Costa Brava

The Costa Brava — the name means 'wild coast' — runs along Catalonia's north-eastern shore from the French border to Blanes, roughly 100 nautical miles of rocky headlands, pine-fringed calas, and fishing villages that have resisted wholesale development better than most of the Spanish Mediterranean. Roses, at the northern end, is the most natural charter base. The town sits at the head of a wide, deep bay protected from the tramontana by the Cap de Creus peninsula — a wild headland of twisted rock that forms the easternmost point of the Iberian Peninsula. Cadaques, on the north side of the cape, is the town most associated with Salvador Dali, whose house at Port Lligat is now a museum. The anchorage at Cadaques is open to the north-east and best in settled conditions. South from Roses, the coast offers a sequence of stopping points. L'Escala has a marina and proximity to the Greek and Roman ruins at Empuries. The Medes Islands, off the town of L'Estartit, are a marine reserve with diving and restricted anchoring. Palamos is a working fishing port with an evening fish auction that supplies the restaurants along its waterfront. Calella de Palafrugell and Llafranc are small resort towns with anchorages that require early arrival in summer. The tramontana is the weather feature to respect. This cold northerly funnels through the Pyrenean gap and can arrive with little warning, building to 25-30 knots and persisting for days. It is most frequent in spring and autumn but can appear in summer. When it blows, the exposed anchorages on the north-facing coast become untenable. In its absence, a gentle thermal from the south-east provides afternoon sailing of 10-15 knots. The Catalan influence is evident in the cuisine. Seafood — suquet de peix, rice dishes, anchovies from L'Escala — is the standard, and the wines from the Emporda region are increasingly respected. Provisioning in Roses and Palamos is straightforward. Fuel and water are available at the main marinas. The Costa Brava suits sailors who want a Mediterranean charter with more character than the mass-tourism coasts further south, and who are comfortable adapting plans when the tramontana dictates.