Med moorings

[DavidJ]

Time for my well used pic me thinks
From westernman’s suggestion
If you like just popping out to a choice of bays within 10-30 mins and August isn’t important to you ( it’s manic) then how about Rosas or Empuriabrava. Flights to Perpignan or Girona or Barcelona in just over an hour drive.
Your boat would be about €10k pa

 

[Hurricane]

Time for my well used pic me thinks
From westernman’s suggestion
If you like just popping out to a choice of bays within 10-30 mins and August isn’t important to you ( it’s manic) then how about Rosas or Empuriabrava. Flights to Perpignan or Girona or Barcelona in just over an hour drive.
Your boat would be about €10k pa

Just for the record and to follow David's post.
Here is an early drone video that I made of an anchorage around Cap de Creus.
I think it was actually in Port Lligat on the Google Maps image that David posted above.

Of couser, you don't have to go all the way to Italy or the SoF
Why not just move up the Spanish coast to Sant Carles.
Good access to the Balearics as well as northern Med Spain and Western Med Francs
It is a bit like Hotel California here .
You can check out but never leave!!

 

[DavidJ]

Just for the record and to follow David's post.
Here is an early drone video that I made of an anchorage around Cap de Creus.
I think it was actually in Port Lligat on the Google Maps image that David posted above.

Of couser, you don't have to go all the way to Italy or the SoF
Why not just move up the Spanish coast to Sant Carles.
Good access to the Balearics as well as northern Med Spain and Western Med Francs
It is a bit like Hotel California here .
You can check out but never leave!!

I love that video.
How you get your stern line up on those rocks eludes me.
Do you remember the submerged rock you navigated around in Cala Montjoi. Well, after 100+ years of wrecks it now has a cardinal bouy

 

[prinex]

If you need to fly anyway maybe just go as South as possible, Liguria and CdA have a shortish boat season, July-Sept at best, then is not cold but no warm either. Well at least for my taste, I do go for a swim until end Oct but is a bit of a stretch. For me is Sanremo / CdA or bust as I drive from Switzerland.

I have no experience of places like Greece or Balearics but maybe there is a place in the med where the season is longer.

 

[westernman]

I have no experience of places like Greece or Balearics but maybe there is a place in the med where the season is longer.

Israel?

 

[prinex]

Israel?

I guess you never took a plane to Tel Aviv .... "what is this folded corner on you passport on page 27 ? Why there is a receipt from a kebak joint in you wallet ?"

 

[westernman]

I guess you never took a plane to Tel Aviv .... "what is this folded corner on you passport on page 27 ? Why there is a receipt from a kebak joint in you wallet ?"

I have done. And can relate to the very aggressive questioning at passport control.

 

[Bouba]

I guess you never took a plane to Tel Aviv .... "what is this folded corner on you passport on page 27 ? Why there is a receipt from a kebak joint in you wallet ?"

Made me feel safer.....

 

[westernman]

Made me feel safer.....

From whom?

 

[Fk prestige]

The only problem for me living in the north Is flights, even to Nice, in the winter we have to drive to a southern airport.

 

[Fk prestige]

Thanks for all your suggestions and help
I fancy a change from Spain (ten plus years) so Italy is the favourite on my radar at this time .Understand weather window is relatively short in CdA and northern Italy .
In southern Spain where I am it is a longer season .But the nice thing about a boat rather than a property you can up sticks and try somewhere else which is exciting .

 

[Portofino]

The only problem for me living in the north Is flights, even to Nice, in the winter we have to drive to a southern airport.

Try KLM Humberside into Schiphol, a 40 min hop .
KLM city hoppers collect you at H and from Amsterdam the world is literary your oyster inc major and minor for that matter EU destinations .
Leather seats with legroom + and free hot food + drinks etc ……x 2 cos it’s two flights

Saves the hack darn sarf ……and back .

You can get into Nice , Turin , Milan , Bergamo and Genoa , Naples , Rome etc all year as several flights most days from S .

 

[Chris H]

Try KLM Humberside into Schiphol, a 40 min hop .
KLM city hoppers collect you at H and from Amsterdam the world is literary your oyster inc major and minor for that matter EU destinations .
Leather seats with legroom + and free hot food + drinks etc ……x 2 cos it’s two flights

Saves the hack darn sarf ……and back .

You can get into Nice , Turin , Milan , Bergamo and Genoa , Naples , Rome etc all year as several flights most days from S .

That’s option 2 after driving to Luton.

 

[petem]

That’s option 2 after driving to Luton.

Were still enjoying the northern Costa Blanca. Loads of nice marinas for port hopping and lots of calas for anchoring. Cheap and plentiful flights into Alicante. Good value boat fixers and cheap to eat out. 70 miles to Ibiza for longer cruises.

 

[Chris H]

Were still enjoying the northern Costa Blanca. Loads of nice marinas for port hopping and lots of calas for anchoring. Cheap and plentiful flights into Alicante. Good value boat fixers and cheap to eat out. 70 miles to Ibiza for longer cruises.

Never been a fan of Spain.......or the Spanish !

 

[prinex]

Thanks for all your suggestions and help
I fancy a change from Spain (ten plus years) so Italy is the favourite on my radar at this time .Understand weather window is relatively short in CdA and northern Italy .
In southern Spain where I am it is a longer season .But the nice thing about a boat rather than a property you can up sticks and try somewhere else which is exciting .

Well as you mention property which happens to be one of my favourite collection items (I own quite a few) - the level of comfort and usability (considering that most of us are not the "solo around the world on a 5k Euro old sailing boat" types) specially as you get older is unmatched. Beside the fact that usually property appreciates in value even after considering maintenance etc. Which is not true for boats of course.

So even if it probably does not apply to your case consider this scenario:

a) A decent property on the seaside in Italy (and probably in Spain, not sure on the CdA) - the classical 2-3 bedroom flat with sea view will set you back probably 200-300K Euro, specially now in Italy we are at very low prices as the italian guv introduced a property tax some years ago (basically between 1 - 1.5 Euros yearly for said flat) and this got a huge amount of property on the market. And a smaller boat (let'say something 35ish foot, 3K a year marina fee and easy to maintain) - good for day trips and the occasional weekend.

b) Versus a large 55/60ish boat - 30K a year just to keep the thing running, depreciation another 30K at leasts and if you use it as a house a giant hassle to move just to go for a swim (which results in yacht owners using the tender to go for a swim). And comfort ... electric toilets, air-con loud, smells, no place for anything .... even a crappy 50sqm flat is better.

Now not only a) would result in you being able to watch the sea on a december night while the fireplace is on (even the new water vapour led fake ones are ok), have a shower how often you want, and in summer hop in your yacht and 30kns into the bay super easy: it would save you at least 40K Euro a year. And if you are "tired of Italy/Spain" - you still have 40K to burn *every year* to do whatever you want.

Having said that there are scenarios where a big boat make sense, one of my targets is to go back to the nomadic trawler life of 20+years ago when I had time (and no family), still 3 years until youngest one goes to uni. Then I will be cruising 10-12 weeks in the season and so we will need something big.

I believe that if someone is going to spend regularly longer than 2-3 weeks in the med (like all the summer and part of winter, is still 15+ C even in January in Sanremo) - get a property and a smaller fast yacht and spend the rest of the money for Ferraris / Overseas travel / wine & restaurants.

Does not apply if 100k +/- a year does not really make a dent in your budget (it does in mine...)

 

[petem]

Never been a fan of Spain.......or the Spanish !

Never been a fan of Spain.......or the Spanish !

Why's that Chris? I've never had any problems with the Spanish and even the food is good. It's certainly quite classy where we are so no riff raff Brits.

 

[Fk prestige]

I love your response Prinex I have been in business all my life guess I have worked out owning a boat is not a great investment .But on the plus side great enjoyment great community and something really different than sitting in front of the fire with your slippers on ?

 

[Fk prestige]

Depends what you want .
CdA is very nice , plenty of bays , islands , head lands to make it very interesting.It’s busy as well both @ sea and on land .
There‘s quite a lot crammed in between Cannes and Monaco = high rise city .It’s also relatively expensive compared to Italy next door .
Coast flattens out from Menton to Imperia.San Remo mentioned above is on this stretch .
Advantages here are far cheaper berthing costs + other associated costs to a point .You don’t feel ripped off shoreside.
Coasts gets a bit more interesting E of Imperia to Savona with two islands and sheltered bays and a fraction of boat density .
We are in Loano ( Google + u tube vid the marina ) .Combo of factors.Realise everyone factors differ .
The seaward side for safe boating is as good as , well near as dam it as the CdA .The actually marina is …..make your own judgment after reviewing vids , trip advisor etc .It’s also the nearest sea fall from Switzerland so saves us 3 hrs driving to the equivalent CdA marina .We do not miss the notorious A 8 around Nice .
Genoa is about 1 hr by car or sea away and has a nice airport.

Boils down to what you want and much of a Francophile you currently are ( despite Macron + his side kicks better efforts ) and where you think Franco Anglo relations are heading in the psychi of the French ?
Must say the Italians are loverly people to deal with better than the French in my experience-15 yrs on the CdA .No edge on them .
Having said that CdA is a transient population the better boaty businesses you are likely to end up dealing with , will be run by none French .Like Dutch and esp Italians who are shipped in to take the slack up and do a proper days work - well !

Corsica is 100 miles give and take no matter where you end up on this strip .

One more thing W of St Tropez it gets windy on top the Mistral .Even in the CdA you get the tail end of a mistral which can disrupt sailing plans = port bound .
This fizzles out the further E across to Genoa you go .So if you are time short and fly in for a long WE the chances of using the boat , going out increase dramatically the further E you go .
Nice airport is Frances 2 nd busiest to CDG in Paris …….if you like that sort of thing ? And boy you will see why !

Driving
About the same from Tunnel to Liguria as CdA .
It a nice card to hold 13/14 hrs within legal speeds iirc 1100 miles Monaco to Calias..You just pop through the Mont Blanc tunnel S of Geneva , via off SE below Dijon . Italian tolls are pretty much about 1/2 price inline with the rest of on shore expenses FWIW .

San Remo is about an hr s boat ride to Cap Ferat / Villfranche.

We are on here …..spot the boat folks

4.2 we are manoeuvring through the flowers coming out of the berth . and 9.2 ish ? Heading out .