SOF Berth - How?

[petem]

Thanks mcanderson.

Somebody recently explained to me how renting works in Spain (Sant Carles aside), it seems credible to me but whether it's true or not others can judge.

At the end of the season, renting berth holders make their plans for the coming months - some stay in the marina for the winter and others move to other marinas or store their boats ashore. Once the marina know what people are doing they then decide if they have any availability for the Winter. If you're lucky with your timing / are persistent / bribe them you might get a space (even then you often have to be physically there to be taken seriously).

Come the spring, the marina people who have been renting over the winter decide if they wish to renew or not. If there is any spare capacity then this is offered to the people who went elsewhere for the winter and wish to return. Only after this happens they work out if they have any availability for the summer. Again, if you're really lucky, are persistent, bribe them you might get a space.

So you can see why an email sent now, enquiring for space next Spring can go straight into the Trash folder.

Incidentally, I've encountered similar behaviour with ski hotels.

 

[jcwads]

The renter friendly marinas on the Côte d’Azur simply don’t exist. We are on an annual rented berth. We joined a wait list in 2011 got offered the berth two years later and had a week to make our minds up. At the time our boat was in Edinburgh! We upgraded our boat when we got offered a larger berth which occurred 2 years ago almost to the day.

Prices go down the further you move from Nice. The last place with a train service from Nice is St Raphael/Frejus, but these trains are not often and it’s an hour by car. Don’t ask about taxis as they are licensed thieves!

A T40 might be allowed on a 12m berth, but you might be forced on to a 14m berth depending on the local rules on length.

Annual rent for our 12m berth is €8150 all in no elec or water charges. A 14m is closer to €12k.

You appear to be fixed on Antibes, but there are many other options. One I would suggest is Riviera Ports http://www.riviera-ports.com/en

They run a few places and you can call the head office and ask about annual berths. I have always found them very helpful when calling about berths for overnight stays.

Remember it’s peak season right now so people are pretty busy and might take some time to get back to you.

Many thanks

 

[jcwads]

Ok. Is it med-spec already? ie aircon, generator, passerelle? If not, you'll want to get that done before you come down. I did aircon and generator in the UK but baulked at the cost of a passerelle - and regretted it afterwards.

Fyi in my first season here I was a renter in PV. They insisted that I needed a 15m berth, which at the time was about €1300 a month in the summer, plus I got moved all the time, sometimes more than once a month, plus I had to backhand them €100 a month just so they'd find me a place for the next month. Not much fun. Buying does take that all away, and with the very short leases, you're only paying rental value now anyway, there's no premium.

What size is your berth now for your T40 JTB?

 

[Time Out]

I have just driven past them with my mother on way to airport. She said they are a thing of beauty...

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

What size is your berth now for your T40 JTB?

I'm on a 10x4; I took advantage of an informal concession made by the previous marina management where overlength was tolerated provided none of your neighbours complained (as you know T40 beam is 3.67m). However the new marina management unilaterally withdrew this concession so despite owning the berth I have to pay an extra €2k pa for being overlength. (That's in addition to the €2k pa service charge, which in turn is in addition to the metered water and elec charges...).

 

[mcanderson]

I know of a berth for sale in St Jean Cap Ferrat which is a 13m berth that will take your T40. The lease runs out end 2021. C€20K plus annual costs of c€5k. If you are serious I can pass the details to you.

 

[jcwads]

I know of a berth for sale in St Jean Cap Ferrat which is a 13m berth that will take your T40. The lease runs out end 2021. C€20K plus annual costs of c€5k. If you are serious I can pass the details to you.

PM Sent

 

[Portofino]

PM Sent

Wrong end , you need to be within easy reach of the Lerin islands and cap d Antibes for all round shelter .
And avoid Going E out of NCE airport more so by road .Imagine the M25 x 10 for busyness.
There’s a reason why it’s seemingly cheap .

Take time out hire a car from NCE and see for yourself , if you aren’t amenable to advice .

What exactly are you after with consideration to moving to the SoF ( Med ) from the UK in the 1 st hit?
Priorities your wants n needs and maybe the feed back will be more useful ?
Remember boats move !

Hint ck out flights to Genoa

 

[jcwads]

Wrong end , you need to be within easy reach of the Lerin islands and cap d Antibes for all round shelter .
And avoid Going E out of NCE airport more so by road .Imagine the M25 x 10 for busyness.
There’s a reason why it’s seemingly cheap .

Take time out hire a car from NCE and see for yourself , if you aren’t amenable to advice .

What exactly are you after with consideration to moving to the SoF ( Med ) from the UK in the 1 st hit?
Priorities your wants n needs and maybe the feed back will be more useful ?
Remember boats move !

Hint ck out flights to Genoa

Feedback has been very helpful so far.

I've been considering a move for a while and its now action stations. From a lot of investigation my location has landed at Antibes or the associated areas. Spain is out. Nice is just perfect for me to fly to, plus feedback on the cruising grounds is exciting to me.

So now its just finding a berth that suits our T40 in a marina for our first year or two. Purchasing was a worry but if its a 2 yr lease then thats fine with me.

I am getting a plan together now, so that I am ready to ensure the boat is specced up over winter and we have a berth secured too. Early days now, but I am an ambitious individual and will ensure I have this all in place for next season.

 

[petem]

Hint ck out flights to Genoa

Pretty few and far between...

https://genovaairport.com/flights/united-kingdom/#/searchcars

 

[petem]

Spain is out.

What's wrong with Spain?

 

[markc]

In my experience all marinas in CdA offer something different so you really need to spend some time checking them all out to see what suits you. We're in St Raphael and it suits us with a young family as the town is very family friendly, port right next to the beach and a park, lots of easy eats in the marina and in the town too. It's 40 minutes from the airport, but that's no issue for us as we always hire a car. A taxi here would be over 100 euros though. Lots of small quite bays to anchor in very close by, and yet only 10 miles to the Lerins one way and the same to St Tropez the other. We spent the last 2 nights in Antibes - it's a great port and we love to visit but would only suit us if we were without kids of if they were teenagers. It's also at the higher end of the price scale. As I type this I'm in Nice Lympia - again a great opportunity to visit Nice but it wouldn't suit us as a home port. Best get here, do a tour and get a shortlist together!

 

[jfm]

Pretty few and far between...

https://genovaairport.com/flights/united-kingdom/#/searchcars

And nothing there when you get there. Genoa and close by has no nice cruising grounds, when comparing with caps d’antibes and ferrat regions.

 

[Portofino]

And nothing there when you get there. Genoa and close by has no nice cruising grounds, when comparing with caps d’antibes and ferrat regions.

Markc has it right
He’s listed his priorities.
I have asked what’s the Op ,s are and only deduced the NCE bit , loadsa fgts .
I have to disagree with your summary dismissal of within a hr of Genoa for cruising grounds and certainly further afield .
Corsica for a biggie is the same as a port near NCE and Cap Ferrat is only 2 hrs anyhow , but Portofino 2 hrs the other way .
Anyhow if it’s just to go out anchor up and frolicking about in the warm ( 27 degrees today btw ) sea , then don’t discount a Genoa based base .Sun Sea and sand are the same .
If costs are a factor and earlier post seem to indicate and why not if the £ is tanking ? Then Liguria is effectively 1/2 price compared to the CdA .
Refreshing nice in Euroland more so for me coming from CH F land but a worthwhile consideration if coming from £ land like the OP
That’s why I asked for Med list of prioritising of what the OP ,s wants .

For cruising LOCAL grounds the CdA is miles better agreed nobody’s challenging that assertion .

@ Pete M , again where’s the OP flying from .?
Not mentioned Gatwick and Stanstead do London flights as Manchester If up N .
Nothing beats NCE from the regions in the UK , again where are talking ?

Berth rentals on the best marinas near Genoa are easy to get 1Y or more , just seems a easy way and cheap way in to the Med ie no nasty Fr rip off surprises and in a round about inverse way more boating in the sense both sites global costs being equal for a year the Ligurian option ends up with more boating ( ok more hrs ) because you can buy a greater a proportion of the global budget on fuel to travel further on the general savings . Expect I lost a few on this one !
Or not travel so far and save .

There isn’t an iron sea barrier once you’ve left the CdA , it’s still there .

There’s zero boat wake here and the proportions of Mobos to sail boats is the other way , so a stab sales outfit will die a death while the CdA territory outfit will do a bomb .
Oh we got whale watching tripper boats as whales aren’t disturbed.Thats about it and I don’t miss the endless helicopter movements in the CdA .The reverberations of a R44 taking punters from Cannes and the Lerins are theses days inseparable.
And hands up who wants a cruise ship tipping out 100 ,s of punters blowing out the local bars / shops ?
Or two some days .

 

[petem]

Op's profile says West Berkshire so Heathrow and Nice are presumably good for him. Luton, Stansted, Gatwick a hike I'd imagine.

 

[Portofino]

Op's profile says West Berkshire so Heathrow and Nice are presumably good for him. Luton, Stansted, Gatwick a hike I'd imagine.

Are BA and Heathrow a “go to “ combination ?
Risky for a short summer WE break me thinks .

 

[MapisM]

And nothing there when you get there. Genoa and close by has no nice cruising grounds, when comparing with caps d’antibes and ferrat regions.

Mmm... Do you really think it matters?
If tomorrow morning all boaters would wake up and decide to keep their boats in the nicest Med cruising grounds, not only Genoa, but also the rest of the Ligurian and SoF coasts - bar nowhere - would become a godforsaken place in the blink of an eye.

Truth is, for most folks nice cruising grounds are just a side show.
Luckily, I hasten to add! :encouragement:

 

[jcwads]

Markc has it right
He’s listed his priorities.
I have asked what’s the Op ,s are and only deduced the NCE bit , loadsa fgts .
I have to disagree with your summary dismissal of within a hr of Genoa for cruising grounds and certainly further afield .
Corsica for a biggie is the same as a port near NCE and Cap Ferrat is only 2 hrs anyhow , but Portofino 2 hrs the other way .
Anyhow if it’s just to go out anchor up and frolicking about in the warm ( 27 degrees today btw ) sea , then don’t discount a Genoa based base .Sun Sea and sand are the same .
If costs are a factor and earlier post seem to indicate and why not if the £ is tanking ? Then Liguria is effectively 1/2 price compared to the CdA .
Refreshing nice in Euroland more so for me coming from CH F land but a worthwhile consideration if coming from £ land like the OP
That’s why I asked for Med list of prioritising of what the OP ,s wants .

For cruising LOCAL grounds the CdA is miles better agreed nobody’s challenging that assertion .

@ Pete M , again where’s the OP flying from .?
Not mentioned Gatwick and Stanstead do London flights as Manchester If up N .
Nothing beats NCE from the regions in the UK , again where are talking ?

Berth rentals on the best marinas near Genoa are easy to get 1Y or more , just seems a easy way and cheap way in to the Med ie no nasty Fr rip off surprises and in a round about inverse way more boating in the sense both sites global costs being equal for a year the Ligurian option ends up with more boating ( ok more hrs ) because you can buy a greater a proportion of the global budget on fuel to travel further on the general savings . Expect I lost a few on this one !
Or not travel so far and save .

There isn’t an iron sea barrier once you’ve left the CdA , it’s still there .

There’s zero boat wake here and the proportions of Mobos to sail boats is the other way , so a stab sales outfit will die a death while the CdA territory outfit will do a bomb .
Oh we got whale watching tripper boats as whales aren’t disturbed.Thats about it and I don’t miss the endless helicopter movements in the CdA .The reverberations of a R44 taking punters from Cannes and the Lerins are theses days inseparable.
And hands up who wants a cruise ship tipping out 100 ,s of punters blowing out the local bars / shops ?
Or two some days .

I am trying to decipher your post as best I can, but my original post states I want to find out the best ways of getting a berth in the SOF near Nice favouring Antibes. I am not sure there is much more I need to say on the matter.

I've had a lot of helpful replies and many avenues to now consider. The location isn't in contention. I will be in the Nice catchment area. That was decided a while ago.

 

[jcwads]

What's wrong with Spain?

My wife and I had a lot of conversations about it, and I did a lot of research on travel. With my current business venture, I need as quick and easy access to a med boat as possible, and taking it all into account, Nice and surrounds was the decision.

When things change in the future we may well consider venturing towards the Balearics.

 

[benjenbav]

I am trying to decipher your post as best I can, but my original post states I want to find out the best ways of getting a berth in the SOF near Nice favouring Antibes. I am not sure there is much more I need to say on the matter.

I've had a lot of helpful replies and many avenues to now consider. The location isn't in contention. I will be in the Nice catchment area. That was decided a while ago.

Even more important than what the different venues offer is what YOU want out of them. CdA is great if you can get there quickly and, each time, stay long enough to enjoy frolicking (as Porto puts it) and repeat as required. Less so if you are limited to short weekend hops from the UK (soon to be renamed ‘£ land’ - Porto’s immortal coinage).

Probably there is the distinct possibility that, as with so many boating things, you won’t get it right first time. As such you should benefit from the time limitations on French leases at the moment, where you won’t be taking a leap into the dark with a long term commitment.