barcelona boat show

[zingaro]

just arived back from the costa brava stayed for 4 days so that i could visit the boat show and have a look around some marinas. went to the boat show on wednesday, i could not believe how quiet it was,i think that there was only me and about 30 other people looking at the motor boats in the marina at port vell so from my point of view it was great. a lot of large stuff was on show in the marina not much that i could afford mostly over 50 ft, you then had to come out of that part of the marina and walk for about 10 minutes to a different part of the marina to view catamarans and yachts this part was slightly busier but still nothing like southampton boat show in september was when i visited during the week, then you had to catch a free bus to the gran via venue which was about a 20 minute journey away. this is where they were displaying smaller motorboat from many different manufacturers as well as electronics,yachts, accessories,inflatables and engines in 4 large exhibition halls, this was slightly busier but still not anything like the attendance that i saw at southampton.does this mean that spain is in a recession.could not blame the weather it was hot and sunny, the prices there seem to be the same in euros as we seem to pay in pounds,and they seem to pay 16% vat if you british register the boat. if you want to register the boat in spain you have to pay a additional 12% making a total of 28%.we had a look around several marinas but the swimbo did not like the swell in a lot of the marinas. but we found a area which we liked very much in empuriabrava it was like a smaller version of fort laurderdale with a canal system with houses and appartments with their own jettys and there was a marina as well it all seemed to be well sheltered. we are going back to this area for a week to have a good look at the area, has anybody got any knowledge of this area and what the cruising grounds are like, i would be grateful for any input while i research the area.

 

[carlton]

Some info here on empuriabravia

I too am interested in this area - I understand the cruising can get a little "hairy" in the Golfe de Lion, but I somehow can't see it being much worse than the North Sea.

Hopefully some on here will fill in more of the blanks.

 

[zingaro]

it is hard to get a berth in the marina for boats between 10 and 15 metres but they do become available at times and the mooring costs are about about £1200 cheaper than what i am paying in scotland, that would go towards the airfare which luckly we can fly direct from blackpool to girona with ryanair, it only takes 40 minutes drive from the airport,to the marina ive been told that a lot of the properties have their own moorings and as a lot of the owners dont have boats a lot of these get rented out that is why i need to go back to investigate

 

[KCook]

Unfortunately the web site for the show only gives the agents' names, not boat brands. In mobos between 30 and 40' what brands seemed most numerous?

Kelly

 

[carlton]

If you're going back there, it would be interesting if you could source some kind of list/publication that we could access showing available moorings, specifically from the type of boatless resident to whom you refer. I suppose in reality they'll probably just post them ad hoc with local estate agents ?

 

[Nautical]

If your looking at empuriabrava try Roses just up the coast a little, much cleaner and more facilities, in empuriabrava there is a flying school just around the corner and also a sky diving school so a constant buzz of light aircraft overhead. Some of the houses and apatments around the canals are a bit ropey looking but if you are going to get a berth there get one as near to the enterance to the sea as you can, some of the others inland can take you 40 mins to get out to the sea.

 

[zingaro]

yes i agree some of the houses did look a bit aged,we had a look at a couple of small town houses with there own mooring and you were talking £270,000 which seems quite expensive for what you got as they were really small inside. and you had to be careful of the airdraft which was 2.8 metres on some canals. it seems nice and quite at this time of year as most of the properties are just holiday homes and the owners dont use them in winter. it will be interesting to have a look when it gets busier to see what the people are like in that area, i have a feeling it may be a large german population,we will have to wait and see.

 

[zingaro]

all the main british built boats were there,ie sunseeker ,sealine, princess, and fairline who were offering free berthing for one year anywhere on the med ,free two years servicing including anodes and antifoul and two years warranty as a show offer i still declined as i am to large to fit through the doors on the phanton range ive seen bigger cat flaps. at least the salesman did not tell me to go on a diet unlike the swimbo suggested.

 

[KCook]

Thanks for the reply novio. Did any of the French/Italian/Spanish lines stand out?

Kelly

 

[zingaro]

not really i thought i would have seen a lot more boats made in europe that you would not see at the british shows, but this was not the case unless you want a huge boat as there was a few italians showing their stuff but these were well out of my range. and a couple of spanish manufacturies which i have not seen before.

 

[KCook]

Thanks novio. Heck, I would have expected a big effort by Med region builders for a Barcelona show too!

Kelly

 

[Greg2]

Be interested to hear what you find out. I have been browsing websites and came accros some properties with moorings in Roses (mentioned by another poster) - I like the idea of a property with a mooring but the rules around boat ownership, particulalry the tax situation, don't sound too good.