French berths.

KINGFISHER 9

KINGFISHER 9

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Anyone berthed in the South of France between La Grande Motte and Banyuls-sur-Mer, right down by the Spanish border? Pondering a move and wondered on the chances of renting a berth ... looks far more interesting at the west end of the coast, the further East looking straight and uninteresting so would prefer info ideally about West of St.Cyprien maybe. Happy to be corrected though ... perhaps the Camargue area is good for boating?
 
I berthed for a season and a half in Canet-en-Roussillon. Only 20 mins drive from Perpignan airport, a very lively little town with shops, bars, restaurants a short stroll from the marina. Sailing from there, the fabulous Collioure and the Cote Vermeille are only 30-40 mins away, and the Costa Brava proper and Cadaques 90-120 mins.
 
MAFWeiss said:
I berthed for a season and a half in Canet-en-Roussillon. Only 20 mins drive from Perpignan airport, a very lively little town with shops, bars, restaurants a short stroll from the marina. Sailing from there, the fabulous Collioure and the Cote Vermeille are only 30-40 mins away, and the Costa Brava proper and Cadaques 90-120 mins.
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Yes, that's my preferred area ... Collioure is a favourite of ours. How easy was it to get a berth in Canet though? We've been to the area several times and are down there again Feb-June so will do the rounds of the marinas then - better than trying to phone them all in pidgin French! ... also trying to tie it in with buying a house! Berth in St.Cyprien, Argeles or Banyuls would be great but I'm still interested to know about the other end of the coast (which I don't know at all well)
 
Kingfisher 2 said:
Anyone berthed in the South of France between La Grande Motte and Banyuls-sur-Mer, right down by the Spanish border? Pondering a move and wondered on the chances of renting a berth ... looks far more interesting at the west end of the coast, the further East looking straight and uninteresting so would prefer info ideally about West of St.Cyprien maybe. Happy to be corrected though ... perhaps the Camargue area is good for boating?
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We are currently berthed in Port Leucate and agree best boating is Collioure and down into Spain.Only problem with this coastline is the weather,particularly this year the wind has been a real issue!
Regarding finding a berth the best way is to go and visit each Capitainerie in person.
 
Currently berthed in Canet en Roussillon. Previously berthed in Leucate where we had 183km/h winds in the marina one winter. And another winter looked like this:-

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You will have no chance of a berth in Argeles. However you might get lucky with Canet, Leucate, and St Cyprien. Otherwise there is a reasonable chance of a berth (but much more expensive) in Empuriabrava and Rosas in Spain.

The prevailing winds are from the NNW and often very strong (Tramontana). It can be up to F8 at almost any time of the year, and during winter can sometimes be much much more.

A F7 Tramontana (very common in summer) combined with the current of 1 1/2 knots or so around Cap Bear means that coming back from Spain on a Sunday afternoon when you want to be at work on Monday is more often than not a right PITA.

I have ended up far too often either beating into a gale, which is very tiring, very wet, and my VMG is very depressing despite a very respectable speed through the water, or motoring into that, which is very wet, very unconfortable and the VMG is no better than under storm job, storm staysail and double reefed main.

A boat with a big engine makes this much more manageable.

You have to visit all the capitaineries. No point trying to write, telephone, email or fax.

All of those marinas also have privately owned berths which are sometimes rented out - try asking in all the businesses around the port.

We love the Costa Brava. But you need to allow enough time to pick a good time to round Cap Bear.
 
Thanks for that .... as I thought and as you suggest a trip round the Capitaineries is the best bet. Shame Argeles is a no-go, that's where we were going to try first! We like the marina at St.Cyprien so will start there... where we can get the boat in will probably dictate where we look for a house ... maybe we should buy a bigger boat and live on that instead! Having said all that, and not even having considered Italy, the Amalfi coast sounds very tempting ... even more difficult for berths I suspect!
 
Kingfisher 2 said:
.... the Amalfi coast sounds very tempting ... even more difficult for berths I suspect!
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Not at all... come try out the Marina d'Arechi. Fabulous location, great customer service and berths available with very attractive deals. We just bought a 77 year lease for a 21m by 6m berth at a small fraction of the price of what it would have been most other places... even if there were comparable berths available! And Ryanair may well be flying in and out of the local airport just 15-20 mins drive away within a couple of years.
 

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Disappointed to hear about all that wind ... I'd previously thought it only piped up mid-September. We've been that way a few times now and not noticed much wind ... the usual biblical thunderstorms now and then but not constant wind.
Michaelchapman, was it just this year that was particularly bad or is it like that every year? Would it put you off moving there to live?
Oh dear ... where to look next? We only want to rent a berth rather than buy one and buy a house somewhere within maybe 20 miles of the marina. The Amalfi coast does sound lovely and we'll be down there in April (driving not boating) but confess, whereas I can struggle along in French ok I don't think I could order a beer in Italian!
 
Kingfisher 2 said:
.... I don't think I could order a beer in Italian!
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If you want to order a beer on the Amalfi coast all you have know is.... "waiter, could you kindly bring me a beer?" Its not difficult!

I have been coming to Italy on and off since I was a teenager, and pride myself thst I always to try to speak Italian...but waiters always reply in English.
 
Kingfisher 2 said:
Disappointed to hear about all that wind ... I'd previously thought it only piped up mid-September. We've been that way a few times now and not noticed much wind ... the usual biblical thunderstorms now and then but not constant wind.
Michaelchapman, was it just this year that was particularly bad or is it like that every year? Would it put you off moving there to live?
Oh dear ... where to look next? We only want to rent a berth rather than buy one and buy a house somewhere within maybe 20 miles of the marina. The Amalfi coast does sound lovely and we'll be down there in April (driving not boating) but confess, whereas I can struggle along in French ok I don't think I could order a beer in Italian!
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This year has been very special. However, this area of coast is known for being windy. It is not by chance that they have the world kite surfing championships April time in Leucate.

During summer it is rare to have more than a F7. But an F7 is reasonably common. You need to make sure you can motor against that, plus 1.5 knots current reasonably well and not with too much disconfort.

In your position I would be tempted to go for something in Empuriabrava - you then have all the nice bits of the Costa Brava within easy reach and you won't have to fight the conditions. Just to the south of there, there is some beautiful countryside, some nice villages, .... That would me my personal choice.

However, my work is in Montpellier - so everything is a compromise as always.
 
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