Morocco Sailing Guide: North African Cruising Tips

The north coast of Morocco is a cruising ground frequently overlooked by those cruising the Mediterranean – yet it has a lot to offer. Jetty de Koster gives you the lowdown.

Entering the Mediterranean, most sailors tend to sail along the Spanish coast rather than the Moroccan, with the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla perhaps being exceptions to this rule. But for British sailors there are certain advantages to staying outside of Europe. 

This summer I crewed on Nemo, my friend Uwe’s boat, and we sailed along the Moroccan north coast. I was ambivalent about going because my experience of Morocco 15 years earlier hadn’t been so good, with a lot of people constantly hassling us to hire them as a tour guide, buy their wares or visit their shops. But, since Uwe has a lot of experience of travelling through Morocco, I decided that it was the ideal chance to explore a new sailing region close to my current home port, Alcaidesa Marina (just outside Gibraltar). It turned out to be a great adventure and a positive experience and I would like to share some useful information here with you, so that if you decide to go too, you will be well prepared. 

Does your Insurance Include Morocco?

The northern coast of Morocco is not always included in insurance policies that cover the Mediterranean. And with some companies, such as Pantaenius, you need to ask for permission first and inform them before you go, then six weeks per year are included. 

Moroccan Wind, Waves, and Currents

In the Alboran Sea, the typical wind direction is either easterly, the so called ‘levante’ (in Spanish – referring to where the sun ‘se levanta’ or ‘gets up’) or westerly, termed the ‘poniente’ (literally ‘west’). Most of the time the wind is either between 0-10kts or between 20-30kts and it can pick up or die down quite quickly. Nice sailing winds of 10-20kts are rare, unfortunately, and the wind is often quite gusty in this predominantly medium to high pressure area.

Tidal currents are negligible and there is only a small difference of around 30-50cm between low and high tide. Nevertheless, going east along the coast, we generally experienced more than half a knot of current against us, up to 1.5kts at several capes. If you would like to avoid this, according to the ‘current’ tab on Windy, a great option is to sail east directly from Gibraltar towards Melilla (about 145nm). This way you can pick up between 1 and 2kts of current in the right direction. If you sail closer to the coast on your way west, the current will run with you at up to 1kt (and perhaps more at the capes).

Since the depth and currents are variable along the Moroccan north coast, with a seabed of volcanic peaks and troughs, you can expect short, steep waves that do not make for the most comfortable sailing during windy conditions, and that give the Alboran Sea its reputation for being ‘brava’ or rough. It reminded me of the waves in the Dover Strait. Fortunately, we were going downwind, and it was just fine.

Buoys, Fishing Nets, Shipping and Orcas

As opposed to sailing in the Dover Strait, there were very few buoys and hardly any shipping (just a couple of ferries near Melilla), yachts, jet-skis, or fishing nets. 

At the end of July 2023, the orcas were spotted in the Alboran Sea a few times, but generally they are known to be on the Atlantic side of the Strait of Gibraltar and there are hardly any reports of broken rudders east of the Strait.

Anchoring and Night Sailing

Anchoring overnight is prohibited along the Moroccan coast as well as visiting the beach, due to migrants and trafficking. Night sailing isn’t allowed either but, since we needed to cover around 80nm to sail from Marina Smir to Al Hoceima, Uwe asked the Royal Gendarmerie at the harbour of M’diq for permission to sail at night. They first said: ‘no’, but after some explaining and a few phone calls we were granted approval. Morocco claims a 12nm territorial sea, so night sailing further away from the coast is no problem.

Marinas, Apps, Diesel, and Prices

Except Ceuta and Melilla, the ports on the Moroccan coast are mainly used by motor yachts, with very few sailing yachts. Marinas are supposed to be busy during July and, especially, during August but, when we were there in early June, there was plenty of space. On the Navily app you will find a few helpful reviews, including the ones from Uwe. 

He found it quite hard to book several marinas as they didn’t answer the phone or reply to his emails. If your French language skills are up to it, you can easily book Marina Smir with the new Smart Marina app for Moroccan harbours. This app should become available in other languages too, in the future. 

The currency in Morocco is the Moroccan Dirham (MAD) with 100 MAD presently worth about 8 GBP. You cannot pay with a credit card everywhere (including Marina Al Hoceima, for example), so it is advisable to have some cash.

For Nemo, with a 10m loa, prices ranged from around 8 Euro per day in Melilla to 250 MAD (20 GBP) per day in Marina Smir. For longer stays in some marinas (Marina Saïdia, for example) it might be possible to negotiate the price. Diesel is inexpensive and prices were even lower in Ceuta and Melilla than in Morocco at 1,15 Euro / litre when we were there.

If your boat doesn’t have an onboard shower, select the marinas to visit carefully, especially for the ladies in the crew!

Language, Culture, and Time

Most people we met spoke reasonable to good French or Spanish. English was spoken by some people too but to a lesser extent. 

The northern coast of Morocco is a tourist area mainly for Moroccans only, as opposed to Brits or Europeans, and we found that the people were very friendly and easy going. We didn’t experience any hassle from beggars, ‘tour guides’ or aggressive salespeople, as is common in international tourist areas. 

Of course, you do need to take into account some cultural differences. Health and safety in Morocco are your own responsibility, so be careful on dirt roads and hiking trails, and mind what you eat and drink. Uwe advised me never to drink the Moroccan tap water without boiling it first. 

The sounds are different too; besides the noises from nightclubs and seagulls, in some marinas you will hear the prayers broadcast from the many Mosques about five times a day.

Checking in and out of marinas can take some time and it probably doesn’t help at all to try to push the Moroccans to speed up. Nonetheless, they are very hospitable. Uwe arrived in Marina Smir on a Friday (Cous-Cous day) and was invited by the marina staff for lunch. After that, they were able to do his check-in swiftly. In Marina Al Hoceima we were invited for a cup of coffee at the ‘Capitain du Port’ and we had a friendly chat with him about where to eat, and about Morocco in general. 

Note that Morocco is on GMT+1, like the UK, so it is an hour earlier there than in Spain, including Ceuta and Melilla.

The national beverage in Morocco is green tea with fresh mint and lots of sugar. The coffee is quite acceptable too, and, if you order a coffee in a bar or a restaurant, it will usually come with a small bottle of water. 

Alcohol is legal in Morocco, but in limited quantity and it might be viewed as offensive by traditional Muslims when consumed in public, so discretion is advised. Uwe had plenty of it on board and customs didn’t comment on it. Some (more luxurious) restaurants, that hold a special licence, will serve alcohol, and we had some excellent Moroccan red wine: ‘la Cuvee de Terroire’. Carrefour (which you will only find in larger cities) and Marjane are the only supermarkets in Morocco that sell alcohol. However, you will not find it in their main shops but via a separate entrance. Also, there are ‘Magasins d’alcool’ where you can buy it. During the holy month of Ramadan, alcohol sales are prohibited, and you may find that restaurants that sell it are closed during the day.

Moroccan Customs and Immigration

The documents needed are your passport with a valid visa (if necessary) and your yacht registration papers. Insurance papers, as commonly demanded in Spain and Portugal, are not requested. Upon entry, customs, immigration, or the ‘Gendarmerie’, and the ‘Capitain du Port’ will turn up at your boat and they will examine your papers. They may take them to their office for checking and photocopying. 

When day sailing from and to the same marina, typically the process of check-in and check-out must be repeated each time you leave and enter port. Your passport will be stamped on each occasion. If your stay is for longer duration and you have built up a good relationship with the officials, they might eventually become less strict about this rule.

When planning your trip from another country into Morocco, check whether the port that you are sailing to is a port of entry. The larger ports of Marina Smir, Al Hoceima and Saïdia are all ports of entry.

In our experience check-in and check-out lasted between five minutes (early in the morning in Al Hoceima) and an hour (middle of the day in Smir). Although on one occasion the police moved several of our items to check for drugs or firearms, and made a bit of a mess, on another the police and customs officers even took off their shoes before boarding and they were always friendly and respectful. 

Please note that weapons and drones are prohibited in Morocco and, if you bring one, the police will take it in custody for the duration of your stay. If you have one on board it is best to declare it immediately at check-in.

A Man’s World…

As a woman, a great part of my ambivalence about sailing in Morocco had to do with wondering if I could still behave like my normal self there and about the hassle of a ‘dress code’ I would have to put up with. Although I did adapt a bit in order not to stand out too much or offend anyone, this wasn’t as bad as I had expected. 

On the beach, girls and women typically wear leggings, long sleeves, a ‘raincoat’ type of kaftan and most wear headscarves, whereas men, boys and young girls before puberty look the same as at home, though more tanned. I did wear my bikini once, on a very quiet beach. As a foreigner, I think I wouldn’t have offended anyone if I would have worn a normal Western bathing suit on a busier beach. 

When going into towns, I felt comfortable wearing (not too short) shorts and a short-sleeved t-shirt. The Moroccan women were all dressed either in long trousers (even skinny jeans) and long sleeves with a jacket, or in their traditional attire, a kaftan and usually a headscarf. In the marinas there seemed to be fewer women with headscarves than in the towns, and there was a young lady working at customs in Marina Al Hoceima without a headscarf and in a nice uniform.

I made an effort not to make eye contact with anyone that I wasn’t talking with, and to go about my business without paying too much attention to other people. I had the feeling that doing otherwise would be taken as improper or offensive. In Spanish culture this applies also, although to a lesser extent. 

I didn’t feel uncomfortable as a woman, and, although it’s probably easier to have a man on board when going sailing in Morocco, I think I would feel safe too if I went there singlehanded or with a women-only crew, especially in the marinas.

Getting Around Morocco on Land and Online

In Morocco, there are huge taxi stations, where you can take a shared taxi with a maximum capacity of six passengers to most places. A 100km ride typically costs around 60 MAD. Please note that your luggage may need to travel strapped to the roof! ‘Petit taxis’ are the Renault 4 city version of these, with a maximum capacity of three passengers. Private taxis are quite a bit more expensive, but you will have more space and they will not make detours and stops for other people. 

To use the internet, you can get a Moroccan sim card for just 10-30 MAD. Please note that there is one type of phone credit for just using WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram and different types for surfing the internet or for making phone calls. You can buy these at most mini markets and kiosks and, if you ask them, the staff will be happy to help you activate the sim card and charge the credit to your phone.

Is Morocco Suitable for Vegetarians?

Everywhere we visited there were stray cats; on the street, at the market and in restaurants. In Melilla one even jumped aboard the neighbouring boat. They were not too shy in most places and everywhere we saw containers with water and people feeding them. When we rented a car and I was waiting with it at the entrance of Marina Al Hoceima for Uwe, who was ‘stuck’ at customs, preparing for our early check-out the following day, a very formal looking police officer came up to me and warned me to chase the cats away from under the car before driving off. The cats didn’t seem too hungry, and they were quite picky about the different scraps we fed them.

In the market we saw live chickens that you can select to be killed and cleaned in front of you. After my stomach upset from watching this had passed, we had a deliciously spiced grilled chicken in one of the restaurants, the scraps of which we shared with a cat, of course.

Driving from Al Hoceima to El Jebha, we saw lots of sheep in pastures, donkeys being ridden or by themselves, and we even saw a sheep in the back of a pickup truck. 

Conclusion

Morocco seems like a different world, and a very interesting one, definitely worth visiting, as long as you are not in a hurry. We hope that you will be encouraged and better prepared to have a great time sailing along the Moroccan north coast thanks to this ‘user manual’. Stay tuned for more articles in the coming issues of Sailing Today about the best places to visit on your way.

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