Med boaters - will you get to your boat this year?

Alicatt said:
It's 30km from my home. I'm a bit further north in Hechtel-Eksel.
I'm a refugee from Scotland... 2016 and all that ... ?
I sold my last boat in 2008 before I came over to Belgium, regretting it madly now!
Maastricht is a beautiful place, go there quite often, we have friends that live and work there.
Kanne, we sailed past there in 2020 on a circuit round the canals, reminds me, have to go visit Eben Emael soon, wife and I have been trying to go for a few years now but something always interferes in our plans, last time it was shut so we went to Naarden in Holland instead :)
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so you don't have your boat in Hasselt,
the port there has alway's been a bit neglected and sad, I'm not sure if its improved since the new investments in the surroundings ?
haven't been there lately..

the region here is not very interesting for boaters,
Kanne , Maastricht and Liege are doable but you run out quickly from exitement (I mean the waterway, the city's are nice though)
thats why we started our boating (in 2000) with our first trailable boat / Rib.
 
No boat just now, I'm learning Dutch partly so I can do the sailing courses to get the licence, and also as part of my inburgering, though in 2 months I won't require the Dutch language to become a Belgian citizen as those of us on a pension get that part waived.

From the first time I came to Hasselt in 2005 the port there was quite neglected.
It has been a few years since I was last in Hasselt and the transformation of the haven are is quite profound with all the dockside restaurants and shopping. However, you cannot get directly from the dock to the restaurants, the pontoons are accessed from the other side of the haven. Standing on the dockside I was working out if I could jump from the dockside onto the closest pontoon... ;)
My last trip out on a boat was a 6m sloop on the Friesian canals,
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My wife having her first go at the helm of a boat, up until this she had not liked the idea of being on a boat, even the ferries to the UK, and it's the first time she was not seasick on a boat
 
julians said:
Well ,another season is here,all looking pretty normal in Majorca this year.
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Pretty normal, provided you've had your last vaccine injection within the last 270 days. If not (and I think about 50% of adults in the UK are now past that date), you're simply banned from coming to Spain!
 
ari said:
Pretty normal, provided you've had your last vaccine injection within the last 270 days. If not (and I think about 50% of adults in the UK are now past that date), you're simply banned from coming to Spain!
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Not quite right. There is no time limit as long as you have had a booster jab. The 270 rule only applies if you have only had the first two vaccine doses
 
Thinking about taking our Cranchi ellipse 21 down to St Tropez or somewhere similar. Not sure what it would be like in a tiny boat down there, would they even give us a berth.
 
Skiffy49 said:
Thinking about taking our Cranchi ellipse 21 down to St Tropez or somewhere similar. Not sure what it would be like in a tiny boat down there, would they even give us a berth.
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Might be worth thinking about what you would do when you got there.
Maybe somewhere like Hyeres and the cruise over to the Porquerolles.
Maybe Bouba can comment.
 
Hurricane said:
Might be worth thinking about what you would do when you got there.
Maybe somewhere like Hyeres and the cruise over to the Porquerolles.
Maybe Bouba can comment.
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There are numerous ports to choose from along this coast...in my opinion the best cruising areas are anywhere where there’s an island...but that’s just me. Price wise, they don’t differ much, and it’s getting on for high season. There is quite often availability because the berth owners often go off cruising somewhere else...and there are numerous beautiful bays and beaches where you can drop a hook for free...then go to a visitors berth for a few hours to restock at local shops and fill with fuel and water. If the weather is good Skiffy doesn’t need to base himself anywhere...just travel up and down the coast and stop where he see’s fit...it’s all very beautiful and worth visiting. Personally I think the Porquerolles are a true gem...nice to just walk around town and eat in restaurants but especially wonderful if you enjoy hiking or cycling (hire electric bikes if you’re not fit).
Wherever Skiffy picks he won’t be disappointed ?
 
Cavaliere has a ramp , berths and even buoys ( on a recognised chart Almanac ;)-if insured with craftsure you are covered )
With a navette taxi service from the marina to the marked buoys .All in .
Bormes pic ^^^ has plenty of small berths + launch ramp .
Hurricanes inference is correct more to see + do with the islands near esp Port Cros .
A lot do exactly what you are asking in the season .So you will need to book .Find a apartment of hotel on land as a base .It’s all do able .
Seen folk camp in pop up tents on ribs and plenty of trailer able mobos coming down from N europe.

St Trop , the bay gets windy and waves and with Pampolone it’s a one trick pony an expensive pony at that .
Sea states returning in the afternoon and believe me there’s a reason the professionals use Itama s as charters .
A week in a 21 ftr will kill your wife’s desire to ever go boating again unless you are ( unlikely) exceptional lucky with the weather .
Sure cloudless blue skies , it’s the afternoon wind not the sun ☀.
 
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There are lots of people who live the whole summer on small boats in our port...and at night they crap in the woods....and there are small communities of little boats that kind of share resources while living at anchor in a bay...but Porto is right the wind usually gets up in the afternoon and it gets choppy...and not just from the wind...there are a lot of boats around, ferries, superyachts and commercial water skiers...but the nights are often calm
 
I think that the thing to remember is that it is quite a compact area...lots of wonderful cruising in a relatively small area...so boat size isn’t an issue...there are boat ramps and boat trailer parks everywhere
 
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