Our guide to Sailing from Gibraltar and entering Rabat Bouregreg Marina .. and Morocc

[ReneJK]

Our guide to Sailing from Gibraltar and entering Rabat Bouregreg Marina .. and Moroccan Pirates !

Sunday 12 Aug to Monday 13 August

Every pilot book you read about the Strait of Gibraltar warns about the strong currents and the wind that blows from either the west or the east
When going through the Strait of Gib they all recommend to take advantage of the current and when possible wait for the right weather window to make the most of the wind as well.
Researching the available current charts it seemed that leaving the bay of Gib at HW+2 gave us favourable currents for at least 6 hours

So when we left Almerimar on the 10th of august I had been keeping an eye on the weather and it looked liked the most favourable winds would be either on Sunday morning or Monday morning , where the Sunday morning had good winds up to 15-20 Kts and the Monday light winds 5-10 Kts

We opted to stay 1 day in La Linea , went to Gib to do some tax free booze (and some cigs) shopping (Captain Morgen dark rum for 7 Pounds / 8 euro’s per liter is not something I can easily turn down !!, so I “smuggled” 4 liter into Spain ) and planned to leave the Sunday morning between 5:30 and 6:30 AM , at which point we hit the strait itself at exactly HW+2.

Expecting increasing winds going through the strait we put 2 reefs in the main , and when we hit the strait turning to starboard staying close to the Spanish mainland we had light winds and almost no current but since we made good speed on the double reefed main only (6kts) we left the main ‘as is’ and unfurled the genoa . As time progressed the current increased but the winds almost died and when we got closer to Tarifa the wind was so light that we furled the genoa again as it started to flap. After a brief but exciting interlude catching out first fish , a nice and very tasty good sized Bonito



we passed Tarifa and winds started to pick up again and Blue Pearl slightly increased speed due to the increased current, but winds were still light enough to make the genoa flap around .

We spotted 1 bouy just outside Tarifa with a weird half sunken plastic dome thingy just behind it , no idea what it was but its there , so keep an eye out for it and don’t hit it.

We crossed just after the traffic separation section ended and turned to port , crossing from Tarifa to Morocco , at this point the winds had increased from 15 to 25 Kts with 30-32 Kt peaks from 90 to 120 degrees , with a double reefed main and full genoa this meant we were making very good speed (up to 10.5 Kts SOG) and had a very comfortable ride down. Blue Pearl performed beautifully and if these winds are any indication of what it feels like to sail the tradewinds I am looking forward to it !!

We had favourable winds throughout the day and only at the start of the evening the winds died down to where we had to turn on the engine to make any forward speed.

A recent post on noonsite mentioned a myriad of fishing nets close to the Moroccan mainland (12-15 miles offshore) so we made the decision to stay at least 25 miles from the Moroccan mainland , this is also where all the big cargo ships and container ships make their way north and south so any fishing nets would have been thoroughly mangled already. As it turns out this was a good decision as we did not see a single net and very few fishing boats. One of the skiffs we came across was curious and approached us



3 fishermen in a small skiff 25 miles off the coast ! with only a 25 hp outboard . After that brief interlude where the girls waved at them and I asked them how they were (in french) and a few farewell waves they took off and disappeared in the distance further out to sea and only at the end of the night / at dawn when we slightly altered out course towards Rabat we encountered more and more larger fishing boats which meant Joline had to dodge quite a few of them during her watch.

When we got closer to Rabat we encountered another skiff , this time it seemed they had a good day fishing as their little boat was full !



we could see a shark , half a dozen swordfish and after they motioned the universal sign of ‘food’ they closed in on us and dropped 3 good sized Bonito’s on deck !



I gave them a pack (1 !!) of cigarettes in return and off they went back to tending their nets. For the paranoid in the sailing community; Skiff does not equal pirate along the Moroccan coast !! these are fisherman and will happily trade/sell their catch with you , just make sure to put a few fenders out if you let them approach as they get within touching distance and a plastic boat with gel coat is no match for their heavy steel skiffs .

I cleaned the fish and stuck the filets in the freezer , nice red meat and enough to give a few good meals !

As we were closing in on Rabat I went through what I read about entering the Rabat harbour and marina . “Enter the harbour as close to high water as possible” , “Do not try to enter the harbour with a > 2 meter swell” and ‘Call the marina on channel 16 and 10 for the Pilot to guide you in but do not expect an answer”

The swell outside Rabat was about 1 meter so we had that covered and having timed our arrival at 30 minutes before HW I felt quite comfortable entering the outer harbour and I hailed the Marina Bouregreg on channel 16 when we were about 30 minutes out

on Channel 16 : (in english)

“Marina Bouregreg , Marina Bouregreg”
“This is Sailing vessel Blue Pearl , Blue Pearl”
“We’re about 30 minutes away from entering the outer harbour could you please send out the Pilot to guide us in”

and the same on channel 10

After waiting a few minutes and not getting a reply, as expected, I repeated the call every 10 minutes on both channels stating how far away we were , the last time just as we entered between the outer breakwater with very little swell due to entering at high water , I saw the channel well marked with yellow bouys so we steered Blue Pearl in the middle of the marked channel .

This is when I had my first ‘proper’ look around as previously I was too busy steering, and what I saw was quite mind-blowing and overwhelming. Little skiffs everywhere , people swimming through the marked channel and towards Blue Pearl , jet ski’s flying by us in a setting of ancient walled cities and towers .



Combined with more people shouting and waving their hello’s and welcomes , At this point it occurred to me it would have been a good idea to ‘Maybe I should have called them to make a reservation and let them know we were coming as there’s no chance in hell I can turn Blue Pearl around and make it out of here if I have to “

I was very glad to spot the Pilot boat (no longer a RIB as stated in the Imray North Africa Pilot guide but a dark blue beneteau fishing boat with a white hardtop)



to guide us in and as he took the lead he pointed to his VHF and made us switch to channel 10. When I switched to channel 10 I wondered why , channel 16 had been very quiet with no one talking but channel 10 was a kakafony of people shouting and talking . I had no I idea if the pilot was talking to me or someone else !!! so I followed the Pilot , just missing the inner breakwater on the port side that is unmarked and disappears under water at High Tide ,



dodging a dredge coming out of the channel



while the Pilot was shouting at swimmers to get out of our way and telling the local sail club in their lasers and pirates to make space as they were in the middle of the channel as well .



Once we entered the main river it quieted down quite a bit and apart from a few dozen jet ski’s buzzing around at full speed , swimmers everywhere and local fishing boats / skiffs moored along (in?) the channel in the water



it was quite easy approach going upriver with the current .

what an experience after a few days at Sea !

Checking into Morocco:

When we reached the Marina entrance we were made to dock just outside the Marina on a pontoon in the river , The very friendly and helpful pilot helped us tie Blue Pearl to the pontoon (put your fenders quite low as the pontoon is low), and we were told that Immigration and customs would be with us shortly. When I inquired how ‘shortly’ (60 to 90 minutes maybe ?) we were told ‘Ah mais non Capitain , 10 minutes maximum !’

Joline used these minutes to clean up Blue Pearl so we could receive the officials on board !
When the officialdom arrived they sat down outside and kindly declined to step inside (sorry Joline ! Blue Pearl looked immaculate !) and after a few introductionary Q’s when Joline offered them some refreshing drinks and snacks , they came straight to business and their first question was “Do you have anything to declare” , to which I answered “Yes I do , we have a drone and it is my understanding that these can’t be brought into the country” the person that asked the question looked quite surprised and said ‘That is true , so no guns ?” “No Sir , I have 2 young children on board and I do not carry any firearms” , this went over surprisingly well and he confirmed that drones were indeed not allowed into the country.

And now the officialdom and bureaucracy really starts and the form filling begins , each form 4 times , paperwork checked (make sure that the boat name matches exactly on all your paperwork (ie registration name must match insurance papers etc) 4 times for immigration , 4 times for temporary import , 4 times for … and half a dozen more papers for who knows what . Then he asked how long we intended to stay ? , a few days or a week maybe ? I told him we would like to see his beautiful country and would like to stay maybe a month he said ‘No problem Sir ! we will leave the exit date empty so you can stay as long as you want’

After all the paperwork is finished he asked to look inside the boat , which he briefly did (nothing was opened , nothing was checked and no sniffer dog to be seen !) he stepped out again and asked to see the drone. When I fetched the drone and opened the case he thanked me , zipped it up and customs took it with them mentioning that I would get a receipt for it and they all left with all the paperwork and our passports which he brought around later again , all stamped and all good .

Baksheesh ? to be honest we have not been asked for them yet , either openly or covertly , not by the officialdom, not by marina staff , not by anyone in the streets of Sale , no one really approached us in a pushy manner or in an uncomfortable way

Welcome to Morocco !

At that point the Pilot came out again and showed us our berth in the quite empty Bouregreg Marina , he helped us tie Blue Pearl between 2 short finger pontoons and we we’re all set , somewhere in filling out all the paperwork the Marina also got their info as when I went to visit the Marina office we were all set as well , nothing else was required and payment was due when we leave. Please give us a 24 hour notice before you leave so we can prepare everything and get all the paperwork in order ! very friendly and very easy going .

Now this is how we did it , and of course it can be done in a slightly different manner as well as our (very experienced) german neighbours did . They left Gibraltar with current and winds against them doing -1 Kts SOG through the strait and arrived at Bouregreg Marina at LW entering the outer harbour with 4 meter swell , breaking waves and not having called a pilot to guide them in, ask them how they experienced it !

They were in one piece but after listening to these very experienced sailors they made it from Gib to Rabat without reading a pilot and using google maps to guide them into the Harbour and upstream to the Marina , I prefer our (overly cautious ?) way and wish them all the best making their way to the Canaries , Cape Verdes and then Brazil

The Marina is nice , it seems to be quite new and all the surrounding buildings seems to be new as well , upscale lounges and restaurants everywhere and open to the public with (very) tight security blowing their whistles at everyone and everything that , in their eyes, steps out of line (ie sitting on the docks looking at the boats .. whistle blows .. please move on or sit on the benches)

its a little disappointing to find no other cruisers to exchange info, the germans left and we seem to be the only cruisers here , maybe we will see a few more in the next week(s) ?

Prices are not ‘Moroccan cheap’ at 1.50 euro per meter (catamarans +25%) , incl water and electricity (wifi inoperable as I type this) but still quite acceptable in my eyes and we feel comfortable leaving Blue Pearl here when we explore the country itself in the coming weeks .





Do’s
Strait of Gib : east to west passing or leaving the bay of Gib at HW+2
wait for easterlies or very (!!!) light winds from the west
stay 20-30 miles off the Moroccan coast
maybe call Bouregreg Marina before you leave Gib (or 24-36 hours prior to arrival)
call Bouregreg Marina on CH16 / CH10 30 minutes before entering the outer breakwater, don’t expect an answer
arrive at Rabat as close at HW as possible and with < 2 meter ocean swell
mentally prepare for the mayhem in the outer harbour and on the river

More on Sale and Rabat themselves in a later post

Oh , and what about the Pirates !?!?! .. well, Bouregreg used to be a Pirate republic in the 16th century .. so thats where the Pirates come in

Our guide to Sailing from Gibraltar and entering Rabat Bouregreg Marina .. and Moroccan Pirates ! – SV Blue Pearl : a Dutch family sailing

[Steadman Uhlich]

Bonjour Rene!

Thanks for posting such a good guide with your many observations and photos. I enjoyed reading it and I wish there were more posts like yours on CF.

The photos were a very good feature of this post.

Good contribution to the knowledge sharing on CF!