Puerto Mogan, Gran Canaria

We were perhaps a bit slower to rouse the next day after the few more beers than we are used to the night before. However, being very proud of Invincible we don’t like to have visitors without being shipshape so we had an hour of hosing off the salt and hovering etc after our week at anchor where we cannot do so. We finished about 10am and Kevin decided we had time for a breakfast out before our guests arrived at 11am so he could have some proper bacon! A great plateful was provided at the Irish bar on the harbour front and I had some croissants.

We arrived back to the boat just in time, but were met by a very grumpy marina attendant who complained about us being on the berth, said it was not possible, we were too short to be on this berth. Passenger boats expected for the Sunday procession were apparently promised the berth, it was not possible he kept saying I was to report immediately to the office. We were as you can imagine fairly fed up of organisation at the marina. I went straight there and got to speak to the lady who had taken my booking. She apologised for the reception we’d received but agreed we’d have to move – which to be fair she had warned may be the case on booking. I agreed with her that as the berth was not needed until Sunday and we were expecting visitors imminently we’d wait until later.
Bill and Jean arrived for their tour and were most complementary about Invincible, better yet they even brought us some whisky, which apparently will help us to catch fish, so they are very welcome visitors on board! Before we knew it two hours had passed and we went our separate ways so we could explore the town, which as always starts with finding the chandlery – Sunshine Marine.



We wondered round the town and the marina, we really like the area, very well architected, lots of small villas with squares, local flowering plants everywhere and all shops small and unobtrusive. We were both already thinking that 5 nights seemed too short a time to enjoy Puerto Mogan. We eventually found Sunshine marine after going back to the Marina office and getting directions (obviously to 100yds beyond the point we’d turned back). We didn’t find the hob toaster attachment we wanted but had a long chat with Nylor and Mike originally from Yorkshire who own it and whose boat was two berths along from where we were being moved to. Nylor told us all about the town and it’s attractions and about their move here.





Finally we head back to the boat and informed the office we were ready to move. They sent someone over to the berth as with this peculiar shore line system there is nothing to keep you off the pontoon until you pass a line hand over hand the length of the boat to your bow and haul out the heavy line from the bottom (with attendant slime over the newly washed boat). We were assisted by another 2 attendants in leaving our current berth, which should have been an easy departure straight off, with a slight following wind, nothing to our port side. We needed only for the stern lines to be thrown aboard from the wall above to save the chaffe of pulling them through, except the guy passing the starboard stern line decided to pull on his line instead of thrown it to me as I was entreating him. I managed to get the port line from his friend, but he continued to pull on this line until we were so close the neighbouring boat I had to fend us off! Arrggh! He then helpfully dropped the line in the water, I ran back to the stern where he assured me it was all perfecto, my response that a line round the props was far from it was probably lost in translation but luckily managed to pull it in before it sank. Phew!



We pulled alongside the berth we’d been allocated, which sometime since we had walked round to check it and gone to the marina office to say we were moving to it, was now filled with another boat! Patience running now extremely thin we circled again whilst I gesticulated at the other attendant on the berth, it looked like a dayboat which was loading up. Luckily he departed within minutes, though why we weren’t just asked to wait 5 minutes was not explained. Kevin brought us in perfectly, we secured the stern lines then were passed the bow lines. The third helpful attendant of the day then helpfully managed to fowl the starboard bow line round the props/rudder! Meanwhile I was discovering that the port line passed to me was actually attached to the large ex-trawler dayboat beside us! The pantomime continued! Luckily the very helpful German owners of “Buzzard” beside us swapped lines and passed me a clear bow line and whilst Kevin helped me to secure this the attendant had managed to remove the other line from the prop. We secured the starboard bow and wash all the mess off the boat and sat down in relief!

Luckily the remainder of the day was much more peaceful and we had a relaxing evening on board in the warm night reading and eating outdoors in the cockpit watching everyone passing by.