Melilla to Saidia - 45 Miles (Accidentally via Algeria!)

Border with Morocco and Algeria

SATURDAY 28 JUNE 2008

We had intended going to the small fishing port of Ras el Ma 25 miles away, but David’s wife told us that because it wasn’t a port of entry, last year people had to go back to Nador in a taxi to do the clearance. Some of the ports we have visited in Morocco were not ports of entry and there was no problem, but we didn’t feel like having to get in a taxi at the end of a sail, so decided to head straight for Saidia, 35 miles away near the Algerian border.

It was very hot again, although hazy, but once we were out at sea there was a lovely temperature. We motor-sailed for a couple of hours and filled our water tanks and put the fridge back on – cold drinks again! We tentatively tried the autohelm but it was having a problem holding the position because there was bit of a breeze so we used the wind vane. We were able to sail most of the way, listening to Bob Marley, Bridge Over Trouble Water, Leonard Cohen and Tina Turner. We had to tack past Islas Chafarinas, another group of three islands that are owned by the Spanish – we could see the Spanish flag on top. The Spanish seem to own rocks and enclaves all along the Moroccan Mediterranean coast, which makes their arguments about Gibraltar rather weak. Once past the rocks we dropped the Spanish courtesy flag and hoisted the “Q” flag.

The chart plotter and the pilot showed Saidia Marina at position 35o07’N 02o11 W. Looking at the charts, this seemed to be over the border in Algeria and it is not possible to go to Algeria without Visas. The 2005 pilot also includes a warning note about the civil war in Algeria. We passed a port at 35o06,N 02o17’W that was not marked on the chart or the chart plotter, about 5 miles from west from one on the chart plotter, but decided to continue on to see if the chart plotter was correct. As we neared the position, we could see people on the beach and a couple of jet skiers came out to say hello but we eventually realized it was definitely wrong when we saw a river running into the sea and the Moroccan flag on one side and a lot of Algerian flags on the other! We could see something that looked like a port wall with cranes inside it but as we continued on to have a look a friendly jet skier came out and told us we were now in Algeria! We turned around and motored back the 5 miles we had just come. 

By now the sun was starting to go down and we didn’t want to arrive at an uncharted port in the dark. When we arrived, a dinghy came out to us and told us to follow him. I’m glad he did as the depths here are very low in places – down to 2 meters and we drawn 1.7. The route is buoyed with small green and red buoys, rather like mooring buoys, but it would still be quite difficult without guidance.

Saidia is a massive development with space for hundreds of boats, but apart from a few small boats, there were only two other yachts, a large catamaran and about three motor boats. There are buildings all the way round for shops, cafes, supermarkets – all empty. We were almost treated like royalty when we arrived – the young Port Captain, Mohamed, welcomed us and made sure his two Marineros helped us with our lines and ensured we had electricity – not all the electric points were working. 

We then went to the office to do the inevitable paperwork and the gendarmerie welcomed us before proceeding. This time he wanted to know how many children we had and what our parents’ names were – he wanted the family history! I told him I could let him have information back to 16th century if he wanted. The Port Captain said the passports had to go to the police in Saidia but he would take them for us. He would give us a lift if we wanted to go, but it was late and we were hungry so went back to the boat to cook a tinned Confit de Canard and sautéed potatoes. We were in the middle of preparing this, when one of the Marineros said the Customs wanted to see us. This one was extremely slow and wanted the same information as the others but seemed incapable of just copying the information. The passports had been photocopied but were so bad they were illegible. My sense of humour was diminishing as my hunger was increasing! It was 9.45 p.m. (10.45 p.m. Spanish time) by the time I got back to the boat, over an hour since we had arrived. My sense of humour returned as Roger had set the table in the cockpit, the wine was open and the dinner was ready.

Marina: 15 euros, including water, electricity and showers. Compared to Melilla (8 euros) and Marina Smir (18 euros but fully operational) this seemed expensive for a Marina that wasn’t even finished, is silting up fast and is a long way from town.