Are fewer Brits making the 'great escape'?

AndrewB

AndrewB

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Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

I'm currently cruising in Brazil and in the last month not seen another British yacht (other than flag-of-convenience). Ten years ago the blue water routes were dominated by British and French yachts. The French are still here in force, also many more yachts from other northern European countries particularly Dutch, Belgians, Germans, but not it seems the British. And there were fewer than before in Canary Islands and Cape Verdes.

Have the British lost the taste for blue-water cruising? Or do they only do the 'ARC' and the Costa del Sol?
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

I had the same experience on the Australian Coast between Port Jackson and Torres Straights - did not encounter a single British flagged yacht (did see Brit flagged frigate on a rock!) Met German, Dutch, French....

The French go where ever there are French territories - like Guyana and then they maybe do Brazil....

Is Brazil good? It's my next plan - down that coast to the (Falklands) Magellan Straights then back up into the South Pacific to Robinson Crusoe and Easter Islands? Is that your plan?

Michael
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

There are very few Brit yachts in the Adriatic even.
Most seem to stay in the Greek Ionian. Even then
you've left most behind if you venture down past Zakynthos.
I'm not really sure why so many Brit yachts fail to get east
of crowded Spain.
I suppose it is easier for the Germans/Austrians/Italians
to drive to their boats in the Adriatic. There are four boatyards
in Monfalcone which I can drive to in 2 days. Aqua Blue may be the
only Brit yacht.
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

I Cannot coment (Having yet to make the escape) But at the end of this year I plan to..? However I am making a short cut I am going out to Tobago end Feb to have a look at a couple Boats I would love to Jump the Ditch But i know I am too inexperienced and with the wear and tear on small boat (and Me) My plan is buy there in the Carrib., and take it from there...
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

We set off in 2004 and after cruising through France, North Coast of Spain, Portugal and now Gibraltar I was surprised at the lack of yachts in Transit. On the North coast of Spain we only saw a handful of yachts of any nationality (shame as it I the best bit).

Many marinas are full of old Brit yachts that have come to a sad end for one reason or another. For my part I’m not too bothered about less Brits escaping as someone has got to keep the pension fund going and may be it will drive down these stupid Marina prices.
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

We left the UK in May 2005 and once we were past St Peter Port we saw very few British yachts. Between The Channel Islands and Gijon in northern Spain, we came into direct contact with only 6 British yachts. As was previously mentioned, the coast of northern Spain and Portugal was almost deserted apart from the fishing fleets.

From Gibraltar to Italy, we have met even fewer Brits going east. We did bump into a few in southern Spain who had 'parked' up to simply enjoy the sunshine year after year, and a few grumpy ones who were on their way back home...

Since we arrived in Italy, we have only seen one other British yacht.

Not really a problem... we were just expecting more!
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

If it helps ------ I am one of those who have escaped but not made it to Brazil or anywhere else exotic. The main reason I think is because I am a timid sailor with an inexperienced wife who is not interested in becoming a competent sailor.

Forty years ago as a teenager hitching around Europe I vowed to come back to the Med. in my own boat. I had none at the time. In the eighties when I was on a package to Gaios and I had a Mirror Offshore my aim was to get it to Greece on a trailer if necessary,. Now with all the time I have left and enough money I am very happy to spend my summers on a light weight shallow drafted thirty footer in the Med.

After five years of it my wife wants to 'settle down a bit' so we will make our way over the next few summers back to the Humber.

I have travelled to many parts of the world on planes but never had the urge to live on a boat anywhere else but the Med and the UK. Just because I feel secure and relaxed when in harbour and maybe I can cope with the sailing ------just, in the bad times.

Don't worry too much if you feel that there are less people escaping. I am not sure you are right but if 100 people dream for everyone who escapes let people have their dreams. Most won't make it for various reasons. One can only imagine the sadness some carry to the end
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

Don't see alot of British yachts down here (NZ), from Europe are probably mostly French, German and some Dutch, smattering of Scandanavian.

I wouldn't fret though cos we see alot of Brit's visiting here and come across them on chartered boats too, suspect it may have a lot to do with the realisation that planes and hotels are much more comfortable and flexible ways to travel long distances.

John
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

[ QUOTE ]
Is Brazil good? It's my next plan - down that coast to the (Falklands) Magellan Straights then back up into the South Pacific to Robinson Crusoe and Easter Islands? Is that your plan?
Michael

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, Brazil's great - though we've only done the north-east so far. The coast tends to be long stretches of nothing with harbours at the mouths of the few navigatable rivers sometimes several hundred miles apart, which doesn't make for the most interesting cruising, but there are exceptions. Baia de Todos os Santos (All-Saints Bay) in Bahia is a fabulous cruising ground - a huge bay fringed with tropical islands, many rivers, creeks and anchorages to explore, decent tides for a change to add to the interest, plus the vibrant city of Salvador on the eastern shore. Can't get over how cheap it is here - full service marina including wifi AND a swimming pool for £4 per day - match that MDL!

Having some Portuguese is a definite plus, though many speak a little English.

We thought about going south - that's the way most Froggies are headed - but they are still not that keen on us Brits in Argentina and I don't fancy the flog out to Falklands and back. Otherwise its a long hop to the Magellen Straights, and te weather has not been good lately down there. We'll go north and hopefully up the Amazon, then French Guiana.
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

There's a lot of money about in the UK these days, certainly compared to the French, Spanish etc. I think that has an influence - Brits are accustomed to doing it the easy way, fly out to somewhere exotic and charter. Avoids the boring bits like maintenance and ocean crossings.

You see the same approach at home where the days of yacht club moorings and DIY are going fast. Its park it in a marina, get the yard to do the work, and pay for it all with a well healed job.

Just a theory
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

Your experiences mirror ours in 1996, didn't see a Brit once we had left the Canaries until we re-emerged from Brazil and the NE coast of S. America and to be honest was rather glad, as it gave us the feeling we were doing something a bit different.

If you get the opportunity call in at Isle du Salut (Devils Island) off French Guyana, we rated this as one of the high spots of the trip. The other place worth calling in at is Cabadelo at the E tip of Brazil where Brian, a Brit runs, a boatyard is a good contact if you need any jobs done on the boat. Stingo has already written up Forteleza which is also worth a call in but beware the harbour where we had cockpit stripped of everything that wasn't bolted down.

Green with envy? No not me!
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

Depends on the one's objectives & constraints as to what constitutes a "Great Escape".

Given a "gap year" (or three /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif) I'd rather we explored a more limited area (Baltic, Med, and points in between) in some depth, rather than push hard over a longer distance and only skim the surface of destinations. Thats our current dream/plan anyway...

Plus, as as been said elswhere on the post, not everyone is a passage-maker. For us, the freedom to roam the coasts of Northern & Southern Europe would certainly constitute a great escape from the daily toil.

Speaking of which, I'd better get back to work.. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

[ QUOTE ]
freedom to roam the coasts of Northern & Southern Europe

[/ QUOTE ] . . . very nice, but too cold for half the year . . .

- Nick
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

I'm with you on that one John....

We are thinking that when we make our great escape, we'll spend at least 2 years working our way down to the Med..... so many places to visit.... so many things to see...... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Re: Are fewer Brits making the \'great escape\'?

So far I have only seen one british boat in this beautyful place this season. 2 germans, 2 Canadains 2 yanks a french and one from Brasil
bris.jpg
 
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