Keeping a boat abroad

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bedouin

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Somewhat like Peppermint, I'm beginning to wonder about new cruising grounds, and particular considering marinas abroad. The obvious options are Brittany, using Ferries or the Med (Greece?) using low cost airlines.

Does anyone have any experience of doing this, particularly with an emphasis on weekend sailing rather than weeks/fortnights?

If travelling by air how on earth do you manage to carry all the stuff you need - and how do you manage the annual maintenance tasks?

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We keep ours in the Baltic rather than the med, but it worked for us this year. We drive an old car out there with all the gear in April, and leave it there. We then drive it back in October. We then use Dan Dare to get to and fro. Airport parking can be free/cheap if you get it right.

We had two two-week stints in addition to the weekends, leaving the boat at a suitable (different) home in the intervening period.

Friday nights out and Sunday nights back work OK, and if you book in advance its reasonable. We can leave the UK at 5:30 and be at the boat by 11:30. Sunday we have to leave the boat around 6pm and be home by midnight.

Of course, the other advantage is that, even kept indoors for the winter, berthing is about half the cost of the UK - and its MUCH prettier sailing!

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Foure or five of my local marinas are ten minutes from Trieste airport (Ryanair daily, free parking), cheap berths. Come on over; I'll show you round!

<hr width=100% size=1>Adriatic links here: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html>http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html</A>
 
Lots of marinas at 50% of UK prices around Athens.

easyjet flights from Luton go out friday evening at 11.55 arriving Athens at 04.35. Retrurn is depart Athens 20.45 arr Luton 22.45 In reality they often do it in 3.5 hours.

To get gear out there, the ferry from Venice - 12 hours by car from Calais goes to Patras (via Igoumenitsa & Corfu - I'm using it next month) and there is a motorway to Athens - Minoan Lines.

Steve Cronin



<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion
 
Do you tend to go out for many weekends?

I find the idea of an overnight Friday night flight for a weekend sail a bit daunting /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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We did in Athens but now we've moved to Corfu we tend to do weeks at a time as we need to rely upon charter flights. The Aegean Airlines shuttles' timetables don't tie in with EasyJet too well.

When we've had a couple of years in the Ionian we may well go back to the Aegean.

Steve Cronin

<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion
 
With Flybe starting a Birmingham-Brest low-cost service next Spring this opens up the possibility of us relocating to Brittany. Probably be quicker than our trip down the M5 to Dartmouth! Any suggestions on mooring possibilities within striking distance of Brest?
Must admit that the thought of going for just a weekend doesn't really appeal but even when going to Dartmouth we always try to make a long weekend of it.

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We do it but it works best if you live <30mins from a non-LHR sized airport and your boat is say <20min cab the other end, and if there are loadsaflights evry day

We live nearish luton and boat is nearish Nice airport and there are a dozen return flights a day, many cheap, so it works well. I have gone every 2nd weekend since march, and often gone for a day (7am flight, so 5.15 alarm clock, flight home lands 10.40pm so asleep by 11.45 plus catnaps on the plane)

Maintenance is tricky. No worries about carrying stuff because chandlers there are better than uk so buy locally. Tools kept on boat. You just have to organise a longer trip to do a lift out or whatever, or use local boatyards of which there are many good ones in S France.

Leave clothes on boat so always travel hand baggage only. You can splash out on a helper who will have victualled the boat when you arrive. Just takes a small bit of organisation then dead easy

All worth it to get decent weather imo

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You are quite correct in thinking that any weekend boating will be a lot of hard work.Can only comment on weekends in friends boat kept in Nice(a very short couple of hours flight.
First is the 4am start to get to the airport in order to present yourself 2 hours before flight.(Remember the cheap carpark is always furthest away(25.00 quid per 2 days.)Next fight your way to your seat (with hand luggage only of course).Land and get taxi to marina(30 yes 30 euros,rich boater see).Now if you are very very lucky boat will be 85% OK to sail.You cannot just nip down and fettle/mess about with the boat cos its 2500 miles away.Ahh... I see,you will pay the local yard to sort it,fat chance nothing ever got done unless my chum was standing in office moaning.Lets not also forget that it might be fine when you set out but that afternoon Med wind is now blowing a Hoolie,still mebbie next time.
Going home.Yup . 40 euros this time for Taxi.Last flight goes about 11 pm,if your lucky.Gets you to Stansted/Gatwick around 1am,Find 25.00 quid then find car then nice drive home and flop knackered into bed.
Err about 4 hours sleep and yippie off to work......Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Did you have in mind doing any sailing during this relaxing weekend./forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

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I may qualify for this ?

Boat in UK .... gear kept in Mobile Home 10 mins from marina
Boat in Latvia ...... gear in house across the garden from boat
Boat in Estonia ...... gear in apartment 10 mins from marina.

OK so I'm lucky in the way I've done it ....

<hr width=100% size=1>Cheers Nigel ..... <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.geocities.com/solentlifeuk/>http://www.geocities.com/solentlifeuk/</A>
 
Re: I may qualify for this ?

Yes, but I was hoping to get a bit more sailing than you've had on SA over the last few years /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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Boat is in Sweden in heated shed close to airport Ryanair says is Stockholm. Airport is 15 mins from boat. We go out in May, do the necessary work then push off for the summer returning to base in mid August when the evenings are getting significantly shorter. Since boat is in locked heated shed there are no worries over winter. Boat smells good in Spring. Can also drive from UK having holiday on the way - very pleasant but its 1200 miles or so. Tools are on boat or can be bought cheaply enough in Sweden. Small stuff could be taken on Ryanair, bought locally or stuffed into car.
Main thing is we are retired, and 2 1/2 - 3 months sailing is enough for us each year. I could keep boat in cheapish marina and fly out and back as necessary - only real problem is drive from Devon to Stansted, Ryanairs main airport for Sweden.

<hr width=100% size=1>Roger
 
Lot's of interesting options - but is anyone brave enough to do the sums and demonstrate how the additional travel costs (and potentially labour costs) compare with the reduced marina fees?


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Methinks you have a large motorboat, not a small sailing boat /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

For me when I lay the boat up for winter I seem to have to take 2 or 3 car loads of stuff both ways /forums/images/icons/frown.gif

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Well I'll have a go, as we did it this year. We dont plan to make a habit of it, and normally stay out there for the duration, but this year I had to work. Remember ours is in the Baltic, so its in covered storage for 6 months of the year. Also our travel patterns are a bit odd - we kept the boat last year in Denmark, and this year in Sweden. We dont have a permanent marina, and so pay visitors fees. There also cheaper places/options, even in Sweden.

Travel costs, for 35 passenger flights, plus an out and back car/ferry trip totalled £3,200, at an average of just over £50 per person per flight. Booking varied between 8 weeks ahead and one week, and included travel at peak times.

Boat storage, with lift, cradle and engine service, are just over £2000. (I paid £1300 in Denmark last year).

We spent about £600 on Marina Fees, but you can get a 'summer berth' for about £400. Airport car parking was about £200 in total. This included some weekend parking at Stanstead. We dont leave the car there if going for more than a few days - its too expensive!

So there you go. About £6000. Compares with about £3,500 all up in a UK (East Coast) marina.

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Re: I may qualify for this ?

Tell me about it ..... every time I get back - something happens !
Last time back - weather so bad - even the birds didn't get out of bed !!
But still have consolation of boat in back garden to sail when I get fed up ....
canal_with_boat_to_house.JPG


<hr width=100% size=1>Cheers Nigel ..... <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.geocities.com/solentlifeuk/>http://www.geocities.com/solentlifeuk/</A>
 
For example..

If you kept a 36 ft boat in La Rochelle - France West coast - it would cost you £1700 per annum... The airport is 10 - 15 minutes by bus - taxi and Ryan air flys in daily. So does Flybi (british airways out of southampton) The chandelry costs are generally cheaper than UK.

Not sure its any good for a weekend sail but anything more it could make sense - probably depends how close you are to Stanstead or Southampton airports...

<hr width=100% size=1>If you have time please visit my web site -
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.michaelbriant.com/sailing>http://www.michaelbriant.com/sailing</A>
 
Yes, but same principles? I never go by car to Southern France. There are plenty of people who will store stuff off the boat for you over winter or summer. You just goitta change your ways of doing things, so as not to bring stuff home, leave it all down there. Also I admit you have to throw money at a few of these problems to fix them, eg storage charges etc. But it's all perfectly doable

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But oldgit you are making heavy weather of it. Easyjet's check in is 30mins not 2 hours, and for a weekend's sail you should put your car in short stay (£17.50/day at luton). This means you screech into the carpark at about 45mins before takeoff. Easyjet's timekeeping is generally excellent. There is no fighting to your seat, you just walk onto the plane. You are correct that french taxis aren't cheap, more like 55 euros each way Nice airport to Antibes. As for boat yards, there are good ones who do what they promise on time (Eg monaco marine, at SLDV, 5min cab Nice airport). I admit you gotta spend a bit more money (eg short stay car park) but it's boating innit :-) I often go for the day, let alone the weekend, and i am on the boat 10.40am till 8pm, which is a pretty full day out. Well worth it imho, if you live near an airport and keep your boat near the other airport

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