Is ice readily available on the continent ?

[homa]

We are planning a cruise next year (in the summer!) to France, Belgium & Holland.
Weather permitting the boat will be over there for about a month.

I have been toying with replacing my defunct, built in, top loading fridge.
But the cost is huge for the relative short use it will get. And fridges are very power hungry.

I was wondering if anyone who has cruised in either France, Belgium and Holland has been able to buy ice.

I know Tesco's in the UK sell the stuff by the bag, but has anyone bought it on the Continent, and if so where ?

 

[alldownwind]

I found it almost impossible to find in southern Holland last time we went.

 

[Mirelle]

Snap. Only places likely to have bulk ice are fishing ports. Unfortunately, they tend to sell it by the ton! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Rustyknight]

Funny that..... three years ago we were in Caen for Bastille day, and the weather was baking (it was that year when loads of elderly people were dying throughout France, causing a bit of a rumpus because it seemed no-one cared).....

Anyway....... the marina office had a sign outside informing the world that they sold ice. After a day spent cycling round the area, the thought of an ice-cold drink was overwhelming, so I sent my "crew" to the office to buy some.

She returned with a 1 litre plastic bottle of frozen water! It seems they fill the bottles and put them in the freezer, rather than trying to make individual ice cubes!

Oh what fun it was, trying to chip ice out of the bottle with a screwdriver, before giving that up in favour of a winch handle on the pontoon! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[thalassa]

Perhaps most likely to come by in France; rarely in Belgium - go begging at the back door of a restaurant- , and never seen in Holland.
All chandlers in France and Belgium sell "Bloc Marine Manche-Atlantique", a sort of Reed's (about 22 EUR). It mentions availability of ice for every port. The edition is more or less bilingual French/English from the 2006 edition onwards. Good value for money.

 

[Talbot]

assuming you will connect to 240v when in their marinas, how about a make your own ice system:

 

[Greenwichman]

Yup, I cruise that coast every year, and ice can be found.

EG - Ice is available in Boulogne (via the nearby supermarket), Calais (at Carrefour), Gravelines (at (new) marina Yacht Club;at Dunkerque via Carrefour (need a hire car or a bus to get there, but feasible); in Nieupoort (at Belgian Air Force YC) etc etc.

Basically, be prepared to shop about, but ice can be found. We have a top-loading box set into the galley work top and found it possible to keep things cold throughout a three week cruise this past summer (especially if the bags of ice are kept inside a thermal bag to reduce the rate at which the ice warms).

Hope this helps.

 

[Anonymous]

[ QUOTE ]
She returned with a 1 litre plastic bottle of frozen water! It seems they fill the bottles and put them in the freezer, rather than trying to make individual ice cubes!

[/ QUOTE ]That's quite common in parts of Med Spain, not as a replacement for ice cubes (which are readily available) but as a sensible way to bring the water on board...after all, if you are going to carry it on board, why not frozen to help the fridge along? Can be quite a boost, I imagine, with a marginal fridge or a high cooling load.

 

[westhinder]

The best and longest lasting ice you can find at the ice factories in fishing harbours both in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Alternatively from a friendly fishing boat, fish markets or fishmongers. Restaurants may be willing to help out, and if all that fails, you will always find a friendly shopkeeper who will allow you to put two bottles of water in his freezer overnight. Those will keep your coolbox chilled for a day or two. And of course, some supermarkets sell bags of ice cubes. Keeping your boat supplied with ice will tale some effort, but it is most certainly possible. We did it for years, untill we finally fell for the comfort of a fridge. Power hungry, yes, but a good set of batteries and a wind generator go a long way.

 

[dulcibella]

In Brest they have bags of ice in the capitainerie. Most Greek ports seem to have someone who will sell you a chunk (probably the only good thing about many Greek ports).

 

[fisherman]

[ QUOTE ]
Snap. Only places likely to have bulk ice are fishing ports. Unfortunately, they tend to sell it by the ton! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, but it's really cheap: just pull up under the iceworks, open the hatch, stick the chute in and hold up a thumb.