Liveaboard on the Canal du Midi – possible?

[MYStargazer]

Like the thread title says, really. Being somewhere around Toulouse would be ideal, or anywhere on the canal that’s reasonably close to the Med.

Do the authorities allow this? Would you have to keep moving? Are there any shoreside facilities.

I’ve done the French waterways from Honfleur to Sete (in a rush) so I have a fair idea of what to expect.

Thanks, peeps.

 

[JamesFrance]

I live near the Midi at Carcassonne and people certainly spend the winter there, but I believe it gets booked up and I think I heard that section is being drained this winter.

It is quite cold around here in the winter, so we are usually on the boat in Spain then. The towns and villages often have moorings with electric supplies, which are charged for. There is a British hire company at Le Someil called Minervois Cruisers who could maybe find you a space for the winter. It is a very attractive small village with a supermarket within walking distance, but some way from a city.

I expect Grehan will be along with better information, as he knows the canal well.

 

[vyv_cox]

In May 2005 we stayed at Port Sud, a few miles east of Toulouse. It's a small marina that appeared to have some liveaboards. A few days later we stayed at Port Lauragais, very good value as we filled with water and used electricity but were unable to pay as nobody ever arrived at the office, although we didn't leave until 1030. Recommended! Again, there may well have been liveaboards there. All the way along we saw countless boats along the banks, upon which people were evidently living.

 

[Grehan]

Yes, lots of people livingaboard. Moor practically anywhere if you can do without electricity for a while. During the season the Midi is v. busy with hire boats, but still very pretty and attractive. Wintering - as James says, Carcassonne was due to be drained and this has forced an exodus to other places, so this year difficult to find a winter marina berth. Does get cold and nearer Narbonne v.windy (apparently unpleasantly so). Better than the Midi IMHO is the Canal de Garonne (from Toulouse onwards towards Bordeaux), which is where we are. Quieter and no less attractive. Lots of info. on the Grehan website. PM me for anything specific, but please, drop the 'peeps' . . . !!

 

[MYStargazer]

Thanks so much for your thoughts, guys (not peeps!!). Very much appreciated!

 

[JamesFrance]

Yes, the wind near Narbonne is very unpleasant in the winter. It is called the Tramontane and tends to blow at the same time as the Mistral, but originates in the Toulouse gap between the Pyrenees and the Massif Centrale, it ends up down the Costa Brava as the Northerly Tramontana.. This is why the coastal marinas are not too good a winter choice either. The cups of our wind speed sensor disappeared at Gruissan, simply blown away.

 

[vyv_cox]

Yes, the wind near Narbonne is very unpleasant in the winter. It is called the Tramontane and tends to blow at the same time as the Mistral, but originates in the Toulouse gap between the Pyrenees and the Massif Centrale, it ends up down the Costa Brava as the Northerly Tramontana.. This is why the coastal marinas are not too good a winter choice either. The cups of our wind speed sensor disappeared at Gruissan, simply blown away.

Agree with that. Our family rented an apartment for Xmas/New Year at Port Leucate a few years ago. The wind was horrendous the whole time we were there, and remarkably cold too.

Later, we left the boat ashore at P. Leucate for the winter. It was evident that they knew what to expect: every boat was cradled with bows pointing to the NW.

 

[blampied]

Good question

Hi HWMOB
Thanks for bringing this question up, I'm still quite a long way off being a liveaboard. However headding for the Canal du Midi was always part of the plan.
Having done Hire boat crusises allong the Midi in the past I thought of if being the ideal place to overwinter, on a boat when I reach retirement.
Thought that far south it would be resonabally warm. Following the replys its looking like a very cold winter location, so maybe Spain and a hopefully cheap marina winter contract would be a better bet.

Regards
Paul

 

[pragmatist]

Hi HWMOB
Thanks for bringing this question up, I'm still quite a long way off being a liveaboard. However headding for the Canal du Midi was always part of the plan.
Having done Hire boat crusises allong the Midi in the past I thought of if being the ideal place to overwinter, on a boat when I reach retirement.
Thought that far south it would be resonabally warm. Following the replys its looking like a very cold winter location, so maybe Spain and a hopefully cheap marina winter contract would be a better bet.

Regards
Paul

Hi Paul

Sister-in-law lives near Carcasonne (land-based) and apparently it gets v chilly - when they were rebuilding she talked about iced-up gloves while dealing with her roof ! Other issue might be draft - we had always talked about visiting by boat till I looked at the link to the depth map off Grehan's site - at 1.8m there is no hope for us !

On a jollier note, there was an article (YM ??) a few years ago about over-wintering some miles up a Spanish river - towards Madrid I think. Sounded really good but HWMBO doesn't fancy it - says it won't ever snow ! Someone else might know which article/place I mean. Have also heard the Algarve can also be v windy - me, I fancy Portugal and almond blossom in spring (NOT snow !). Now I know why I have to obey !!!!

Penny

 

[Grehan]

Yes, well winter is winter and it got pretty cold some mornings and evenings (and nights) when we were down in Andalucia. Inland here on the Midi/Garonne it can also get cold but all in all, nicer, drier and warmer (on the whole) than a typical Brit winter - cold, wet and dreary
I suspect the river that Pragmatist is referring to is the Guadiana, between Spain and Portugal, and a very long way south. Many people say it's a lovely place - the kind of Hotel California place that people never leave. As far as I know (JamesFrance?) the Ebro/Ebre is not navigable upstream from the sea. Or is it?
I also suspect that (Mediterranean) "Spain" and "a cheap winter marina contract" is an oxymoron. Unless you mean Almerimar, and that's also a very long way from the Midi !

 

[JamesFrance]

No I don't think a keelboat would get far up the Ebro and even a motor boat would be advised to take a local pilot as the estuary is always on the move. I believe there was a plan to do narrowboat hire along it, but I don't think it came to anything.

You could certainly get a place in Sant Carles at a good rate still as it is not full yet. Most of the pontoon berths are sold but a lot were bought by locals as an investment, so plenty for rent.

 

[DownWest]

Pragmatist, the wind in the Algarve is the Levante and tends to blow more in the summer, from the SE. The Guardiana is quite well protected by the hilly country and deep up to Alcoutim and a bit beyond. There used to be a copper mine just above and coasters used the river. You can get air frosts, but that is with clear skies, so the next day would be warm. It does rain tho, at levels that you don't get in UK. The first year I was there we had 10 inches in 3 days, but that is a bit exceptional.This obviously effects the levels and flow.
Spent a couple of weeks in Seville in November, below 0 C most nights. My favourite city.

All this a bit far from the Midi. But it will be cold. Friends living in a caravan while restoring a house had to build up straw bales round it to try and stay warm at night. This was by Pau. The winds around Carcassone stopped two other sets of friends from moving there. The Atlantic coast is relatively benign as the winds are from the SW. There might be oportunities on the Gironde estuary to stay, or upstream from Bordeaux.
Andrew

 

[blampied]

Yes, well winter is winter and it got pretty cold some mornings and evenings (and nights) when we were down in Andalucia. Inland here on the Midi/Garonne it can also get cold but all in all, nicer, drier and warmer (on the whole) than a typical Brit winter - cold, wet and dreary
I suspect the river that Pragmatist is referring to is the Guadiana, between Spain and Portugal, and a very long way south. Many people say it's a lovely place - the kind of Hotel California place that people never leave. As far as I know (JamesFrance?) the Ebro/Ebre is not navigable upstream from the sea. Or is it?
I also suspect that (Mediterranean) "Spain" and "a cheap winter marina contract" is an oxymoron. Unless you mean Almerimar, and that's also a very long way from the Midi !

Hi Greahn
Yes this is an old tread and Time has flowed on, so an update.
Yes We did indeed go live aboard and yes we found a cheep Spanish winter marina contract,
We spent last winter in Cartagena, great inexpensive winter location with a great live aboard community.
Came across this old thread as I'm once again looking for somewhere reasonable as a live aboard winter stop.

Cartagena would be my first choice but as we were there all last winter, I'm a bit warey of flagging up the fact that I may be exceeding the 183 days a year in the country rule.
So somewhere in a different region of Spain or different country France?
Somewhere With a bit of a liveaboard community that dosnt shut down over winter.
Further north in Spain ? or is there somewhere on the south of France coast, canal or river that's reasonable and not toooo cold in winter?

All suggestions welcome

 

[sailaboutvic]

Am not too sure if you find anywhere south of France that not cold in the winter .
If you want somewhere warmer and not so wet , your going to have to go further south .
Sicily have now turn out to be one of the biggest Liveaboard areas now with mild weather over the winter , althought it can be windy .
Two Marina stand out , Licata and Raguse as we have stayed in both over the years for my money Ragusa wins althought some do like having a big town on their door step and if happen to be one of them , then it's Licata but be perpaired for the fouling over the winter months .

 

[blampied]

Am not too sure if you find anywhere south of France that not cold in the winter .
If you want somewhere warmer and not so wet , your going to have to go further south .
Sicily have now turn out to be one of the biggest Liveaboard areas now with mild weather over the winter , althought it can be windy .
Two Marina stand out , Licata and Raguse as we have stayed in both over the years for my money Ragusa wins althought some do like having a big town on their door step and if happen to be one of them , then it's Licata but be perpaired for the fouling over the winter months .

Hi Sailaboutvic
Thank you for that,
We are currently in Spain, our problem with Sicily is we are a small 10m single engine, displacement motor boat.
With that in mind while we could do longer jumps we limit ourselves to coastal hops of up to 50miles. (Long distance offshore starts to play on the mind when you only have one motor and no auxillery or sails to use as a back up) we have so far made it from Jersey in the Channel Islands to Smir in Morocco and are now on our way back up the Spanish Med coast, for this winter Sicily will be just a bit too far.

On the positive side being a small single engined motor boat we have the advantage of easily fitting into any of the inland waterways if required.

Looking for somewhere in the northern Med Spain or French coast or Canals with a bit of winter community and hopefully a bit of warmth to go with it.
Possibilities Floating around in my mind
(but have only seen any of them in summer, it's what they will they be like in depths of winter, what security is like and just how wet and cold I'm likely to find it):-
Sant Carles Spain
Valencia Spain
Barcelona Spain
Sete France
Marseille France
Toulon France (added to list ref suggestion by MACD)
Carcassone Canal du Midi France
Toulouse Garonne River France

What others am I missing off this List,

 

[sailaboutvic]

Ah I see what you mean , althought we have cruised the S France a few time , we never wintered out there so I not much use to you ,the only other place I can recommend your part of the woods is Almarimar
For sure it warm there and there always some Liveaboard wintering out there , but it would mean you going back wards .
Maybe some one else will come along soon and help out .

 

[blampied]

Ah I see what you mean , althought we have cruised the S France a few time , we never wintered out there so I not much use to you ,the only other place I can recommend your part of the woods is Almarimar
For sure it warm there and there always some Liveaboard wintering out there , but it would mean you going back wards .
Maybe some one else will come along soon and help out .

Almerimar, yes we spent a week there on our way down to Gib and Morocco, then another couple of days on our way back.
Very English, you'd never be without a fried breakfast there, but it's so isolated and so very wind prone that I don't think I could spend a whole winter there, Cartagena was near enough the same price for something so much better.

 

[macd]

Blampied:
I haven't wintered in the places you list, although I've visited many of them.
Absent from your list is Toulon. Personally I love the place (the old town in particular), but have only visited in summer. If you're a rugby fan, Toulon rugby ground is about 400 metres from the inner marina.
Barcelona is a great, vibrant city, with some of its marinas immediately at the south end of the Ramblas. Probably not cheap, though.
As well as Sete, you might consider Bandol: lovely town with a quite inexpensive but well-run municipal marina. Probably a bit dead in winter, though. I have contact deails if you need them.
The area just north of the Spain-France border is reputed to be the windiest in the entire Med, so perhaps best avoided. The Tramontana can be bitingly cold and strong in winter.

 

[blampied]

Blampied:
I haven't wintered in the places you list, although I've visited many of them.
Absent from your list is Toulon. Personally I love the place (the old town in particular), but have only visited in summer. If you're a rugby fan, Toulon rugby ground is about 400 metres from the inner marina.
Barcelona is a great, vibrant city, with some of its marinas immediately at the south end of the Ramblas. Probably not cheap, though.
As well as Sete, you might consider Bandol: lovely town with a quite inexpensive but well-run municipal marina. Probably a bit dead in winter, though. I have contact deails if you need them.
The area just north of the Spain-France border is reputed to be the windiest in the entire Med, so perhaps best avoided. The Tramontana can be bitingly cold and strong in winter.

Hi MACD

Thank you for that suggestion, You have wet my appetite,
Never been to or thought of Toulon until you mentioned it,
just been looking it up in my book and at first glance it looks appealing.

Which gives rise to the questions:-
There appear to be several harbours, which one?
any idea on costs?
Are there likely to be winter berths available ?

Does anyone else have views on Toulon as a possible liveaboard winter berth, for this winter?

 

[macd]

Hi MACD

Thank you for that suggestion, You have wet my appetite,
Never been to or thought of Toulon until you mentioned it,
just been looking it up in my book and at first glance it looks appealing.

Which gives rise to the questions:-
There appear to be several harbours, which one?
any idea on costs?
Are there likely to be winter berths available ?

There are two marinas close by the old town, I think under the same ownership. The Darse de Vieille is right by the old town; the Darse du Mourillon a little further out. The former, where we stayed, has excellent shelter. I'm sure both would hve winter berths. Costs (by the day, last September) were quite reasonable (sorry, omitted to make a precise note) , but I've no idea of prices for winter stays.

The eating, needless to say, is excellent and the nearby street markets a joy. There's also a huge Mercadona supermarket about five minutes away, adjacent the rugby ground
As, suggested, I doubt there's much by way of a liveaboard community, but this is just a guess.

Nearest aiport is Marseilles, but you might also want to check out trains via Paris and Chunnel. Some go direct from Toulon to Paris. The sleepers are really quite painless.