MBM Cruises?

Illusion

Illusion

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Does anyone have any experience or has anyone taken part in one of their cruises?
We're looking at one of the 2 week Channel Island trips from the 2009 program released today. It would be our first cross channel trip and thought it might be a good way to start.
Good and bad thoughts or experiences appreciated.

Thanks

Phil
 
We have been on a few /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Highly recommended /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Dont delay with the form too long they are popular.


Advantages

Most the hard nav work is done for you
they have experience you can benefit from in avoiding rough waters and rough marinas.
they can solve language barriers
they can organise and obtain discounted fuel
safety in numbers
some would argue they can make an inaccessible area, accessible. (we chose to go to Paris with them as they arrange extra moorings and fuel which are otherwise difficult to find.
if its during school holidays and you have kids its a good way to find other kids.
They can arrange engine parts should you need them and sometimes have a mechanic on the cruise.

disadvantages

Be prepared for long waits at the fuel pontoon.
Rafting is common but that can also be an advantage as it makes finding friends easy.



I am not as enthusiastic about RYA cruises.
 
Down side being. If the weathers crap that week, you've lost yer money. Also if you have a chart plotter and auto pilot, you cant fail to get to your destination. Well, you would have to be a complete numpty not to.

There expencive.

Never been on one sorry. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
I asked this a year ago, and got mixed answers, though not specifcally about MBM cruise...
I did one, and we had pretty good weather, and I went places that I wouldnt have attempted on my own at that time. You are pretty much free to do your own thing , or mix in, as you like.
One of the criticisms from both those who had been on an MBM cruise and those who hadnt, is one I would have to acknowledge: you cant really plan ahead as you are so weather dependent. We were lucky with our weather, and we only lost one day by returning before the weather deteriorated. But other cruises over the last couple of years have had some truly terrible weather. I may be wrong, but I think one took 5 days to get from Portsmouth to Lymington !
Sure, you can pack up and go home at anytime, but...
SO, for us, we had a good time and enjoyed the experience, and Neale who runs it, is attentive to his responsibilites, and to the safety of all, and he recognises the possibly wide range of boating abilities amongst the fleet. If you want to go further afield than normal, and would prefer to do so within a group (which is very confidence building), then do go for it.
Just be aware that your two weeks might not take you anywhere at all,really, if the weather is crap. I guess if you were on your own, maybe you d go off and something else instead of boating those two weeks !
But, its all pretty informal and relaxed, and certainly not blazers at dinner!
 
Hi Phil

It would be good for you to make your first cross channel trip in a structured enviroment, it would also take the pressure of making the wether to go or not, where do we berth, what happens if this goes wrong etc decisions and should leave you able to just enjoy yourself.

If the weather is poor you will probably meet some great people anyway, broaden your experience, possibly drink to many beers and enjoy your boat.

If you and your family fancy it. go for it!!
 
We have been on a few and have certainly enjoyed them. The are quite expensive - £400 or so and you still have to pay for morrings etc.

Advantages.

Arriving at an unkown port is great as there is always an MBM person there who has sorted out your mooring and someone to take your lines

A very good mix of people so quite social

You can relax as all of the calculations for tide, weather etc done for you (yes, I know its still your responsibility)

Help is only a VHF call away if something goes wrong

Disadvantages

The schedule may be changed to suit the weather and you might be brought home early - or late

There is usually a lot of rafting up. You can have noisy neighbours!

Here is a short write up of the 2008 Holland Cruise
 
I have worked as staff on a number of MBM cruises. (i do not work for the magazine!!!)
I think you will have a great time both socially and from an experience point of view. Neale the cruise leader is a top chap and everyone works really hard to make sure you have a great time.
You cant odds the weather but if it does turn poor its a good opportunity to fix bits and pieces /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif Many of the cruise staff have a lot of technicial knowledge and are happy to help.
I think the best part is the feeling of security. The cruise run a large boat and a rib so help is never far away plus all the fellow "cruisers" of course. The passages are very well researched and planned taking some of the stress out of the trip.
The channel Islands is a great trip with realtively short legs and plenty of time to explore each location. We did a cruise to Paris once which was an endurance rather than a cruise although 4 days moored by the Effiel Tower was something else!!
I would say the cruises are not about profit as it costs the magazine alot to run them but much more about developing confidence and enjoyment for mobo's both new and old.
 
IMHO the insidious danger of cruises in company, particularly those as understandably structured as these, is the erosion of your own individual decision-making. You simply cannot replace the hours of preparation with charts and pilotbooks, the agonies of decision-making at each weather forecast, the tension of preparing for sea, the physical and mental strain of getting out there and doing it unaided, and the sheer exultation of arriving safely, That is the experience that matters, that makes you wiser - and more humble - and above all better equipped to do it again.
Sitting festering in harbour while some cowboy in a RIB bounces out past the pierhead and returns to say "We're not leaving today" is NOT how you learn and will leave you dependent on other people's decisions for the rest of your days.

Start taking your life in your own hands. Don't stay in the Solent and plead fear of going foreign when Weymouth is further from Chichester than Cherbourg, has more tides on the way, more hazards in the approach and fewer facilities when you get there.
Just go and do it - on your own!
Rudyard Kipling's poem 'If' comes to mind . . .
 
We are thinking about going on one of the MBM cruises too, and the comments so far seem to re-inforce our own view that such a cruise is a good confidence builder for the future as well as a good holiday in its own right.
Just moving the thread a tad sideways, has anybody any comments about the RYA cruise too?
We are undeceided which to go for (can only manage one or other), the RYA trip this year only lasts a week, but seems to run along similar lines to the MBM.
Any comments/advice would be appreciated
 
I am unsure that "cowboy" is a fair term for anyone involved.

Whilst I agree going it alone brings great experience we all have to learn and why not do that in a friendly low pressure situation. Everyone on the cruise can ask why and how descisions are made and thus develop there own knowledge.
I'm sure most people here boat for pleasure and there is nothing less pleasant that being scared in the middle of the channel.
For the more experienced the cruise is perhaps not right but at the end of the day baptisms of fire are to be avoided IMHO.
The whole idea is to build confidence in yourself, your crew and your boat so you can then go off and do it again on your own. As yet I have not met anyone who only uses their boats for cruising in company.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Don't stay in the Solent and plead fear of going foreign when Weymouth is further from Chichester than Cherbourg,

[/ QUOTE ]

If I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I get is a small blip on a plotter to steer her by,
And the wife's sick with the diesel pong and the mbm rib's shaking,
And a choice twixt Wey'th and Cherbourg is really quite heart breaking.

(Apol's: J Masefield)
 
There is obviously an overall time frame for the cruise. I think that one was 14 days. We wanted to give everyone 4 clear days to enjoy Paris which meant we had to move a pretty long way each day at 6 knots!! There are also only so many places on the Siene to moor 30 boats ranging 25 to 60ft.
Some of the other cruises are a bit easier with one days passage then one day at the particular location to mooch about then move again.
It was also bl**dy hot!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
Hmmm. I was thinking of maybe doing that one this year: not sure if I should tell swmbo what you have said or not!

dv.
 
Its a great trip and on your own much easier as you have more stop over options. The trip itself is fantastic once through the first lock. Prior to that its a bit industrial. I think there are 12 locks to go through. Bear in mind they are commercial size locks and they tend to just open the gates (well it seems like that as a 5 ft wave comes at you!!)

I would do it many times again as being in Paris on your boat is one of the best experiences I have had.

ps the Arsenal Marina in Paris is a great spot but a bit of a cooking pot as the wall are very high all round and it gets really hot when the sun is out!! Time to invest in a med pack! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
Do it. We did it on the MBM 2004 trip and it was an endurance test. very long days (some 12 hours) pootling along the Seine leading to exhaustion in the evening. It was also very very hot and we had no bimini for the boat so we got scorched and exhausted. Locks tricky at first because of the size and height, and the fittings in the walls designed for comercial craft - try and find some ladders to attach yourself to

terrific to be in the Arsenal marina - again very very hot - a natural sun trap so much to see and do

A much much easiar trip back down the Seine as you enter the locks at their high water levels so just chuck lines over the bollards and let yourself down gently.

When we got back home we said never again - but now quite fancy another go at it.
 
I must down to the seas again, for the call of the yacht club bar
Is a wild call and a clear call, even from afar.
And all I ask is a group of boats and a cheery Number One
Who'll take us all to Cherbourg* for impromptu boaty fun.

*or Weymouth.
 
Hi Malaprop,

While I certainly respect your right to opine about cruising in company, your referral to the MBM team that runs these cruises as "cowboys" is incredibly offensive and far from the truth.

Neale, the Cruising Club co-ordinator, has a lifetime of experience and holds a Yachtmaster qualification. Claire's boating CV is similarly impressive. The safety and comfort of the cruise participants are central to any decision they make.

In future, I ask that you be a little more careful about just who you call a "cowboy" on a public internet forum.

Stewart
 
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