Taking my boat to Spain

[syd]

Hi all
I'm seriously considering shipping/lorrying my boat off to a marina in Spain, not yet sourced which marina, and keeping it there.
Has anyone on here done this/doing this? Are there complications or pitfalls?
Very Expensive?

Syd

 

[robyonfrome]

Cant wait to hear the replies I’d love to do the same thing especially today

 

[DavidJ]

Budget about £5000 for transport and the only marina in Spain or France who will answer your e-mails and have space (to rent) is Sant Carles (south of Barcelona). check out recent posts with this in the title

 

[crazy4557]

In 2005 we decided that the lure of the warm and sunny med was too much and we decided to take our Princess V40 down to Spain in an area close to a friends apartment so we could all get together on a regular basis as well as enjoy the boat in the sun.
I negotiated a berth at Port Rosas on the Costa Brava and then the transport was the next issue. After a few quotes we picked the cheapest being about £4500 from Port Hamble to Rosas. I had the boat serviced and shrink wrapped to protect her on the journey down, this being done at the marina where the boat was berthed which was Universal on the Hamble. We had her launched in her shrinkwrap and drove her to Port Hamble marina where the transporter was ready and waiting(Universal has no large transporter access) That was an interesting drive as my 'sight' was only about 30 feet dead ahead through a clear hole in the plastic and I had no vision of anything else! But a friend hanging off the side of the boat helped me by shouting that we were all clear of other boats and also talked me into the lifting pontoon.
The boat was loaded and on her way!! The shrinkwrap only lasted to the M27 so about 10 miles so that was a complete waste but I only found that out on it's arrival in spain.
I had just recently bought a cheap (£1k) mondeo on Ebay and I drove down with said friend to meet the boat in spain. All went perfectly well and the boat arrived safely albeit a bit dirty.
We launched the boat and went to our new berth and our first problem was a stern to mooring with a beam wind howling through the marina. We managed this eventually and found out that the mooring lines cut your hands to pieces when they have been lying in the water unused for many months, plenty of chance for the barnacles to grow fat and spiky!!
Once the boat was all safely tied up till our next visit we started our trip back to the UK. I drove to Gerona airport and left the car in the free car park and flew back to Bournemouth.
Each time we just flew by Ryan Air from Bournemouth to Gerona where the car was waiting and just drove to the boat and stayed on her. Easy as that!!
On our very regular trips we enjoyed having the boat in the med, it's so much nicer than the UK boating scene weather wise.
So, it's relatively easy to do, not that cheap but worth every penny. One issue is you may 'miss' having the boat on your doorstep and being able just to visit and tinker as you please. This you can't do in the med as it's too far away so bear that in mind. This aspect was the reason we shipped the boat back only a few months later but the adventure was worthwhile and the experince of boating in the med will always be very memorable. And, I resold the mondeo on ebay for almost what I paid for it!! Pity the free parking was stopped from 2006.

 

[Kaste]

We took our boat to Spain 8 years ago. easy to do Southampton to Gibraltar cost about £4500 then probably a lot more now. We went first and secured a berth, face to face its easier. Then moved around the southern coast as we wanted. Came back two years ago by lorry Cadiz to Port Hamble - all up cost about £6000.

Great experience but you need the time - we found it not practical for short trips. Retiring or slowing down soon with new boat and plan to go back to the Med.

 

[thefatlady]

If you truck it, consider taking your boat across the Channel and loading it at a port there. It could save a chunk of money. I did it from Cherbourg to Saint Cyprien some years ago.

 

[smileygirl]

There is room at present at Marina salinas in Torrevieja - brand new but a bit empty owing to credit crunch et al. big discounts on moorings. Also try the international marina in Torrevieja there are spaces there for 12m plus.
Torrevija is a lttle seaside town 40 miles south of Alicante. Cheap flights to Alicante and Murcia airport with Jet2 and easy jet etc. Only 15 n miles to mar menor

 

[Renegade_Master]

You should fit on a 10m berth Syd there is room in our Marina Duquesa.

 

[syd]

Thats it, I'm convinced. Gonna give it a whirl.

 

[John100156]

Very easy, no complications, had my Targa 34 taken by truck via Coast2Coast from Torquay to Sant Carles De La Rapita in Spain (45mins from Reus airport with cheap flights from several UK airports). Go out once a month but may stay out there for an extended break in March! Budget around £5k

 

[BoatGuru]

Get in touch if you want a hand finding a berth on the Costa Brava. I have many contacts in this area and will be more than happy to help.
Thanks

 

[Forbsie]

It's sunday morning, the church bells are ringing and I have this dreadful image in my mind that I can't get rid of. You and Byron sitting outside a lovely Spanish taverna in your underpants, him smoking his roll-ups and you pinching passing girls' bums. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif