Sant Carles or bust

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DazzyWoo

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Doing some research into relocating from UK boating to warmer waters in the med.

Sant Carles seems like an obvious choice due to:
*. reasonable costs
*. MDL marina - with UK style pontoons
*. Only a 2 hour flight away; and easily accessible from Bristol Airport - my local airport
*. Lots of Brits - which will help with finding our feet
*. Possible to reach Balearics

We're planning a fact finding tour in the summer - is there anywhere else we should be considering?

Thanks
DW
 
DazzyWoo said:
Doing some research into relocating from UK boating to warmer waters in the med.

Sant Carles seems like an obvious choice due to:
*. reasonable costs
*. MDL marina - with UK style pontoons
*. Only a 2 hour flight away; and easily accessible from Bristol Airport - my local airport
*. Lots of Brits - which will help with finding our feet
*. Possible to reach Balearics

We're planning a fact finding tour in the summer - is there anywhere else we should be considering?

Thanks
DW
Click to expand...
If you are looking on mainland Spain within a couple of hundred miles of SCM, and your Spanish is good, take a look at this website

Acpet.es

It's the association of Catalan ports I think that SCM bertholders can get free night stays at associated ports - a wee bit like MDLs freedom berthing. Haven't used it ourselves yet but on this year's "to do" list.

Enjoy looking, that's half the fun, but from my experience, if you have the Med "itch" it won't disappear until you try it.
 
Thanks Andy

Currently in Torquay - but am stalking yours & Hurricanes & whitelighter's posts, as I believe you have made the progression already. And now I'm working through SCMCHAT

Great link - even better if you click on the 'English' button :)

I think a road trip stopping off at a sample of ports might be in in order.
 
Seek out the underbelly , worst views ,
Reconcile those ( if any ? ) . There will be few I guess ?

Rose tinted specs - this will divide opinion - when do you take them off ?
 
I know I keep saying it, but Denia or Altea or even Alicante will put you much closer to an Airport and closer to dive over to Ibz and Mal as staying win the mainland in Summer is just down right wrong IMO!
The cost is as cheap in Denia and far easier with access to both Valencia and Alicante about 1 hour from each.
 
Truro Ex Pat said:
I know I keep saying it, but Denia or Altea or even Alicante will put you much closer to an Airport and closer to dive over to Ibz and Mal as staying win the mainland in Summer is just down right wrong IMO!
The cost is as cheap in Denia and far easier with access to both Valencia and Alicante about 1 hour from each.
Click to expand...

I'd certainly take a look at Greenwich marina in Altea, spent a very pleasant few hours there yesterday on our 16' open boat. There's a large choice of bars and restaurants, it's only about 3 miles or so to the center of Altea and is very well protected from almost all directions, and in a larger boat the Balearics are easily accessible .

And there's also the marina in Altea town, which is where we keep our boat, very convenient for the town and protected from all weather, but not quite the same upmarket feel that Greenwich has, but the prices are much lower.

Further up the coast there's also marinas at Calpe, Javea and Moraira. We like Calpe, lots of bars etc, and a beautiful sandy beach.
 
Hi, I've been in SC since it opened, which is about nine years now.
Sant Carles can be a great start to your Med ambitions, it is true to say it's only a two hour flight but when you build in airport waiting times, train times or car hire waiting time in order to get to the marina you are looking at a fairly tiring full day of traveling. So it really isn't a case of just "popping" out to the boat!
I recommend you visit SC before moving your boat, hire an apartment for a few days and spend some time doing a bit of reseach! Everyone generally is friendly and will be willing to show you around and advise you on your options.
I will be there the first couple of weeks in May and I'm sure others from this forum will be around as well!
good luck.
 
I would not be too concerned about trying to find a marina that has UK style pontoons, you'll very quickly get used to mooring stern to, its very easy after a few goes.

How much time will you be spending on board, if its mainly long weekends then you'll not really have the time to travel any distance, so may be better to locate yourself in the balearics themselves, although the mooring charges will be more expensive. Ditto if the boat is borderline size to get from SCM to balearics.
 
julians said:
I would not be too concerned about trying to find a marina that has UK style pontoons, you'll very quickly get used to mooring stern to, its very easy after a few goes.

How much time will you be spending on board, if its mainly long weekends then you'll not really have the time to travel any distance, so may be better to locate yourself in the balearics themselves, although the mooring charges will be more expensive. Ditto if the boat is borderline size to get from SCM to balearics.
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I find it easier.

There is no faf about which side the fenders and lines are, no spring lines - other than a rare occasion to change the fender height coming in is always the same.

Against a empty high wall with no other boats and a screaming cross wind however can be a pain in the ass ( Soller last summer with friends only on board and not one of them other than my 9 year old had ever handled a rope!). But that is the in my case 5 year exception to the rule.
 
Portofino said:
Seek out the underbelly , worst views ,
Reconcile those ( if any ? ) . There will be few I guess ?

Rose tinted specs - this will divide opinion - when do you take them off ?
Click to expand...
For me SCM was the worst marina I've ever stayed in. Was there for about a year.
Plus points..,
It was cheap on a private rental basis.
Lots of Brits

Bad points...
Lots of Brits
Expensive for what it is if you pay the full price through the marina.
Mosquitos. Lots and lots of them! Made having breakfast or an evening meal/drink outside impossible.
It's miles from anywhere. Two hours in a hire car from Barcelona along a toll road. There's no train station in SCM (nearest one is a 30euro taxi ride away). There are summer flights twice a week to Castellon but it's still an hour's drive from there.
There are no decent restaurants in the town. In the winter you'll be hard pushed to find anywhere to eat out.
The water in the lagoon is so polluted you won't want to swim in it.
The fouling (linked to the agricultural pollution) is so bad you need to lift and scrub whenever you want to go anywhere.
No decent cruising locally.
Very few people in the town speak English.
Quite a high crime rate on the marina.
There's a nice pool but the locals use and abuse it so it's packed in the season.
The town either has a 'Spanish charm' or is a 'bit of a dump' depending on your point of view. Mine erred towards the latter.

There are better options IMHO.
 
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I've never had a boat in the UK,so cant compare the mooring styles, but stern to is easy enough, i cant imagine anyone with a reasonable amount of boat handling experience having much trouble with it.
 
DazzyWoo said:
We're planning a fact finding tour in the summer - is there anywhere else we should be considering?
Click to expand...

IMHO - Cala D'Or, Mallorca

Everyone will have their views on which place in the Med is the best and in the end it much depends upon how you are going to use the boat when it is out there. Some people are retired and can spend weeks on end on board, some people are working and like to go out for weekends. Some have school age kids so are restricted to school hols. Some hardly ever leave the marina, some like long distance adventures.

I looked at SC, I went out there and visited the place but ended up in Cala D'Or because..

You can fly to Mallorca from my local airports. Plus loads of choice from Gatwick and Stansted.
There are lots of (very nice) british people there. When you are a newbie it is very helpful to have fellow brits to ask for tips and advice and just to chat and socialise with
There are loads of restaurants within walking distance nearby
There are nice beaches and a nice resort town within walking distance. I have 4 adult kids, they can use the boat as a holiday home and have loads of places to enjoy nearby.
You can park your car right behind your boat.
There are beautiful beaches within 10 mins of the marina entrance

BUT. It is expensive. One of the most expensive places to berth in the Med. You have to decide if all the pluses out weight the big minus of the extra cost.
 
For beaches, inexpensive berths and good services; I'd say it's worth checking the Algarve on your reccy.

Lagos, Portimao and Vilamoura all offer very different atmospheres to one another, you have great reach for Cadiz and Gibraltar and it's a very nice place to be. It's not in the med tho' but worth a try for one season with great/cheap flights into Faro.
 
As said above, Roses and Empuriabrava are good places to keep a boat and the whole of the Cote Vermeille to explore between there and France ... I'm just on the French side where there are plenty of marinas, with pontoons! I've bought the lease on my pontoon which equates to about €830 a year for a 40 footer! ... and the sun shines 300 days a year! ... and nowhere gets overrun with tourists ... well maybe 3 weeks in August but easily avoided. Airports Girona, Perpignan, Beziers, Carcassonne etc. I have some friends flying from B'ham first week in April to Perpignan for £40 each, return! You know it makes sense!
 
Hi, I have a boat in San Pedro which is 20 mins south of Torrevieja, Costa Blanca. We are 15 mins from San Javier airport, or 40 mins to Alicante. I am going again to Ibiza 4 hours direct and then on to Mallorca. Plan to cruise around the Balearics and then head back. Looked at a mooring on Mallorca, but felt I had more options where I am , plus cost difference of mooring versus fuel costs all balanced out.
We have plenty of cheap flights now all year round and costs generally are much lower for everything.
Just giving an alternative, there are some super places all along this particular coast, choose where you feel comfortable.
Cheers,
Roger
 
adey said:
For me SCM was the worst marina I've ever stayed in. Was there for about a year.
Plus points..,
It was cheap on a private rental basis.
Lots of Brits

Bad points...
Lots of Brits
Expensive for what it is if you pay the full price through the marina.
Mosquitos. Lots and lots of them! Made having breakfast or an evening meal/drink outside impossible.
It's miles from anywhere. Two hours in a hire car from Barcelona along a toll road. There's no train station in SCM (nearest one is a 30euro taxi ride away). There are summer flights twice a week to Castellon but it's still an hour's drive from there.
There are no decent restaurants in the town. In the winter you'll be hard pushed to find anywhere to eat out.
The water in the lagoon is so polluted you won't want to swim in it.
The fouling (linked to the agricultural pollution) is so bad you need to lift and scrub whenever you want to go anywhere.
No decent cruising locally.
Very few people in the town speak English.
Quite a high crime rate on the marina.
There's a nice pool but the locals use and abuse it so it's packed in the season.
The town either has a 'Spanish charm' or is a 'bit of a dump' depending on your point of view. Mine erred towards the latter.

There are better options IMHO.
Click to expand...

When we told an acquaintance in Brixham we were moving to SCM it was described to us as a Marmite marina, but we took the plunge as our first foray into the Med just because was / is a JV with MDL, so "more of the same".

Due to various health conditions we haven't taken the boat out as much in Spain as we did in the UK, but we stay on it, probably 4 times as long, and crashing out in the sun is perfect for us.

However, as we stretch our legs in the locale it will open up new horizons but for now the atmosphere, bertholders, and away from it all feeling "does it" for us..
 
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