Questions about sailing a catamaran in the Med

[lemondstcroix]

We are planning on buying a 42ft catamaran to sail in the Med. We are concerned about how expensive the docking fees would be for a catamaran (and how much more they charge for cats because they are wider..we have heard they charge 1 1/2 times as much as for monohulls) and do some marinas forbid catamarans and we are also concerned about the Med being so crowded from June to August that reservations are a necessity at marinas. We are also trying to find the blog or website of anyone who has spent time sailing in the Med where we could read about their experiences. We have so many questions about what to expect.

Thanks for any help! Steve & Lynn

 

[Richard10002]

Try this ....

http://www.zialater.com/Previous%20Updates%20list/previous.htm

I've emailed Joe a few times for info on a few things and he is extremely helpful.

 

[alandee]

PM sent

 

[lemondstcroix]

Wow! Thanks for that website! It is a wealth of information reading about their experiences! Thanks very much!

 

[davidbains]

A multi is a very stable platform for lots of anchoring during the season.
So paying marina multi charges can be minimised. You do need a serious dinghy
and the davits are easy to arrange on a cat. More and more skippers consider the
advantages of cats outweigh the problems.
It's not too difficult to find yards that will haul cats in the winter, as long as you're not
over 7mtrs wide, and preferably 6mtrs. I've found the widely spaced ones that can
cope with 7.5mtrs!
Have PM'd you.

 

[Troutbridge]

I have a BB385 and I think of it like this.... if I get charged 1.5 times the rate of a monohull I've probably got the equivalent living area of 1.5 times the same length mono (if that makes sense). I think that some marinas charge per sq metre, as in LOA X BOA.

 

[charles_reed]

Simple answer

don't use marinas.

Yes they're overcrowded in July/August..

Yes catamarans are discouraged in most popular marinas...150% of monohull fees are optimistic

It's almost impossible to pre-book, you have to turn up in hope...

Prices are nearly as ridiculous as the UK S Coast.

I've spent the last 6 years in the Med - I usually return for July/August to the UK because of the lack of wind, sky-hi prices, overcrowding and heat.

On average I spend 1/5 nights in a marina, less in June and September.

 

[jeremyshaw]

We were last in the Med in 2003, so not completely up to date, but 150% of monohull rates was standard. We had no real problem with that (13m length, 7m beam) - as others have pointed out in a cat you are quite happily sitting an anchor while others are rolling out of their berths and heading for marinas.

I've never found a marina that turned cats away, but undoubtedly there are fewer available berths for cats - often limited to the hammerhead. But stern to docking in Greek ports, for example, it's just a question of finding a slightly wider hole to tuck into.

Your haulout options are a bit more restricted, but remain adequate in my view.

Bottom line is we were a bit concerned too. I am not making a generic case here for cats vs monos but in practice, to address your main query, there was never a time when we thought "if we'd been in a mono we would have been OK". And never have since we've been in the Caribbean...

 

[mandlmaunder]

Never took our cat into the Med as so many friends were sending us email horror stories about the weather and the expenses Although the eastern Med, including Turkey and Greece seem to be cheaper and more cruiser-friendly). However, we did have a wonderful sail down the west coast of Spain, stopping at anchor in the many rias, and through Portugal and the Algarve towards the River Guardiana and up it (border of Portugal/Spain again). Would highly recommend taking lots of time on this route instead and making the occasional day's inland journey to the cities of Spain and Portugal.
Have fun wherever you decide to go!

 

[changeman]

We took our cat to the med.
Marinas frequently charge double (for 2 hulls)
Also, wind direction is so fickle, we spent most of the time under engine.
However, we enjoyed the cruise from the UK.

 

[tcm]

Re: Simple answer

quite so. Even if (like us) you have a berth in marina, you wd stil want to get out of the marina in june-august cos of the heat, and even around the most crowded parts of the med there are plenty of anchorages, all very fine in a 42ft cat.