Gibraltar/La Linea Cruising Notes 

Gibraltar is its own country, and the city of La Linea is just over the border (they call it the “Frontier”) on the Spanish side. Between the two countries you can find most things. We liked Gibraltar town – it was touristy, (if somewhat dirty), and fun.  

Security - The best advice I can give is to provision up before you get to Gibraltar. There is a serious problem with dinghy theft on the Spanish side, which unfortunately is the best side to provision on. You have to either send one person in so as not to leave the dinghy ashore, or get another cruiser to drop you both off and pick you up. Or, of course you can take your chances, but the locals are pros, and have big bolt cutters! The Gib side is better but we noticed everything is locked up tight. We anchored on the La Linea side (better protected from west winds) and took the dinghy around to the Gib side. Technically this is a no no. We left the dinghy at the Sheppard’s marina right at the shoreline and nobody told us to move on. 

Formalities – You have to take the big boat alongside the customs dock. A low dock so put your fenders low. The staff there will not help you dock no matter what the weather. But don’t worry, it is easy. They don’t look at any paperwork from any previous ports, so here is the place to cleanse your sins if you have not checked in anywhere in the EU. No stamp on the passport, just a little piece of paper is filled out, and you don’t have to provide proof of insurance or all that rubbish. And you don’t need to come back to clear out – just leave whenever you want! No charge. Make sure you have your Gib flag and your yellow flag flying as you enter the port.

If you just want fuel, you can come to the fuel dock – the customs guys might call to you out of the window and ask if you have checked in – if you tell them you just want fuel they tell you to carry on, no problem. 

Anchorage/Mooring – Note: Sheppards Marina is now closed, so some of the following information will no longer be true.

There are 3 marinas - Sheppards (most sheltered from swell but grungiest), Marina Bay (next to Sheppards and better looking) or the new Queensway Quay (most prone to swell). For anchorage – you can anchor on the Gibraltar side, north of the runway (no protection if the wind goes west) or the Spanish side La Linea behind the curve of the breakwall (protected from the east & west).  

 Weather – the wind blows either from the east or west. There is serious fog here if there is a trough around or when the wind is light from the east. We were fogged in for 5 days and so much dew on the deck you would think it rained. 

Currency – is the Gibraltar Pound – equivalent value to the British Pound but unique. So spend all your Gibraltar pounds before you leave – they are useless anywhere else. 

Boat Stuff: 

Fuel & Water – Near the customs dock (Gib side) are two service station docks one BP and one Shell. Water is 2p per liter (3.7 cents US) at the BP, free at the Shell. Come alongside, the docks are well fendered and guys to help you. Fuel is duty free and the best price in the Med. 

Propane – we did not fill up, so don’t know what is available. 

Provisioning – Gibraltar - There is a big Safeway Supermarket good quality but definitely not cheap.  We finally found a good selection of decent cheese (cheddar and others) not expensive at all, so we really loaded up. Other than that, things were very expensive. There is also another smaller supermarket (Checkout) near the waterfront marinas and another Checkout in the downtown, but not that good. Finally, there is a fresh market – fish, good beef & pork & chicken but the fruits & veggies were pretty ordinary and very expensive.

La Linea – a very good fresh market and at least two huge supermarkets where you can get your cheap Spanish wine, beer if you still have not sunk the waterline. 

Laundry – Gib - there is a laundry service “The Laundry Basket”near Marina Bay but at $15 US for a little 5kg load you might consider just buying new clothes instead. 

Note: Sheppard's Marina has closed, so some of this information is probably wrong now.

Chandlery – There is a good chandlery near Sheppards where you can get just about anything, but not cheap. People have told us it is cheaper to order stuff in (Gib is duty free) and pick it up at the DHL office. 

Repairs – Sheppards has a good boatyard and helpful bunch of guys after you get past the British formality. “Trevor” runs the shop and he’s the guy to see for getting all kinds of repairs done..

Rigging – “Chris” at the Sheppards chandlery is a nice practical guy and can help with rig stuff. 

Charts & Guides – available at the chandlery near Sheppards but most of the guides were for the Med. There was one poor old Doyle’s guide for Trinidad, one Atlantic Crossing Guide but nothing else for areas to the west.

I thought Charts were sky high - $27.75 US for individual Imray charts, $46.25 US for BA charts. Available at the same chandlery at Sheppard’s.

The copy place “Image Graphics” in Gib would not copy the BA charts due to copyright law. You can get copies done in the La Linea side so don’t waste your time trying in Gib.