Information received 27 June 2012

My name is Tiago Pimentel and I am the new person responsible for the marina in Flores Island, just recently hired at beginning of 2012. A lot of the sailing boats coming here have told me of your webpage saying I should update you on the situation at the marina in Flores.

The Marina officially opened in 2012. We now have water, electricity and WiFi. There are no extra charges for these services. People can use as much water as they wish and the quality of the WiFi service is excellent for those seeking to use e-mail, Skype, MSN. It’s not that good however for those wanting to download or watch videos. The problem is not with the marina internet, it is an island problem as the communications are overloaded. It’s expected to be fixed with optical fiber cable at the end of 2013.

The marina is not free anymore, the prices are the same in all Azores marinas. The showers/ bathrooms don’t belong to the marina itself, but to the municipal building. They are very average, cleaned every day and restocked, but the facilities are poor only offering cold water.

The marina is a bad place to seek shelter during the N-NE weathers, but it’s perfect against any of the south weathers offering extremely comforting rest for anyone who can’t escape such weather.

For those who wish to save some money, there’s always the anchorage, and as the person responsible for the marina, I am always happy to let anchored yachts come inside the marina for free if they only need to re-stock on water or need to make a fast stop.

The marina is very small, perfect for boats up to 11 meters. It’s also a good place for bigger boats up to 15 meters, but the spaces for these boats are limited. Depending on the size of the boats, this can be a marina for around 30 boats.

The marina has 2 strong points:

– It’s a perfect spot to hide from the weather as long as it’s not N-NE, and

– Since this is a very small marina, I give special attention to my customers, serving also as a kind of tourist guide, helping people to choose what spots to visit on the island, showing them where they can find the restaurants/shops, making them the appointments with the rental cars etc.

Best regards,

Tiago Pimentel

Marina Lages das Flores