 42 ft. sailboat in the Bouregreg Marina. We were denied entry to the Royal Yacht Club of Tangier last October, and, as there was no room for visiting boats, we had to turn around and recross the Straits of Gibraltar, returning to Barbate. The strong Easterlies through the Strait prevented us reaching Gibraltar. The non-stop Easterlies were one of the reasons we opted to winter in Rabat/Sale and postponed entering the Med until this Spring. We came back north to Gibraltar at the end of April and entered the Med.
Total charges at Bouregreg Marina were about $2600 for this period with free wifi, water and power.
- Shelter and security were excellent.
– Construction nearby means quite a bit of airborne dirt.
– The nights are generally quiet, but the basin is brightly lit.
– The bathroom facilities are somewhat minimal and used extensively by the police, customs, cleaning and marina staff 24/7. When the marina is busy, mainly in November, these facilities can be marginal.
– The floating docks have 15ft. fingers, with each boat tying off between two of these short fingers. The conditions are so calm, that this unlikely system works adequately for boats up to 53ft.
– The marina staff, maintenance and guards are all very cordial and helpful.
– There is diesel for about 40% less than in European ports, and inexpensive butane gas in both 12 kg. tanks and 2.75 kg. camping gas containers.
– There are three cafes and two up-scale restaurants inside the gated marina complex, which offer a range of both Moroccan and European dishes, most quite good and reasonably priced.
– There are supermarkets about 2 km. from the marina. These are the only sources of wine/spirits. We walked to and backpacked purchases regularly.
– There are no local chandleries or marine services.
The walled city of Sale, just across the street from the marina, has excellent bakeries, fish, vegetable and meat markets. It is also remarkable in that it remains traditional and authentic, nearly untouched by tourism.
The tramway that crosses the river to Rabat is close by, and the train station is a short walk, with good rail connections to all major cities, and the international airport in Casablanca.
During our stay, there was always room for new arrivals, and very few cruisers visiting or wintering after November. A small electric heater keeps the boat quite comfortable in the chilly mornings and evenings.
The customs inspection on arrival and departure here is somewhat onerous, with sniffer dogs and tedious paperwork, but other reports have covered that. The dogs are really incapable of finding anything more than the galley, and sometimes offend visiting yachtsmen, but I suspect that this is the Moroccan Customs’ way of shifting responsibility from themselves to the animal, while appearing thorough and authoritative. They did admit that the dogs had never found anything of interest on a visiting yacht.
In general, the cost of living is 30-40% less than comparable European ports. Incredible scenery and diverse Arab/Berber culture are well-known attractions that draw millions of travellers and tourists to Morocco each year.
We did visit the Agadir Marina on a car trip south, and saw the ports at Safi, Essaouira, El Jadida, and Sidi Ifni, which are industrial and/or fishing ports, and really not suited for cruising yachts. The new marina in Agadir is well suited for yachts, and probably a good place to base a visit to Marrakech, Essaouira and southern Morocco.
Reed Erskine
SY Cayenne