Sant Carles or bust

SCM in a nutshell: its a Spanish fishing town! Boat wise, it's low cost, the weather's free and the mozzies bite. Residential amenity & tech support are excellent. Flamingos can be found if you look; sparrows & gulls otherwise. Long stayers tend to drive, short stayers fly & hire a car. Rail is an option, busses too, just allow time. Hotels are good to good enough. There are plenty of places serving very good quality food. It's not a city; it's a solution for some, not for others!
 
Barcelona is lovely and my second choice to Alicante. Getting to the marina there requires a taxi (40 euros) or train and then tube. Weather's not quite as good in the winter.

Anyway, to put it in perspective, here's Alicante last weekend...


And this was the highlight in SCM last weekend...

Siesta.jpg


:D
 
Not sure how long you stayed in SCM? I can't keep up with the festivals they have included the annual one where they have bulls running through the town on several days during the FIesta...!

SCM AT THIS TIME OF YEAR AND LATER:

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CONTRAST ALICANTE:
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Love the last one. All good fun I know, it all depends on what you like, horses for courses, but enough frivolity, I have some work to do today :D:D:D
 
adey said:
Barcelona is lovely and my second choice to Alicante. Getting to the marina there requires a taxi (40 euros) or train and then tube. Weather's not quite as good in the winter.

Anyway, to put it in perspective, here's Alicante last weekend...


And this was the highlight in SCM last weekend...

Siesta.jpg


:D
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Each to their own but on the basis of the revellers or the snoozing gents it would be SCM for me every time.
But then I am of a certain age
 
Bouba said:
You're right. Its way to windy for them there:)
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Alas you're making up your own stories ... I suppose you think you're talking about the tramontane which, contrary to popular myth, hardly ever blows at all! I can't remember when it was last a nuisance, maybe September and then only for a couple of days. Perhaps a couple of days in January. Some bloke on here said he recently moved his berth from Canet to Italy because of the tramontane ... I think he was looking for excuses.
 
Kingfisher 3 said:
Alas you're making up your own stories ... I suppose you think you're talking about the tramontane which, contrary to popular myth, hardly ever blows at all! I can't remember when it was last a nuisance, maybe September and then only for a couple of days. Perhaps a couple of days in January. Some bloke on here said he recently moved his berth from Canet to Italy because of the tramontane ... I think he was looking for excuses.
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We get the Mistral (and the mossies), When we first moved here we looked at the south west, but were told that there are five winds with names there!
 
Boating is so much more fun in the sun - you will enjoy the move
I had a mooring in Empuriabrava for 8 years and the boating on the Costa Brava is fantastic - I even took my 35 footer on a trip into the Canal Du Midi. The best marina IMHO is Rosas - excellent access to an attractive town - reasonable cost - gets a bit windy
I have also travelled extensively all along the coast of Spain and around the Islands. I kept my boat for 2 weeks in Sant Carles - the marina facility is excellent but the mosquitos were unbearable. It is a good walk into the town and I found it unattractive and totally lacking in decent bars and restaurants.
Access to the islands is important because boating around the islands is a something you must try. My favourite marina with a sensible cost balance, access to boating and a great town is Denia. The marina and all the local restaurants take some beating and frankly I found the locals so friendly finding your feet will not be an issue ...... good luck with your move but the greatest thing about boating is that wherever you go if you don't like it you can move to the next marina up the coast!
 
Sant Carles is the friendliest marina we have been in.
We have met lots of great friends there - in fact we are currently on holiday (in India) with a group of them.
Everyone joins in the social events in the club bar/restaurant - yachties or mobos - we all have fun together.
We often meet in the islands as well - motor boats, cats and yachties.
See this video
 
Hurricane said:
Yep - you would wonder.
But it IS cheap.

We often say "Shhhh - Don't tell anyone!"
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To be fair Mike, I don't think it's misrepresenting things to say that you only really use it as a winter base as you're cruising the rest of the Med in the summer. fortunately you have a boat and the cash that make this possible (partly funded from the cheap berthing in SCM I'd suggest).

But "you pays yer money and takes your choice". For those that weigh cost savings higher than other factors it seems like a good solution to me.
 
Portofino said:
Why is it so cheap ?
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Partly because a largeish number of the berths were sold on long leases at the Marinas inception, at least some of the buyers did so as an investment. These are now available on the open market at variable rates as the Marina allows sub-lets and the berth owners have a maintenance charge to pay. Sub-let berths dont always include the lift out benefits mentioned earlier. There are also a number of Med moor berths available at a lower rate than the alongsides.

I find the mossie problem depends somewhat on where in the Marina a berth is. Those further out toward the entrance benefit more from any breeze than those tucked in on the other side of the marina buildings.
 
jfm said:
Is it full and waitlisty? Or can you just rock up and get an annual mooring on demand?
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I think certainly MDL have moorings available if you just turn up. If you search the web you will find that there are many berths up for sale or rent by owners who bought 30 year leases without even owning a boat! These will be more keenly priced than MDL prices!
 
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