Is it big enough!

[westernman]

Re: Is It Big Enough!

I am under no illusion that South of France may be more expensive but I believe mainland Spain is cheaper than south of France.

Depends what you mean by the South of France. Here for instance is the price list of Port Leucate, which is on the Med coast about 25NM from the Spanish frontier. http://www.leucate-port.fr/images/docs/tarifs/Tarifs_Anneaux_2018.pdf

We got a permanent yearly berth there by just asking. You might be lucky as well. We had a berth right in the town centre! On the main quay in front of the best restaurants and the summer market.

For a motor boat it is probably not a bad place to be based (you will probably be heading down to Collioure, Banyuls etc most of the time).

For a sailing boat, it is less attractive as the prevailing wind means it is always an uncomfortable beat back up the Spanish coast to arrive back at the marina. On the day before I need to get back to work, it is always blowing at least a gale exactly on the nose. They also hold the wind surfing world championships there - for a good reason. In April, they can pretty much guarantee strong winds.

That is why we are now based just down the coast in Port Roses in Spain.

However, the berth is over twice the price (partly because I have to pay for the bow sprint in Spain which I never had to in France, although the prices are substantially higher as well).

But we are immediately in an interesting cruising area with a lot of nice places to anchor out. Also a good starting place for heading over to Minorca (30 hours under sail on average for us).

Port Roses has a lot of space at the moment (for yearly rental, or for lease hold purchase), as does El'Estartit the other side of the bay. El'Estartit has just revamped most of its facilities as well.

 

[derekbland]

Re: Is It Big Enough!

Thank you, yet more eye openers. When I first started looking into this, I went on a forum much smaller than YBW. I was told that the SOF was so much more expensive than Spain and so this is yet another eye opener. I am going to start a list of all of these places mentioned. Just had a look at where it is and I have never visited that part of the French coast. It would actually be a good place for a winter berth too as a short'ish trip and up into the Pyrenees for some skiing.

 

[Hurricane]

Re: Is It Big Enough!

Markc mentioned Sant Carles on mainland Spain.
We have been there for 10 years now - since it opened.

I think you could easily match your budgets in Sant Carles.
Private 15m berths can be had for as little as 3500 euros pa inc electricity.
Bit more if you rent directly from the marina.
We keep a 20m Princess in Sant Carles for about half the cost of our old 15m Sealine in the UK
And that includes electricity, water and WiFi etc.
The UK marina chain, MDL, manage it and own half of Sant Carles so there is lots of support for UK residents.

We often pop over to the Balearics
Sant Carles is roughly equidistant from lots of great Med destinations.
98 miles from Ibiza and 105 miles from Mallorca etc.
But just outside Sant Carles Marina, we have a 7 mile long lagoon where you can just pop out on the anchor - buy some fresh prawns and cheap Spanish Cava and watch the sun set before returning to the marina to plug in and switch on the air con.

Sant Carles is also a very social place.
Be it sailing yachts or motor boats, we all get along together.
We often plan to meet each other in the islands to continue that social life.
Most Christmas times, we will meet in the UK for a bash - really great bunch of people.
Here is a video of some us a couple of seasons ago meeting up for a later season cruise to Mallorca and Cabrera.



Seriously, check out Sant Carles

This is the marina's promotional video.



We (Sant Carles berth holders) have also set up a discussion forum (a bit like this) run by berth holders for berth holders
Registration is free - just sign up and login at www.scmchat.com (registration is manually approved so you may have to wait a couple of hours before you can log in)

 

[derekbland]

Re: Is It Big Enough!

Thank you for taking the time to provide all this info. I will join the chat later.

Strangely enough, I have been researching Marinas and at the moment am thinking about the MDL in Gosport. I asked if the 30 days at a time free visits included St Carles and the one in Italy and the answer was "yes". I am now seriously thinking of buying in the Med but really wanted the adventure of sailing from the UK, the "why did you climb that mountain"?.... "because it was there" kinda mentality.

If you see anything for sale in Spain nearby St Carles, flybridge, 3-cabins, 45 - 52', ideally for no more than £200k or less please let me know. We may be able to stretch the budget a little but depends on the how much we manage to raise.

 

[Hurricane]

Re: Is It Big Enough!

Thank you for taking the time to provide all this info. I will join the chat later.

Strangely enough, I have been researching Marinas and at the moment am thinking about the MDL in Gosport. I asked if the 30 days at a time free visits included St Carles and the one in Italy and the answer was "yes". I am now seriously thinking of buying in the Med but really wanted the adventure of sailing from the UK, the "why did you climb that mountain"?.... "because it was there" kinda mentality.

If you see anything for sale in Spain nearby St Carles, flybridge, 3-cabins, 45 - 52', ideally for no more than £200k or less please let me know. We may be able to stretch the budget a little but depends on the how much we manage to raise.

Oh yes - than mountain!!
Slightly bigger scale but I did just that.
And it was a trip of a lifetime.
This is the report that I posted on this forum.
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...Delivery-UK-to-Spain-Loads-of-Pics-and-Videos

IIRC, at the time, I was quoted £26,000 to ship the boat.
And I think I worked out that worst case it would be £22,00 for fuel etc if I drover her round on her own bottom.
Well, thats "Man Maths" for - "Let go!!!"
The boat was new but we still "shook her down" - runs to Channel Islands etc.
But, essentially, the boat took it in her stride.

That all said, in your case, anything less than (say) 55 feet long could go by road.
Coast 2 Coast will ship to Sant Carles using the Brittany Ferries, Pont Aven which sails from Portsmouth to Santander/Bilbao.
Depending on size, the price to ship the boat by ferry/road would be between £5000 and £8000.
That would probably include the loading/unloading but not lifting/relaunching.
Sant Carles is very well set up for this kind of transport - lots of people have done it - Coast 2 Coast even have a local guy based in the Santander area who knows the route and the Spanish rules etc.
So, buying in the UK and shipping would very much be an option.
Lots of boats in your size would already have the Med spec but any that don't can be easily upgraded.
IMO, Air Condition is a must and I probably a generator big enough to power the A/C
Also a Bimini for the flybridge makes that area more comfortable and a good party area
Sant Carles has pontoon berths but a Passerelle for those Med style marinas definitely be an advantage - most passerelles double as a crane for the dinghy.

So, back to the OP - size.
Your boat will seem to get smaller in the Med because everyone else's is bigger.
A comfortable cabin is important - I like the owners mid cabins but that pushes the prices up - probably out of your budget.
Apart from the main cabin, it depends on how many guests/family you will have on board.
Three cabins works well - with two couples, the third cabin would be used for all the left over "stuff".
The crews cabins that you will see in the aft of the boat can be used as accommodation but generally it ends up with all the junk that you accumulate.
We call our crew cabin - the Bike Shed.
An interesting boat that you might like to consider is the old Sealine F43.
I know several people who have one.
The F43 has an aft main cabin which makes the boat much more homely - it is an old design now so would fit well into your budget.
It is still big enough to make that crossing to Mallorca in its stride but small enough to fit onto a small berth thus keeping the marina costs down.
I said this to a friend a year ago - he is now my neighbour in SC - with an F43
You are correct about the flybridge - it provides extra space - both for parties and for cruising.
I will get flamed for saying this but "you camp on a sports boat" and "live on a flybridge boat"
These are my views but I often spend months away on the boat - particularly during the summer.

Good luck.
If you have any questions, don't take my word, ask on SCMCHAT and get some other views.
SCM has turned out to be that little jewel in the Med

 

[derekbland]

Re: Is It Big Enough!

Correction to the above. It was a Premier in Gosport and the MDL marina was on Hayling Island.

 

[derekbland]

Ok so thank you for all of your comments. Whilst not accepted yet, we have made an offer on a boat around the mid 40' range which has full Med spec. I know it is smaller than some suggested but we feel it will be a comfortable size. We are also considering changing in 2 years time for a bigger vessel but will see how it goes on this one, again, if offer accepted. If it isn't, we may go back and look at a 55' that we are also very interested in. Very clean, very tidy and you can see that it has been well cared for. As long as their are no hidden gremlins and the engine is in good order then we may consider this if the offer is not accepted one he first choice. I should add that we are happy to walk away if the offers are not accepted and to keep the search going. I would like to have a boat secured by June but if later then sobeit.

I do understand comments relating to sailing it around to the Med but this is part of the adventure, something we want to do and experience. I hope to be tested but with careful planning and being in no rush to get to the Med, I hope to keep dramas to a minimum.

Thanks again, for all the advice.