First Steps to Checking the Med

stillwaters said:
They probably don't have anything better to do now the Med temperatures have slipped below 25 degrees.;)
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...........sounds awful must nip down there soon and find something to have a whinge about.:)
Check list.
Sunburn lotion.Check
Bum blocker. Check
Jellyfish antidote...no prob just wee on the sting.Check.
Thick blockbuster for delays. Check.
Nose peg.For when flying with R*****r.Check.
Book of deadly diseases and their symptoms.Check.
Hand written notes of things to say loudly and repeatedly to locals.Beats learning the lingo.Check.
Anything we have forgottten ???????
 
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Quote.. 'BTW did the OP join in the Halloween party at Sant Carles - that party is so popular that they have to run two of them of separate nights'

Been a busy week since our return from Sant Carles.
Thanks for all the feedback, both sides of the fence..lol

We unfortunately missed the duo of Halloween parties that Hurricane referred to, but I would have to say that the people of Sant Carles, both local and marina based were very friendly.

We had arranged this trip following from an earlier venture for just over five weeks on the med a few years ago in Carry-le-Roeut, a small picturesque marina approx 10miles west of Marseille. (Trailered boat 28' there and back as a taster). Local Captainiere thought we were nuts trailering it, he was partly right, but it was a great way of checking it out.

This early trip was only two years ago, and in our first six months of boat ownership, probably a little early for us, complete with a 5 month old and our then three year old, however we did enjoy it but were still glad to get back to the comfort of home and the beautiful Lough Erne waters.

Whilst we enjoy the pleasure of weekend boating, and the beautiful irish landscapes, we cannot escape the idea that a proper holiday aboard in the dubious Irish / UK climate does not really appeal, (to us) and sunnier climes draw... I know we are weak...Oldgit!!

And so to Sant carles, due in no doubt to the various postings. Safe to say, we are sold.

We swam in the sea at Halloween, we sat outside and had lunch in the sun, the children (not us) even enjoyed the refreshing vigours of an unheated pool. But despite what BBC weather advised, it WAS 21c at 9am, and it WAS 26c at 4pm, although it of course was 16 at 8pm, but this was November!!
Boats were hooked in the lagoon, swimming off the platform, people were lunching outdoors in the marina restaurant, our children were dipping toes in the nicely designed marina infinity pool, and SWMBO was sipping a vino blanco in the sun.
Halloween break.

So simply put, now back , some work done, decision is made, we are moving to the med, marina same price as home, flights and travel times acceptable for us ( we are in N.Ireland, mainland marinas are more accessible to us than the islands or SOF), and we cannot wait!:cool:
 
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photo.jpg

OK, So its not on a boat...(like the beautiful pictures and video posted by the forumites earlier), us poor visitors had to stick to land / hotel. But.., this is 7.30am, 1st November, hotel is overlooking the promenade and the beach, Sant Carles marina is in the distance.
Look at that water...flat calm within a c. 7 by 1.5mile lagoon, watersport heaven, lounging paradise. In five days here, i have seen better waters than in general overall than in my admittedly limited, 300 hours /3 years on my boat. Seriously.:D
 
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ralf2 said:
Marina sant Carles is cheaper than one on lough Erne......I'm really intrigued now as to your home base?
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We are in Manor House.
It is a great marina and I reckon for Erne, definetely hard to beat, (if by some way not the cheapest) and IHMO, the best by some margin. Great service, nice people . high standards.
We have a c.9m berth which is I reckon very good value at about £1400 plus electric. (Way cheap to SoE) and definitley a good choice for local boating.

The berth we were / will be, looking at in Sant Carles was for a new (to us) boat, 15m berth , plus 10% allowance (up to say 17m or 57 feet). (c. €5000 private, €6800 by marina) nothing comparable available on Erne ... max about 42'..

However, this deal is not yet done and we today decided to give it a break for a few months, and take our own current boat out which will fit on 8m berth (10% allowed according to marina - ), which is not what we intended (until next boat sorted), BUT... this berth is available for € 1500 privately including electric, so yes, it is cheaper than Erne!!:p

And, yes to be fair, I was really,really surprised today when I found price of 8m berth, which sealed decision for us to move, despite the fact that in spite of our endeavours, over a six month period, our boat change has not worked out for us as yet..
Carpe diem
 
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I really like the look of sant carlos marina

plus points for me are

its cheaper than Weymouth

the weather is better

the boat handling charges are cheaper

the sea is warmer

the swimming pool looks great

one of my kids is still at school so I can not just go at the drop of a hat

looks a bit of a mess about getting there from the airports unless we hired a car

I can see me moving my boat to the med once my kids have gone and the two of us can go for a few weeks at a time when ever we feel like it
 
As we're well into November, here is Antibes last Sunday, 10/11/13, taken wearing a T shirt

antibesnov10th.jpg
 
jfm said:
As we're well into November, here is Antibes last Sunday, 10/11/13, taken wearing a T shirt
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Yeah but what about the dodgy flight back you were telling us about? You haven't told us yet whether you made it home or whether your Sleazyjet crashed into the Alps:eek:
 
just had a quote off MDL for sant carlos and its nearly £800 cheaper than Weymouth and that INCLUDES electric, £800 is a fair few flights I must admit, and if I wanted to go on a stern too mooring I would save over £1000, but I cant do that as I don't have a passerrel :o

the more I look the more appealing it looks :(
 
lanerboy said:
just had a quote off MDL for sant carlos and its nearly £800 cheaper than Weymouth and that INCLUDES electric, £800 is a fair few flights I must admit, and if I wanted to go on a stern too mooring I would save over £1000, but I cant do that as I don't have a passerrel :o

the more I look the more appealing it looks :(
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Don't forget you've got to factor in the cost of getting the boat down there. I only mention this as a point of arithmetic; I think you should do it regardless. Best of luck.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
Richard Shead said:
Ahh but you were not on the boat in this one ?
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Ok, these are freshly baked, straight from my boat bow, if that makes a difference.
With apologies for the shabby phone camera quality, which doesn't do justice to the view.
Oh, and with a 22° temperature btw, which ain't too bad for a mid Nov moon landscape, I reckon... :cool:
Moon2_zps9ac48414.jpg


Moon1_zps00c94c5f.jpg
 
lanerboy said:
and if I wanted to go on a stern too mooring I would save over £1000, but I cant do that as I don't have a passerrel
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when you give it a go,
you should find a passerel solution anyway,
as a stern to mooring is the only option in 95% of the moorings in the med, when travelling around to other ports / marina's
 
lanerboy said:
just had a quote off MDL for sant carlos and its nearly £800 cheaper than Weymouth and that INCLUDES electric, £800 is a fair few flights I must admit, and if I wanted to go on a stern too mooring I would save over £1000, but I cant do that as I don't have a passerrel :o

the more I look the more appealing it looks :(
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Sant Carles will be one of the cheapest marinas in the W Med for long term mooring, just don't expect similarly cheap overnight mooring charges in other marinas. You could be paying €100+ per night in many marinas and more in the hotspots such as Ibiza. Some Med marinas are keen to attract long term berthers with low rates but they're happy to shaft you for overnight rates. Also you will definitely need to buy a pasarelle (and aircon) and learn how to stern-to moor because nearly every other marina in the Med only has stern to mooring. Apart from that, just do it. We moved to the Med in 2003 after many years boating in the UK and we wouldn't go back
 
when I filled the quote in for Sant Carlos I didn't relise they would contact me via email I thought it was just check it out on the net so to speak but no they sent me an email saying they had room for me know but it will be a couple of years before I can do the med thing due to my sons age and school but as soon as I can I will be looking into it a lot more seriously as I feel I just need better weather than we get here. I would personally go to the boat less often but for longer periods when I did go

jimmy_the_builder said:
Don't forget you've got to factor in the cost of getting the boat down there. I only mention this as a point of arithmetic; I think you should do it regardless. Best of luck.

Cheers
Jimmy
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Jimmy I understand it will cost me about 6k or so to move the boat so I may even look at selling the boat and buying one in the med

BartW said:
when you give it a go,
you should find a passerel solution anyway,
as a stern to mooring is the only option in 95% of the moorings in the med, when travelling around to other ports / marina's
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Bart I agree with your comments so as I said above I would possibly look at selling and buying a med boat with air con, passerrel, genny etc etc as like you say they will be needed
 
This was North-West Italy two nights ago, about 20oC (excuse fingers!). Portofino is right in the centre of the picture (not visible though)
12m berth is 400 euros a month inc water, electric and wifi. Actually wifi is free anywhere in the town.
Bristol-Pisa is about £50 each way. The train from Pisa airport is 10.50 each.
The travel time is a pain, especially when the old boat/marina was 2 miles from my house and it was easier fix things when I didn't have to lug everything 1000 miles.
 

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Deleted User said:
Yeah but what about the dodgy flight back you were telling us about? You haven't told us yet whether you made it home or whether your Sleazyjet crashed into the Alps:eek:
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Haha! Yeah I'm posting this from a glacier on the alps waiting for a sodding slobbery St Bernard to arrive with a bandage for my severed head and biscuit. Watching Alive on the iPad. No, while I was waiting to board they had carpet cleaners on and the tech guys changed 6 seatcovers, due to vomit on inbound flight. Captain said was worst turbulence of his career (mind you, being Easyjet, he looked about 16). But when I boarded the plane seemed fine. We took off 45mins late but there wasn't even the slightest turbulence bump on the whole trip. I'm a big fan of Easyjet
 
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