Help with my move to the med feasibility study

PEJ

PEJ

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Having just read all 37 pages of Jimmy the Builders 2012 post about moving to the Med I have been inspired to do a feasibility study and I wonder if I could ask for
the help of the experts on here.

I have got a price estimate from the firm that JTB used for transport and I didn't fall off my chair, so that is not too bad.

For the same reasons as Jimmy and reading the advice from JFM and others I think that the Antibes area would be my destination.

I have school age kids and May to July is mad busy in my job. Here is my outline plan, please feel free to pick holes in it if you think it is pants.

Take a holiday in February 2015 half term to check out the area and the marinas that you (hopefully) will have recommended. Spend the early summer in the UK and move the
boat at the end of July/early August. Spend last two weeks of August 2015 on boat plus October half term, new year, Feb 2016 half term and Easter 2016 holidays. Plus the
odd weekend in between. Decide in April 2016 if this med life is for me and move it home if not.

So I guess my questions are

1. What chance would I have of getting a 16 x 5m berth somewhere suitable from July 2015 to May 2016?
2. What would the likely cost of berthing be? Just a guide, this is only study for now.
3. Do you *HAVE* to be there when they offload your boat? (I note that Jimmy had a bit of a nightmare with the boat not turning up when expected, I am really needed in the
office weekdays in July)

The boat is a Sealine T51, and I have 6 kids - 4 in their 20s and with partners and two little uns (that's 10 hangers on). The boat only sleeps 6 and I would like all the family
there in August so a marina with a cheap hotel within reasonable walking distance would be ideal.
 
Good decision. Couple of thoughts:

An advance trip to check out the marinas is a must. Depends how close to Antibes you want to be; from the airport heading south from memory it goes something like this:
St Laurent du Var is right next to the airport; you can walk it in 20-25 mins
Baie des Anges is at Villeneuve Loubet, about halfway between Antibes and the airport
Port Vauban is in Antibes itself
Port Gallice, just the other side of the Cap d'Antibes
Port Camille Rayon and Golfe Juan in Golfe Juan
Port Canto and Cannes, both in Cannes
La Napoule and La Rague, both in Mandelieu-La Napoule

Going the other way it's Nice, then Beaulieu sur Mer, St Jean Cap Ferrat, and then you're into the Monaco ports which I can't remember off the top of my head.

I started off in La Rague, but it was too long a schlep from the airport, so I moved up to Port Vauban; about a 20 min drive from the airport, or €65 in a cab. This has been covered a few times on the forum, but I like PV because it is handy for the airport, the town itself is a year-round town, and having other forumites there (jfm, nick_h, eme, a&k, mrc etc) is nice from both social and keep-an-eye-on-the-boat perspectives.

PV has rental 15x5's, but you are talking about starting at the very top of the season so I would imagine your chances would be slim. That's less true of some of the other ports on my list - I'd expect you to be able to get into BdA or SLDV for example.

The rental rates are all about the same, give or take; probably about €12-14k pa for your size, but you'll be paying monthly, the high season is about twice the monthly rate of the low season. The best way to get a berth is to physically be there and talk to the capitaneries. I would strongly suggest though to max your chances of having a berth for the summer, you would be better off bringing your boat down earlier say in May, and try to get established then instead. I know you're busy but it is very feasible to do PV there and back in a day from UK, I've done it myself several times, including having time for a swim for example:
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?325125-Shortest-Med-cruise-ever!

I would very definitely want to be there when the boat is launched. If you're using C2C for example, it'll be launched at La Rague and you'll need to be there to move it to wherever it is going to be. That said, you could always pay someone to do this for you, but personally I prefer to do all that stuff myself.

Shout with more questions...
 
With school age kids and work constraints it's a trade off. You'll probably spend less time on the boat, but you'll enjoy better weather when you are there, although don't assume you'll always have good weather from October to Easter, as it can be quite hit and miss out of season. Having said that, if the transport cost is not too bad, then the risk is limited so you can always try it for a year.

If you do proceed, arriving in August may not be such a bad plan from a berth POV, as lots of people are away cruising, so you may be able to find a berth (it's possible you could rent ours, for example). September may be harder, but you'd have the advantage of being there on the ground, and something always seems to come up. Worst case, you can always cruise along the coast to somewhere that has space.

Plenty of hotel/apartment options to suit all budgets, so no worries on that point.
 
Jimmy,

Thanks for your input, I was hoping you would chip in!

Er indoors is not as keen on this idea as I am and not having the boat in the UK for the early summer could be a deal breaker. I wonder if I should start off at one of the less popular destinations? If I could get in there for the late summer do you think it would easy enough to get a berth in PV later in the year? I assume SLDV is less popular since it is right by the airport. I went there once and stayed in the big hotel next to it.

Have I got this right - the berths are owned (leased) by someone and if he does not have a boat on it he can rent it out on a monthly basis? And the capitaneries are the go betweens for the owner and prospective renter? So it is not like the UK where, for example, MDL own the whole marina? Therefore you need to be on a waiting list managed by the capitaneries?
 
Nick,

Further to my question to Jimmy, and this is hypothetical , how would I rent your berth? A private deal between us two or does it have to be approved by someone at the marina?
 
We moved to Beaulieu Sur Mer in late March this year and it has transformed the way we use our boat. I have written up the move on here, but here are some top tips from me and a bit of a narrative on what we discovered.

We applied for an annual berth some 4 years ago thinking it could take around 10 years, but we might as well start. We holidayed in Beaulieu every year and so I would always pop into the port office and ask how things were going. In Dec 13 we got told we have a spot and we had a week to make up our minds. Some red wine later we said yes.

Like you my work can be very inflexible so the moving date ended up being when I wasn't available. However Monanco Marine and BSM lifted out boat off the truck and restepped the mast for a very reasonable amount. The port staff moved our boat onto our berth and supplied photos to show no damage. In all I was happier than a Ferral song.

I first went down at Easter and go things sorted out in 24 hours and then my wife joined me. We fly into Nice and then use either the train or a private car firm to get to Beaulieu. Train €3.20 private car €60 taxi €85.
This year we went down every 3 to 4 weeks for a Friday to Monday break and also 2 2 week breaks in May and September. The locals call September the velvet months and they are right. Crowds have left and weather is excellent.

We are heading back down in November, January and Febuary for breaks of various lengths.

What has changed for us is we spend more time on board then when the boat was moored 10 miles from our house. The weather is more stable and we feel more part of a community in Beaulieu than we ever did in our previous locations.

The costs of running our boat are higher, but not by that much and this is more than compensated by being onboard more. There are many more great places to pop to in a day than I have experienced in the UK and generally people are very friendly. We have great French neighbours and they have been invaluable in fitting into a relaxed way of life.

If you wife like shopping, mine does, then you have everything from markets to Hermes all on your doorstep.

In short we have never regretted moving and just love it.

Let me know if I can help in any way.
 
PEJ said:
Nick,

Further to my question to Jimmy, and this is hypothetical , how would I rent your berth? A private deal between us two or does it have to be approved by someone at the marina?
Click to expand...

In PV the capitainerie like to remind you that they control berth rentals, and all the arrangements have to be done through them, however you can request that someone in particular rent your berth while you are away. The earlier you do this the better. I assume other ports work the same way, though I don't know for sure.
 
PEJ can you please put the link up from JTB'S write up about moving to the med as I have not read that thread, I would love to move to the med but feel with a 13 year old the time is not right yet and will go when he leaves school I hope. If you feel the time is right go for it I am sure you will love it

cheers
 
PEJ said:
Jimmy,

Thanks for your input, I was hoping you would chip in!

Er indoors is not as keen on this idea as I am and not having the boat in the UK for the early summer could be a deal breaker. I wonder if I should start off at one of the less popular destinations? If I could get in there for the late summer do you think it would easy enough to get a berth in PV later in the year? I assume SLDV is less popular since it is right by the airport. I went there once and stayed in the big hotel next to it.

Have I got this right - the berths are owned (leased) by someone and if he does not have a boat on it he can rent it out on a monthly basis? And the capitaneries are the go betweens for the owner and prospective renter? So it is not like the UK where, for example, MDL own the whole marina? Therefore you need to be on a waiting list managed by the capitaneries?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if your late summer plan would be any more or less likely to succeed. When I was renting in PV in 2012, the capitanerie accommodated me in June, July and August on a variety of berths, but were absolutely adamant that there would be no space in September when all the boats returned after the summer break. (My solution was to buy a berth).

Yes, I think SLDV is less popular because it is noisy and everything smells of jet a1. That said, I have only ever been in and out of the place a couple of times, I've never stayed there.

And yes, in the main, berths are held on private leases, and administered by the capitanerie.
 
PEJ, is your boat Med spec as in aircon, gennie and pasarelle? Those are pretty much essentials in the Med especially if you're going to have loads of guests staying on board.
I would agree with what the others say about transport and berthing. You or somebody who knows what they're looking at has to be present when the boat arrives in SoF to check it over for damage en route especially as I guess bits of the flybridge will have to be removed to reduce the height and which you will have to witness being re-attached properly. Being realistic, you can't just expect to pitch up in August with the boat having been offloaded, screwed back together properly and all shiny. Also, if you're going to have the whole family on board in August, it would be wise to check all the boat systems a couple of weeks before they arrive because, boats being boats, something will stop working as a result of the transport process. I did pretty much the same when I bought a boat in Holland, shipped it down to SoF in early August and arranged for the whole family to come down for a holiday a couple of days after relaunch. The boat was 100% perfect when it left Holland but when it was relaunched, the aircon packed up, the chartplotter was dead and the radar arch had to be refitted because they hadn't done it properly. The result was a week of holiday lost and a grumpy family
Also agree about berthing. There is no substitute for just turning up in the marina with your boat, staying a few days, demonstrating to the marina office that you're nice people and paying the bill. That is the best way to blag a semi permanent berth in a popular Med marina. I have tramped around Med marinas myself and been told point blank that there are no spaces, then turned up with the boat a few weeks later and hey presto.
Regarding the plan itself, if you're mad busy at work in July, it's going be even more stressful if you thow in having to prepare the boat for the Med and ready it for transport at the same time. In your position, I would be thinking about shipping the boat out to the Med much earlier in the year. That way you probably have more chance of finding a berth and it will all be less stressful. Yes I know you will miss the May to July boating period but if you have your boat in the Med permanently, you're always going to miss that period anyway. Anyway surely you and the missus could get away for the odd weekend during this period?
 
Deleted User said:
PEJ, is your boat Med spec as in aircon, gennie and pasarelle?
Click to expand...

Yes it is. It used to belong to Hurricane of this parish but the owner after him kept it in the med I think.

Deleted User said:
Regarding the plan itself, if you're mad busy at work in July, it's going be even more stressful if you thow in having to prepare the boat for the Med and ready it for transport at the same time. In your position, I would be thinking about shipping the boat out to the Med much earlier in the year. That way you probably have more chance of finding a berth and it will all be less stressful.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm........
Good Point.
 
Hi PEJ. I'll reply more later because right now I'm on plane to Antibes waiting to push back. I agree all the above

Antibes marina is half empty in August so you will get a berth then but it fills in September. I agree the above comments- arrive a bit earlier. Don't worry about having no room at any inn. You can always put it in Loano which always has space and is very nice. It's half way to genoa from Antibes. Not where you want to be but a safety net to eliminate the worry of homelessness

Someone has to meet the boat and take it away from where it is launched but we can give you names of very reliable captains who will do it very well. 250 euros a day. The Antibes posse on here can do it but of course dunno who is available when, this far in advance. And we can check it and photograph it for you if captain does it

There are plenty of hotels for extra beds. Best answer is rent an apartment in Antibes for beds only then live on the boat. Use owners abroad (excellent website in a technical sense :)) or property rentals etc. will be literally 5 mins walk from boat. This part is easy

If you think about it, of all the posters on here who moved from uk to med, I don't think anyone has ever come back. I'm expecting a sunny weekend swimming. I keep meaning to post some summer cruise pictures - will do next week, as encouragement!
 
jfm said:
Hi PEJ. I'll reply more later because right now I'm on plane to Antibes waiting to push back. I agree all the above

Antibes marina is half empty in August so you will get a berth then but it fills in September. I agree the above comments- arrive a bit earlier. Don't worry about having no room at any inn. You can always put it in Loano which always has space and is very nice. It's half way to genoa from Antibes. Not where you want to be but a safety net to eliminate the worry of homelessness

Someone has to meet the boat and take it away from where it is launched but we can give you names of very reliable captains who will do it very well. 250 euros a day. The Antibes posse on here can do it but of course dunno who is available when, this far in advance. And we can check it and photograph it for you if captain does it

There are plenty of hotels for extra beds. Best answer is rent an apartment in Antibes for beds only then live on the boat. Use owners abroad (excellent website in a technical sense :)) or property rentals etc. will be literally 5 mins walk from boat. This part is easy

If you think about it, of all the posters on here who moved from uk to med, I don't think anyone has ever come back. I'm expecting a sunny weekend swimming. I keep meaning to post some summer cruise pictures - will do next week, as encouragement!
Click to expand...

Perhaps you were thinking of Owners Direct? :D

http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk
 
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