Fascadale
Well-known member
Any information, gossip, about this MDL marina for for somebody thinking of a long term contract for an 11m sailing boat?
Good points, bad points etc
Thanks
Good points, bad points etc
Thanks
Sant Carles de la Rapita marina?
- Thread starter Fascadale
- Start date
rickym
Member
Dreadful town. Did a delivery from St Carles to Palermo last year both ****holes.
GSL
Member
Guess not all places suit all people.
We have been at Sant Carles for over two years now and really enjoy our time there. After 6 months I bought a berth, so I think that shows our happiness with the Marina. Prior to being here, kept our boat at Shamrock Quay on the River Itchen.
The town is very Spanish (no Mac Donalds, Live Premiership games in the Pub or Full English Breakfasts) and we enjoy this aspect of the place. It is not much more than a fishing Port and a holiday destination for Spanish people.
Very good local service agents for Cat, Volvo and co, also the yard at the marina is the best I have ever worked at when my boat is on the hard, good prices too.
Very good flights available from the UK through Reus with Ryan Air, or Valencia with Easyjet and Barcelona with BA or Easyjet. Car rental prices with DoYouSpain are the best I have found anywhere.
Great lagoon for a day or two trip out, and Ibiza only 110 miles away.
Not all places suit all people, probably just as well, but I suggest you check out the Web site SCM that Hurricane of this Parish maintains, it will answer many questions you may have.
Graham
We have been at Sant Carles for over two years now and really enjoy our time there. After 6 months I bought a berth, so I think that shows our happiness with the Marina. Prior to being here, kept our boat at Shamrock Quay on the River Itchen.
The town is very Spanish (no Mac Donalds, Live Premiership games in the Pub or Full English Breakfasts) and we enjoy this aspect of the place. It is not much more than a fishing Port and a holiday destination for Spanish people.
Very good local service agents for Cat, Volvo and co, also the yard at the marina is the best I have ever worked at when my boat is on the hard, good prices too.
Very good flights available from the UK through Reus with Ryan Air, or Valencia with Easyjet and Barcelona with BA or Easyjet. Car rental prices with DoYouSpain are the best I have found anywhere.
Great lagoon for a day or two trip out, and Ibiza only 110 miles away.
Not all places suit all people, probably just as well, but I suggest you check out the Web site SCM that Hurricane of this Parish maintains, it will answer many questions you may have.
Graham
Last edited:
Medskipper
Active member
Very surprised to hear this! It is a very quiet small town but very Spanish and most people who have their boats there love the town. Definitely no lager louts!
The marina is very new, only about three years of age so it all looks good. Nice bar/restaurant and a very nice swimming pool. English style pontoons but there are med moorings as well which are cheaper.
Bad points, they do get a lot of mozzies in the summer months due to close proximity of rice fields, but local authorities have been working hard to keep them down but spraying via small planes. For me the biggest bug bear is the huge growth on our hull. Every time I visit my boat it needs lifting and power washing before we can use it! It's because the marina is in the mouth of the river Ebre and the water is teaming with life, the area has been breeding mussels for many years and they migrate everywhere including your rudder and props. It can take only a few weeks before the boat cannot be used until lifted again!
On the whole it's not a bad marina and the prices are quite resonable, try it!
Medskipper.
Cardo
Active member
Ouch. You clearly are very experienced and know a lot about the places you're talking about. [/sarcasm]
(half) My family are from San Carlos and I feel I should defend it. As others have mentioned, it's not for everyone, but if you are after a genuine Spanish town then it's a pleasant place to be. There is a surprising amount of stuff to do for such a small place and the people tend to be friendly. Also, not being a particularly tourist place, it's not full of rip off merchants.
There's a surprising amount of people who speak English there if you don't know the lingo and they tend to be very receptive to Brits, ever since the oil industry thought they might find something in the sea nearby back in the 70s.
I can offer recommendations on places to go if you wish. My mother runs a bar there, though it's at the other end of town from the marina. She speaks English and has a small contingent from the marina who pop by. She's happy to help anyone who needs some pointers in the area.
There's also a members run forum for the marina where they discuss all sorts of stuff and is pretty interesting - http://www.scmchat.com/scm2/
bobhunt
New member
We have our gibsea 422 at St Charles and the decision to berth her there was largely down to price,
200euros a month all in for a 12m finger berth, we could have got a similar price at Torrevieja but we prefer the Spanish feel of st Charles to the British feel of torrevieja
When we first arrived we were alarmed to be skimming the bottom, the marina is dredged to 2.5m we draw 2.4m but as it’s flat it’s ok. The marina is clean and tidy and the staff can’t do enough for you there is a club house with bar restaurant and separate TV lounge and swimming pool with plenty of room to sun worship.
Fouling is a problem! Although we find that the hull its self is not to bad just a bit green at the water line, the prop gets heavily fouled to the point that my folding prop doesn’t open, I’ve struggled out to the lagoon and then gone over the side with the scrapper. Now if I’m leaving the boat for any time I swim down and bag it.
The lagoon gets really warm in summer and is a great place to anchor off your own bit of beach, and with Ibiza only 100 miles away it works great for me
Let’s face it I would rather have the boat berthed in the Balearics but would be paying for a month what I pay for a year at st Charles
Do you want tapas or breakfast buns?
200euros a month all in for a 12m finger berth, we could have got a similar price at Torrevieja but we prefer the Spanish feel of st Charles to the British feel of torrevieja
When we first arrived we were alarmed to be skimming the bottom, the marina is dredged to 2.5m we draw 2.4m but as it’s flat it’s ok. The marina is clean and tidy and the staff can’t do enough for you there is a club house with bar restaurant and separate TV lounge and swimming pool with plenty of room to sun worship.
Fouling is a problem! Although we find that the hull its self is not to bad just a bit green at the water line, the prop gets heavily fouled to the point that my folding prop doesn’t open, I’ve struggled out to the lagoon and then gone over the side with the scrapper. Now if I’m leaving the boat for any time I swim down and bag it.
The lagoon gets really warm in summer and is a great place to anchor off your own bit of beach, and with Ibiza only 100 miles away it works great for me
Let’s face it I would rather have the boat berthed in the Balearics but would be paying for a month what I pay for a year at st Charles
Do you want tapas or breakfast buns?
kid's inheritance
New member
We did a recce of 5 marinas last year before picking San Carles to take our boat down this spring. We loved the very Spanish town though the impossibility of eating out before 9pm might prove we eat on the boat more often than normal!
Nicolas , the manager, was helpful , the marina well organised but the main attraction was the huge sheltered lagoon that our kids can both play in and learn to helm the boat .
If you like wildlife or fishing , the delta will be attractive too.
Finally , the berth holders we met or conversed with on the SCM chat forum seem very friendly , allegedly even froth blowers and raggies talk to each other!
Rob
Nicolas , the manager, was helpful , the marina well organised but the main attraction was the huge sheltered lagoon that our kids can both play in and learn to helm the boat .
If you like wildlife or fishing , the delta will be attractive too.
Finally , the berth holders we met or conversed with on the SCM chat forum seem very friendly , allegedly even froth blowers and raggies talk to each other!
Rob
Brent
New member
We have been at Sant Carles for just over two years. As a new marina (we were one of the first) can't fault the staff, and facilities, hard standing yard and cleanliness. The town is typically Spanish, not set up for Benidorm loving holiday makers. An hours drive away when not sailing takes you up into the hills to some lovely villages. Its just in the wrong place due to Mossies, the mussel and other crustation growth which is prolific as Medskipper mentioned. A part from the lagoon (as others have described) there is nowhere to sail and anchor overnight as left or right its just one long coastline, little charactor. As a result we're off to sailing grounds new this season.
rivonia
Active member
We were very interested in going there and having an annual berth. However due to the comments as follows we shall not be going there;
1. Dog fouling
2..Massive barnacle growth on props/rudders
3. Children running amok
We are on the web pages and the news letter and after reading all about the problems it just put us of. Shame realy.
Peter
1. Dog fouling
2..Massive barnacle growth on props/rudders
3. Children running amok
We are on the web pages and the news letter and after reading all about the problems it just put us of. Shame realy.
Peter
kid's inheritance
New member
Rivonia,
Can't disagree re fouling as we are booked in tomorrow to have the stern gear cleaned after only 7 weeks but it is ( to us) cheap and painless. However , I don't recognise the dog fouling or rampant kids part. Phil is our " union rep" to the marina manager and has raised this but I personally haven't seen any and we have been down 9 weeks since spring. Kids......, well we won't come in August next year but that is a combination of heat, restaurants too busy, pool crowded and flights too dear.
Regards
Rob
Can't disagree re fouling as we are booked in tomorrow to have the stern gear cleaned after only 7 weeks but it is ( to us) cheap and painless. However , I don't recognise the dog fouling or rampant kids part. Phil is our " union rep" to the marina manager and has raised this but I personally haven't seen any and we have been down 9 weeks since spring. Kids......, well we won't come in August next year but that is a combination of heat, restaurants too busy, pool crowded and flights too dear.
Regards
Rob
chinita
Well-known member
Good friend had his boat there for a year. Had to move because of extreme fouling. Enough to put me off.
Tranona
Well-known member
The lift and clean service is very cheap - recognition by management of the problem.
rivonia
Active member
chinita
Well-known member
The MDL website has the boatyard rates. They seem to acknowledge the problem by also offering a stern gear only rate.
They also say 'There will be a 1.5 surcharge for badly fouled boats'.
I wonder if they see the irony.
They also say 'There will be a 1.5 surcharge for badly fouled boats'.
I wonder if they see the irony.
Tranona
Well-known member
For my 37 ft in 2010 it was 86 euros to lift and load onto a truck and 35 euros to unstep the mast - plus VAT - total 140 Euros. Unloading and stepping the mast this end cost nearly £250 at a commercial yard.
JamesFrance
Member
There is a 40% discount from the quick lift rate for wash and relaunch, but there is less fouling on the quiet side of the marina where the 10 metre berths are anyway .
An 11 metre sailboat would be ok in one of the 10 metre berths at the rate for those, but not too close to the busy area where the pool and shower block are.
There are few dogs over there also and they are well behaved so not a problem.
I wouldn't take too much notice of hearsay from people who don't know the area well, but do join the forum and spend some time looking through earlier discussions on there.
An 11 metre sailboat would be ok in one of the 10 metre berths at the rate for those, but not too close to the busy area where the pool and shower block are.
There are few dogs over there also and they are well behaved so not a problem.
I wouldn't take too much notice of hearsay from people who don't know the area well, but do join the forum and spend some time looking through earlier discussions on there.
JustinC
Member
Does anyone know when do the mozzies leave (if at all), or are they around all year ?
JamesFrance
Member
It depends on the weather in the autumn, but they should be gone before November.
chinita
Well-known member
Depends when they arrive. If they stay more than 183 days they must apply for Residencia and pay Matriculation Tax on any blood taken.
kid's inheritance
New member
We have been down in June July August and are here now. We had two bites in August but as mentioned on this or another thread, the bites don't fester. Last night we slept with all the port holes open as it was a lovely cool day No bites. The local town hires a crop sprayer to spray the paddy fields so they seem to have solved the problem. I am told one year they used a " green" pesticide and you were beating them off with a stick!
Regards
Rob
