gateway from Braunston to the Med

[zubeye]

I'm selling my canalboat and would like to spend some time exploring the coastal med around Spain and France.

I am very naive, apologies in advance!

I have zero sea experience, what kind of boat and training should I be looking at? I have a total initial budget of £100k.

Is diesel ridiculously expensive per mile? When cost of training and replacing sails etc is factored in, is sailing much cheaper?

Is it possible to anchor and moor for free along the coast?

Should I be reading some kind of sea bible, guide or book before asking such dumb questions?

 

[Wansworth]

Look for a skipped charter in the area that interests you and most of your questions will be answered at very little cost before you go spending your 100 thou.....

 

[jordanbasset]

Another alternative is to do a RYA competent crew course, think you can do one out of Barcelona, probably other places in that area of the med. I would also suggest you perhaps try the Ionian as well, think as a total beginner you may enjoy it more. Sunsail and Neilson run courses there

 

[jimbaerselman]

I have zero sea experience, what kind of boat and training should I be looking at? I have a total initial budget of £100k.

First, sample it. Sea bounces around a lot, and introduces the possibility of sea sickness. If you're lucky, you're immune. If you're unlucky, you'll always be sick - give up. Most people live on a spectrum between these extremes,and become more immune with time and exposure.

Sail boats travel slowly, and spend half their time motoring (especially in and out of harbour or to anchorages). Because they're slow, they don't eat much fuel. They can be used as motor boats. However, with pointy ends and sails on top, there's less living space for a given length. If you want to travel much more cheaply, you'll need to learn how to use the sails properly. Basics can be learnt in a week. But you'll never stop learning as you learn to cope with more difficult winds, weather and sea conditions.

There is probably no quicker and easier way to be in command of a 30ft sail boat than to go on a 2 week flotilla holiday with Neilson, taking their "learn to sail" course during the first week, then driving your own boat around under supervision for the second week. Ideally done with two of you. See: http://www.neilson.co.uk/sailing/flotilla-skipper-neilson-holidays. About £1,000 for two people flying from London to the Greek Ionian early next year.

At the end of that, your current questions will be answered by your experiences. And it would have been fun, anyway.

However, you will then have a whole lot more questions! Like, what sort of boat to buy, where to base it, what kit the boat will need and so on. At thaat stage, you may wish to consider joining the Cruising Association for £120 pa. See: http://www.cruising.org.uk/
. Actually , come to think of it, through them you can get discounts with Neilson, which will repay your membership fees, and take further on-line courses with their training partners - at discounts.

Should I be reading some kind of sea bible, guide or book before asking such dumb questions?

Once you've tasted what it's like, you'll know how much you can teach yourself, and how much you'll need to learn. You will need to read up a lot of stuff about safety, rights of way, communicating, dealing with emergencies and so on. Not too much point in reading all that up until you know the context, though.

I'll declare a connection here. I set up the original company which became Neilson - to provide experience for complete sailing novices. However, I sold out 20 years ago, and have no connection now, except some good friends who once used to be my employees who now run the outfit. And I'm a member of the Cruising Association too.

My commitment is to help people enjoy cruising as much as I do. So I run a web site, with lots of information about where to cruise in Europe. Google "jimb sail" to find it.

 

[Tranona]

You can just buy a boat and go - nobody can stop you. However, as Jim says it is usual to start with the basics and work up.

There are 4 things you need to know. First is that you like being on a boat in all reasonable weathers. Second learning the mechanics (and art) of making the boat go under sail and motor and parking it. Third how to get to where you want to be safely making good use of the winds and tides. Lastly, when you get your boat of choice how to manage it and maintain it.

There are formal structured ways of gaining this knowledge and suggest you get on the RYA site to find out the courses available. Sensible to do the basic courses in the UK as you will learn about navigating in tidal waters - essential as the area you want to cruise has some of the strongest tides in the world. Day Skipper level will give you a good grounding in the basics and the professional sailing schools use similar sorts of boats that you are likely to buy. Useful to gain some of the experience in places such as Jim suggested, particularly if you have a partner in the enterprise.

As to what sort of boat to buy, the range is huge, but with some experience you will get a good feel as to what to look for. You may even consider getting a small low value boat to start before committing to "the one". With your budget you will have no problem buying a suitable boat of an appropriate size and condition, but make sure you leave a big contingency for repairs, upgrades etc. Not unusual to spend 20% on top of the purchase price of a used boat to get it up to standard.

Plenty of information out there. This forum and others, books, blogs, magazine articles etc. Don't be surprised at getting differing and even conflicting advice - there is no one best way of cruising. Getting some experience first helps reduce the risk of going wrong and prepares you better for the big decisions.

 

[jimbaerselman]

Sensible to do the basic courses in the UK as you will learn about navigating in tidal waters - essential as the area you want to cruise has some of the strongest tides in the world. D

Errm. Just to be clear, Med France and Spain don't have significant tides.

However, if you're buying a boat and ultimately sailing from Braunton to the Med, in the English channel you'll be sailing through some of the most challenging waters in the world as far as tidal streams and heights are concerned. Good navigation and pilotage skills are then essential, gained by theoretical study and by practice.

About half those who sail boats obtain this by attending formal training courses - total cost around £2,000 over 2 or 3 weeks spread out over time, plus addition time and effort spent learning theory (navigation, meteorology et etc). Another half do it through sailing with family and friends and self study.

Taking a practical test to obtain a certificate is then very useful, especially if you came through the family and friends "self taught" route, since the test will expose any gaps in your "self teaching".

If you want to avoid these challenges, buy a boat already in the Med!

Your choice depends as much on your age and agility as other factors . . .

 

[Tranona]

Errm. Just to be clear, Med France and Spain don't have significant tides.

Yes, I know, but the title of the request does lead one to think he wants to sail there - so your advice is good - learn to sail in tidal waters or buy a boat there. Not that leaning properly is wasted time.

 

[jerrytug]

One vital question is: what sort of anchor you will be using? Plenty of advice on this forum.

 

[chinita]

I'm selling my canalboat and would like to spend some time exploring the coastal med around Spain and France.

I am very naive, apologies in advance!

I have zero sea experience, what kind of boat and training should I be looking at? I have a total initial budget of £100k.

Is diesel ridiculously expensive per mile? When cost of training and replacing sails etc is factored in, is sailing much cheaper?

Is it possible to anchor and moor for free along the coast?

Should I be reading some kind of sea bible, guide or book before asking such dumb questions?

Hmmmm........

 

[charles_reed]

As JimB has suggested, have a try in the Med and see if you'd like it.
Neilsen, Sailing.com give comprehensive flotilla training and it's a very inexpensive way of checking if you'll be throwing your money away.
Not only that, you'll learn some of the basics.
I wouldn't recommend the Med for quality of sailing - but the sun makes up for it.
I certainly wouldn't suggest it as a good idea to buy your boat in the UK and sail it to the Med - you'll need considerable experience in making the trip, especially round the outside.