Trailer my boat from Poole to...somewhere France/Spain?

Ballistix

Ballistix

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www.cinematreadwell.com
Hi guys, anyone help?

We are thinking of taking 3 weeks out in the summer and trailering the boat to someowhere like the south of France or Spain maybe? Have no clue, boat is in Poole at the moment and I'm checking to see if the ferry goes anywhere other than Cherbourg from there.

Any tips or nice places to go? Marines, English speaking? Places to rent with jetty would be perfect! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

T
 
You could go to Weymouth and get the ferry across to Jersey and then pootle aorund there and the French coast for a bit.
 
Aye could do, just fancy the med, looking at a ferry to Cherbourg or Calais then driving across france. Anyone been to the Marseille area or can anyone recommend anything down there? Want somewhere we can dump the boat in a marina for 3 weeks and stay locally.

T
 
What about getting the ferry to Bilbao from Portsmouth? French southern coast is a lot closer than driving from Cherbourg.
 
Yeah looked at that, takes 2 days and is 1600 quid so far! Quite expensive...I'd prefer to drive for 10 hours and spend a day doing that /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Keep it coming needs lots of advice and ideas here /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Yep i would have suggested Port Grimaud, although you would be hard pressed to do it in a day towing. It's a great location- lots of day trips within easy reach- St Tropez etc..

Have a look at http://www.logi-service.com/

or http://www.boutemy.net/

It is probably worth noting that there is a dedicated trailer storage area within the port, so it should solve the problem of where to put the trailer

Best of luck looking, feel free to ask any questions about PG and i'll try and help.
 
Aml, you are a star. I'm now desperately looking to rent somewhere with a private mooring in PG. It looks amazing! Any tips, I've contacted a few, looking for dates anywhere for two weeks between the 17th July and mid August.

Probably do the trip in two days or overnight down with the boat. Interesting to hear about the secure trailer parking!

Cheers
T
 
dover to calias700 miles from calias to marina de cogalon 2 miles from st tropez rent caravan camping marina and mooring fantastic boating area
 
Hi.

Hope the showers working well for you.

I'm concerned that for the 3weeks you'll be away,someone may take your space on the dry stack /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I'm parked up in Davis's(budget) yard next door and will be all too happy to look after and fill your space whilst your away /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Ive done a tour recently from marseille to monaco and further
I guarantee you this is the place to take your boat. I do have few photos of coastline but belive me this is why the rich and famous g. its lovely. if I won the lottery tomoro wher would I go realisticaly still bing within touch of family but the best coastline in the europe. south of france, palm trees, castles , vineyards, old and new towns, coastal and mountanous,
blimey I should get a job as a travel agent.
but hey pm me if yu want to no more about all the local places SOF
 
mmmmmmmm but then my lifelong ambition has been to ride a big motorbike ight down coast of spain to gibralter. not contemplated that on the boat aspect. think my force 120 would be quite stresssedout
 
Hopefully my experiences can be of use as we have done this type of trip more than a few times.
I posted our last years trip on this forum but I cannot find it now, perhaps they do not keep them long.
So here are my thoughts:
Ferries.
Dover Calais by far the cheapest but more miles involved. Main advantage is that if you miss the return ferry then, subject to space, they will let you on the next one which takes a little pressure out of the return trip.
Of the Western Channel crossings LD lines are the cheapest from Portsmouth to Le Harve and they also give you the most time in bed on the outward leg. Apart from taking a while to load and off load they have served us well.
Journey down.
The motorways certainly allow small rigs to travel fast and large rigs to travel easy but they do cost (over £100 return (Google French Motorway toll calculator for an accurate figure)). If you want to travel in one day they are the only way to go but having done this once with a boat in tow to the Marseille area I doubt that we will do it that way again… but each to their own.
The N roads (French A roads) are much more interesting than the motorway but will take longer. We tend to use the motorways.
With regard to overnight accommodation on the way, do not expect to find a room anywhere near the motorway on the way down on the day, especially in July and August. You will be in competition with the rest of northern Europe going south!
We either book in advance and check access and parking for boat friendliness on Google earth or kip in the boat at the services. (keeping away from refrigerated lorries which make a noise all night!).
Locations.
The closest and easiest location to the channel is to the west of Marseille in the vicinity of Carry le Rouet. The little village of Caro is particularly trail boat friendly with a good slip. The scenery is good in the immediate vicinity and improves as you go east but going west you will not find much of interest.
As you go east on the motorway from Marseille you take your pick of the well known and established resorts that dot the coast all the way to Italy and beyond.
I comment on the following from my own experience. (There are plenty of other facilities)
Good slipways at Cavalaire, Port Grimaud, Port Cogolin and St Raphael.
Note that at Port Grimaud it can be a bit of a palaver getting permission and access if you are not staying within the gated community. Renting an apartment with a mooring as we have done is a fantastic experience and solves that problem.
Port Grimaud is not the only place you can do this but it probably is the most atmospheric.
There are beach front camp sites with moorings of sorts between Port Grimaud and St Maxime.
Your biggest problem will be finding a berth for your boat. Especially in July and August. Many of the marinas that we have dealt with are reluctant to answer enquiries and reserving a place for two weeks in summer will prove a challenge. We have certainly failed in the past and have ended up phoning up when we were a few hours away on the motorway. Having said this we have actually succeeded this year and have reserved and paid for a two week berth at a marina near the Spanish border which is within walking distance of our rented mobile home.
The timing of your trip.
Very little will prepare you for the madness that is the South of France in July and August and in particular the central four weeks of that period.
Car travel and parking are a night mare, it can take two hours to drive from Port Grimaud to St Tropez (see how close they are on the map) and it can seem like a perma jam from this area right through to the Italian border. Further the last few hundred miles on the motorway to and from the coast will be packed with frequent and lengthy jams.
The campsites will be full to overflowing….literally, don’t even think of just turning up!
As for the mad scramble for moorings in the marinas, whilst entertaining to listen to on the VHF is not fun to be part of.
The towns and villages will be heaving and will certainly have an atmosphere but the service that you receive everywhere will be rushed and indifferent at best. Prices also reach their peak during this time. You will love it or hate it.
Conversely June and September are far more relaxed. There is still a buzz about the region but people have time and there is more space and the whole experience is less frantic. And the weather is still good.
Finally, trailer parking needs to be thought about. In town center marinas there is seldom the space. The following give you a flavour. We have squeezed the trailer into our camping pitch before now, or found a campsite in land where we could pay to leave the trailer. At Port Grimaud last year we left it with a couple of others in the free carpark though in previous years there was a locked compound available. At Cavalaire they make a public sports field available for trailer parking. At Cogolin there is trailer parking next to the slipway. For this year they have promised us room at the mobile home site. My point being it needs a bit of thought and investigation.
I hope this has all been of use, I think the main message is to plan and research ahead especially if you are going high season.
The effort is definitely worth it, as the holidays we have had down there with the boat have been among the best that we have had!
Good luck!
 
WOW. Thank you very much. We've found an apartment with mooring...penciled in the date...so I hope that much, other than the travel, is close...need the trailer still and worry about the road elements. Will look into that now and thank you so much for such a verbose post!
Regards,
T
 
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