Vila Real de Santo Antonio
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Vila Real de Santo Antonio, Portugal
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 | 37°9.48′N, 07°23.52′W |
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 | Photo gallery |
 | Local chartlet |
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Vila Real de Santo Antonio is a relatively new town, founded in 1774 on the order of King José I on the west bank of the Guadiana river, which forms the boundary between Portugal and Spain (Ayamonte in Spain sits on the opposite bank). The town replaced the former nearby mediaeval settlement of Santo Antonio de Arenilha, which was destroyed in the tsunami that followed the 1755 earthquake, and acquired its predecessor’s name along with the ‘Vila Real’ prefix to denote its royal foundation. The town was completed in just two years under the direction of the Marquis de Pombal, the King’s first minister, using a pioneering method of prefabricating the buildings and tranporting them to the site for assembly. An important fishing and fish processing port in the 19th century, the 20th century saw a slow decline in fishing activity, to be replaced by tourism as the town’s main source of income. A 350-berth marina, Porto Desportivo do Guadiana, has operated here since 1998 and is a useful point of departure for exploring the upper reaches of the Guadiana river.
Charts
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Radio Nets
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Local Weather
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The entrance to the Rio Guadiana lies about 12 miles east of Tavira and is easily identified on approach by a 600-metre long mole projecting from the western side of the river channel. The entrance is buoyed from about one mile off. Once the mole is passed, the deeper water is on the port side of the channel. The entrance to the marina of Vila Real is just over two miles upriver on the west bank. Note: the strong tidal cross-current at the entrance can make entry dangerous at anything other than slack water.
Check-in facilities (for Customs and Immigration)
Call Porto Desportivo do Guadiana on VHF channel 12 or telephone: +351 281 541571. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: www.marinaguadiana.net. Otherwise enter the marina and berth alongside on the long wavebreak pontoon to starboard (which doubles as the arrivals pontoon). The marina offices are on the quay at the shore end of the pontoon.
Offshore Islands and Groups
None.
Marinas & Yacht Clubs
The Porto Desportivo do Guadiana (37°11.38′N, 07°24.51′W) has a total of 378 berths on finger pontoons and a long visitors’ pontoon. Maximum length 20 metres. Maximum draft 3.0 metres. Water and electricity available. Toilets and showers. Fuel station. Travel hoist.
Anchorages
Anchorage in the river is possible anywhere you will not be in the way of ferries (frequent between Vila Real and Ayamonte on the Spanish side). It is preferable, however, to continue upriver under the Guadiana suspension bridge (clearance 23 metres) and anchor out of the tidal streams.
Yacht Repairs and Services
Marine Stores
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Repairs/Yards
Boatyard south of the marina on outskirts of Vila Real de Santo Antonio. Travel lift (70T). Hard standing. Covered workshop. Most repairs possible. To contact, telephone +351 281 542069 or email: [email protected].
Fuel, Water, & Electricity
Fuel station in the marina. Water and electricity on the pontoons.
Tourism and Things to do Ashore
Tourism
Vila Real is a pleasant resort, with a good beach and lots of souvenir shops (textiles are a good buy here), but not much else. For most cruising yachts, the town is simply a staging post on passage to Spain or for a trip up the beautiful Rio Guadiana, which is navigable by all but very deep draft (or tall-masted) yachts as far as the village of Alcoutim 35 miles inland. The river offers a rare opportunity to cruise calm and peaceful waters with rural Portugal to port and rural Spain to starboard. The suspension bridge across the river two miles upstream from Vila Real has a minimum clearance of 23 metres, but it may be better for your nerves if you pass under it near low water (my own crew renamed it the ‘Laxative Bridge’ - s/y Athene of Lymington). Shallow draft or lifting keel yachts can proceed with caution a further 12 miles as far as the village of Pomarão, although depths in the river are more unreliable in these upper reaches. The small village of Foz de Odeleite roughly halfway upriver to Alcoutim makes a convenient spot to stop overnight if the tide turns. There are mooring buoys in the river here which can be picked up if you do not wish to anchor.
On arrival at Alcoutim, pick up one of the mooring buoys in the river (the tide runs quite strongly - especially on the ebb - and care is needed). Both Alcoutim and Sanlucar de Guadiana on the Spanish side are charming villages, with strong castles showing solid defiance to the former enemy. A run ashore in the dinghy to Alcoutim allows you to explore its old Moorish castle and quiet, untouristy streets where yachtsmen still attract curious stares. A short ferry glide across the river (not forgetting to switch courtesy engines as you go) brings you to Sanlucar de Guadiana, where there is a pontoon to tie up to with water and electricity (a charge is made by a brusque Spanish official). Sanlucar is even quieter than Alcoutim and, if you arrive here during the afternoon siesta, you may be forgiven for thinking you have stumbled onto the filmset for a remake of ‘Fistful of Dollars’, with unseen bandidos eyeing you from the rooftops.
For further, excellent information on cruising the Rio Guadiana click on the link below: http://theiberianseaschool.com/component/content/article/18-articles/64-a-history-of-the-guadiana-river.
 The Guadiana suspension bridge |
 Alcoutim from the river |
 Alcoutim moorings looking over to Sanlucar |
 Sanlucar pontoon berth looking over to Alcoutim |
Grocery & Supply Stores
- Supermarket nearby. Also chandlery.
Eateries
Internet/WiFi
No.
Laundry
None.
Motorbike & Car Rentals
Garbage Disposal
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Transportation
Transportation (local and/or international)
Routes/Passages To/From
Popular passages/routes, timing, etc.
Cruiser's Friends
Contact details of "Cruiser's Friends" that can be contacted for local information or assistance.
Forum Discussions
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External links
Links to relevant websites.
References & Publications
Publications, Guides, etc.
Last Visited & Details Checked (and updated here)
Date of member's visit to this Port/Stop & this page's details validated:
- May 2001 --Athene of Lymington 20:15, 22 March 2010 (UTC)
Personal Notes
- It’s a very memorable experience to motor upriver to Alcoutim and sit in your cockpit as the sun goes down listening to the Alcoutim church clocks chiming eight while the Sanlucar clocks chime nine. You’re suddenly reminded that you’re on the border of two different countries - s/y Athene of Lymington.
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| | HOMEPAGE | Wiki Contents | North Atlantic | Portugal | Vila Real de Santo Antonio | |
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