Lowestoft to majorca

[scuttlemetimbers]

Hi all, new to sailing and first time posting here.

So I've made a fairly impulsive buy of a jaguar 22, probably paid too much for it as it needs some work. Anyway, I'm looking to sail it to majorca or possibly mainland Spain depending on time then sell it.

What I'm looking for is someone that knows how to sail that wants to come along with a total novice. Expecting to travel summer 2024

 

[Dellquay13]

Shhh! Nobody say anything about needing a bigger boat…

 

[dunedin]

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your new boat.

With its shallow draft it would be an ideal boat to take through the French canals to the Mediterranean.
Alternatively they are very easy to tow. My late father took his Alacrity / Jaguar 22 down to the Med and back by road three times - twice to France and once to Yugoslavia (now Croatia).

However, it is not an ideal boat to sail down the exposed Atlantic coastline unless a very experienced skipper, which you do not sound to be.
Also, due to Brexit it is not easy to sell a boat from the UK in the EU - any buyer in the EU would not only have to pay VAt on the price, but more importantly it may need certification to RCR, which may be near impossible.
Hence towing down for the summer and towing back to the UK after may be better?
If you don’t have an EU passport, also need to be aware of the limit of 90 days in the Schengen area (most of continental Europe).

 

[scuttlemetimbers]

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your new boat.

With its shallow draft it would be an ideal boat to take through the French canals to the Mediterranean.
Alternatively they are very easy to tow. My late father took his Alacrity / Jaguar 22 down to the Med and back by road three times - twice to France and once to Yugoslavia (now Croatia).

However, it is not an ideal boat to sail down the exposed Atlantic coastline unless a very experienced skipper, which you do not sound to be.
Also, due to Brexit it is not easy to sell a boat from the UK in the EU - any buyer in the EU would not only have to pay VAt on the price, but more importantly it may need certification to RCR, which may be near impossible.
Hence towing down for the summer and towing back to the UK after may be better?
If you don’t have an EU passport, also need to be aware of the limit of 90 days in the Schengen area (most of continental Europe).

I'm aware the boat is Unsuitable for the open sea which is kind of the appeal to me, I was planning on following the coast rather than being in the open ocean however the canal route is something I hadn't realised was possible and is probably a more sensible option which I'll look into. Thanks for the idea.

 

[dunedin]

I'm aware the boat is Unsuitable for the open sea which is kind of the appeal to me, I was planning on following the coast rather than being in the open ocean however the canal route is something I hadn't realised was possible and is probably a more sensible option which I'll look into. Thanks for the idea.

The Atlantic coastline of France (Bay of Biscay), Spain and Portugal can be very unforgiving, with sometimes huge Atlantic swells on a lee shore. The distances between harbours in some cases can be quite lengthy for a small boat.
Doable with plenty of experience - and patience to wait, potentially a couple of weeks perhaps, for a suitable weather window for each leg - but perhaps not an ideal first trip in a boat of this type. In bad weather may need to head offshore and weather a gale, rather than try to approach the harbours with waves coming in. Sadly some lives have been lost.
By contrast a brilliant boat for the canal route or autoroute.

 

[Obi]

Hi scuttlemetimbers,
Like many before me, I've done the coastal route a few times. It is not without challenging stretches of water, which can have conditions ranging from benign to "avoid at all costs and wait it out until the weather calms down". On one trip we had to wait it out for a couple of weeks for a weather window, and this happened twice on that trip.

There are some likely stretches that will likely take you longer than a day to complete, I am thinking the southern half of Biscay in particular.

However, my main reason for replying is this: The first time I did the passage my old YMI asked me to help him, to help two of his friends get their new yacht from UK to Nice, FR. One of these new owners held a RYA dayskipper, the other a total novice. The YMI asked me to join the crew because if anything happened to him on passage he wanted a safe pair of hands to handle the yacht to the nearest port. It is something to consider scuttlemetimbers, if you go ahead with an experienced skipper, what would happen in the event of said skipper being incapacitated?

All things considered, I think the canals sounds a great and highly enjoyable way to go.