Water sports enthusiasts will know that there’s something for everyone at Sotogrande Port, with kayaking, canoeing, windsurfing, stand up paddle, rowing and kite surfing available for beginners to learn and experts to master.
Perhaps the most popular nautical past time of all is sailing, and there are a number of companies specialising in yacht charters as well as sailing schools offering RYA courses and lessons in catamarans, monohulls, laser dinghies and open hull sailing boats.
Much of this is down to Sotogrande’s enviable location, which creates perfect opportunities for boating to Gibraltar, Portugal and even across the Straits to Morocco, but before you set your sights (or your sails) on some far flung destination, check out what the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar has to offer seafaring folk too.
Gibraltar’s Ocean Village is the newest marina to be built on the Rock’s west side. Lit up at night by dramatic blue lighting, the naturally sheltered Ocean Village is a stylish complex of boutiques, restaurants, cafés and bars, not forgetting its 24-hour casino and popular nightclub. Together with the neighbouring Marina Bay, Ocean Village has 330 berths ranging from seven to 30 metres (plus some catering to the super yachts that visit the area), with daily rates starting from a reasonable £10 per night for boats up to 12 metres.
A true highlight among the ships currently docked at Ocean Village has to be Pickle, the handmade replica of the famous tall ship from 1799. What’s more, it’s open to the public daily for tours. The original Pickle was commanded by Lieutenant Lapenotiere during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and is said to have raced to London to advise King George III of Britain’s victory over Spain and France, and Lord Nelson’s death.
The replica Schooner HMS Pickle is a fantastic tourist attraction complete with reproduction weapons, navigational and medical equipment similar to that which would have been used on the original ship. The creators of this handsome craft have even made a saw to replicate the one used to amputate Nelson’s arm in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797!
To find out just what it was like to sail and live on board the 73ft twin-masted tall ship during this dramatic period in British and Spanish naval history, join one of the tours of Schooner Pickle that take place daily at 10am, 11.30am, 1pm, 2.30pm and 4pm. For more information visit www.schoonerpickle.com
By Jackie Cruz - Manifesto ·