Clampdown on liveaboards in Las Palmas marina 'will not affect cruising sailors'

Boat owners are challenging an eviction order from a Canary Islands marina that affects hundreds of local liveaboards ~but visiting sailors and the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) 'are still welcome.'

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Muelle Deportivo de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has so far issued 22 letters to the community of an estimated 450 boats and their owners, ordering them to depart the harbour within 10 days or risk a €60,000 fine or forced relocation and hauling.

The 1,400-berth marina, a popular starting point for cruising sailors preparing to sail across the Atlantic, has prohibited liveaboards and Airbnb onboard rentals since 2019, but now it has gone a step further and introduced a new port order to prevent people from staying on their own boats without proof of regular nautical activity.

Sophie Crouch, whose British father, Jon, lives aboard a 35ft Trintella~ARC founder Jimmy Cornell's very first boat and has been based in Las Palmas with his Yacht Services business for 18 years, said: “The harbour is a lifeline for many, many people. I went to school from the boat. I worked for the ARC from the boat.

“The liveaboard community includes political refugees, whole families, people with grandchildren. It's essentially a little town inside of the city.”