Med and back how many

Seastoke

Seastoke

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So most people fancy boating in the med is there many who try it and come back and why. Did they come back it would be good to here pro,s and cons
 
Ok I no no one who has come back and have been in the med last 10 years and will never return, just done 6 weeks now and will not do anymore this year but it's worth it to swim in a warm sea and anchor in warm and pleasantl surroundings, several visitors this year and all agreed how wonderful it is!
 
The Med. pros, the weather, warm, deep blue sea, food and lifestyle, cons, can get expensive just for a weekend, probably not good if you are time limited.
The UK pros; west coast of Scotland, cons, the weather, south coast very expensive, east coast, muddy.
 
I know of 2 returners to west coast of Scotland within the last few years but then getting to some of the med marinas from here is a bit trickier. The med appeals to me for the warm seas etc, but for us it isn't worth the hassle. I'm at the boat most weekends and always enjoy an outdoor swim in 35c water. We have some of the worlds best sea food and scenery and it's on our doorstep, but then I'm berthed at what is certainly one of the UK's best and most unique marina's (Portavadie)
 
Bojangles said:
I know of 2 returners to west coast of Scotland within the last few years but then getting to some of the med marinas from here is a bit trickier. The med appeals to me for the warm seas etc, but for us it isn't worth the hassle. I'm at the boat most weekends and always enjoy an outdoor swim in 35c water. We have some of the worlds best sea food and scenery and it's on our doorstep, but then I'm berthed at what is certainly one of the UK's best and most unique marina's (Portavadie)
Click to expand...
35c water temp
 
I have never had a boat in the med but we do have a family house there which we have almost stopped visiting after 30+ years of regular use - Personally I haven't been there since 2012. I find it too hot and too busy in the height of summer and, as my French is pretty functional, I have never felt particularly at home there. Mind you, I used to absolutely adore the place so I suppose I have just kinda fallen out of love with things as my life has changed.
 
We used to marina hop in the UK, and when we first came to South of France we tried to do the same and were frustrated at how hard it was to find overnight visitor berths, even to the point of considering bringing the boat back. Then we discovered the big lump of metal on the front, and we haven't looked back.

We have school age kids, but my work is very flexible, so we get a few longer periods on the boat each year during school holidays, rather than lots of weekends, but overall we get a lot more boating than we did in the UK due to the reliable weather. By way of example, this summer in SoF has been the best I can remember, just one windy day in July, and one wet day in August, otherwise almost uninterrupted blue skies and light winds.
 
benjenbav said:
I have never had a boat in the med but we do have a family house there which we have almost stopped visiting after 30+ years of regular use - Personally I haven't been there since 2012. I find it too hot and too busy in the height of summer and, as my French is pretty functional, I have never felt particularly at home there. Mind you, I used to absolutely adore the place so I suppose I have just kinda fallen out of love with things as my life has changed.
Click to expand...

Same story here, been going down since the 60's and I'm getting a bit fed up with it. I can speak ' supermarket ' French, but find that after about an hour at a French party I run out of vocab and start repeating myself. Lol.

Another hitch is the expat community ; they are living in an imaginary world where they are retired captains of industry, or related to royalty back in blighty etc etc.... It l gets a bit irrating after a very short time.

Admittedly I've only had a small dingy on the local lake, and a small dory for a short period on the the sea .

IMO unless you speak fluent French, its not possible to spend more than a couple of months . I'm looking at GiB as an alternative.
 
rustybarge said:
Same story here, been going down since the 60's and I'm getting a bit fed up with it. I can speak ' supermarket ' French, but find that after about an hour at a French party I run out of vocab and start repeating myself. Lol.

Another hitch is the expat community ; they are living in an imaginary world where they are retired captains of industry, or related to royalty back in blighty etc etc.... It l gets a bit irrating after a very short time.

Admittedly I've only had a small dingy on the local lake, and a small dory for a short period on the the sea .

IMO unless you speak fluent French, its not possible to spend more than a couple of months . I'm looking at GiB as an alternative.
Click to expand...

Have a look at Sant Carles.
We speak English here and there are lots of us.
That said, we do try hard to learn Spanish and the locals understand.

As an example, yesterday we went out on the lagoon to a remote restaurant on stilts.
When we arrived, there was a Spanish (well, Catalan actually)party in full swing.
They invited us to join them and we all ended up dancing and singing.
Then jumping off the restaurant into the water - seemed like a good idea at the time!!
I was completely smashed - SWMBO had to drive the dinghy home.
But we all had a fantastic day - with the local people - Brexit was even mentioned once - we all laughed and carried on partying.
Totally different experience to your post.
 
Hurricane said:
Have a look at Sant Carles.
We speak English here and there are lots of us.
That said, we do try hard to learn Spanish and the locals understand.

As an example, yesterday we went out on the lagoon to a remote restaurant on stilts.
When we arrived, there was a Spanish (well, Catalan actually)party in full swing.
They invited us to join them and we all ended up dancing and singing.
Then jumping off the restaurant into the water - seemed like a good idea at the time!!
I was completely smashed - SWMBO had to drive the dinghy home.
But we all had a fantastic day - with the local people - Brexit was even mentioned once - we all laughed and carried on partying.
Totally different experience to your post.
Click to expand...

I've found the Spanish to be a very warm race who welcome English speaking people into their circle without hesitation; contrast that to the French who are Xenophobes, and after mixing with them for very long period I can safely say they consider themselves closest to the Germans (!)in temperament and humor, and there is a national hatred of English and Americans.

My daughter worked as a school teacher in Denia for a couple of years, so I have had a introduction to Spanish life :) Sant Charles sounds lovely, I've never visited that area before, definitely worth a visit...
 
After living on our boat in the French/Spanish Med I can earn Beware the mosquitos of Sant Carles. We have been suprised by just how few we encountered along the whole Spanish coast, until that is Sant Carles, not sure but apparently it's something to do with rice paddies in the Ebro delta. But I can confirm the little buggers try to eat you.
 
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