Trouville, or someone to advise cheap mooring S. France

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In the next four weeks we should be crossing from Spain to France (Med). Can someone suggest somewhere we can get a mooring buoy or anchor very safely so we can leave the boat for day-trips out, during a week or two, nice and cheap? It is essential to us that we can go ashore by tender and leave that safely (it is a decent RIB with 6hp outboard). We have a watermaker so water is not an issue.

We will be working along the Riviera along to San Remo and then round and we are keeping our eyes open for a liveaboard wintering spot outside Spain.
 
We passed that way in 2005, St Tropez and Villefrance were OK as anchorages, but I can't remember any that I'd want to leave the boat in for an extended period; I don't remember seeing any mooring bouys at all.

Reasonably priced harbours/marinas (after you've sailed up NE Spain they'll all look cheap once you reach France!) can be found at Sausset-le-Pins just west of Marseille, or Sanary-sur-Mer further to the east. Alternatively, go up the canal to Aigue Morte; you're well out of any weather there. We also spent some time up the river at Agde, similarly well protected, though you'd not get a Nauticat under the bridge to reach the town itself and would have to find a berth 1/2 - 1M further downstream.
 
French Med is quite a large area, Lemain. It is difficult to give specific info on a post like this. You need to be a little more specific on where you are heading.

Giving a very general advice; the coast west of Marseille has very few harbours and even fewer anchorages. East of Marseille towards the Italian coast you have many spectacular anchorages where you could easily leave your boat for a limited time. In addition there are some fantastic beautiful harbours and marinas. However, they will all be full and unavailable for anything more than the odd night or two in the June-August timeframe. All marina and harbour staff along the Riviera are extremely helpful and will do their utmost to get you in somewhere, but it will at best be for a day or two.

The French Med coast is one of the best cruising areas of the world with spectacularly beautiful anchorages, but it is not a place to leave your yacht if you did not manage to sign a marina contract 20 years ago.
 
I'm friends with a French couple who regularly use Valence as a summer 'refuge' and also for winterising. Both ashore and on-water are options. They're frugal sailors who, to borrow Trouville's expression, are "economically challenged", but regret I've no knowledge of costs for Valence.
 
Thanks LJ and chaps....as I said, we are coming from Spain and working along the French Riviera to the Italian. I haven't budgeted on marinas and in any case we find the Med in J, J & A horrible in marinas unless we run the aircon 24/24, and that is no fun. We'll keep an eye open for those suggestions.
 
There are places though as has been said your question is very general.France is less expensive than Spain though still costly.

In 1996 i was amazed to see so many boats in the Gulf or StTropez as pointed out today its one big harbor with deep(9/10m) not always good holding though off StMaxim is good.

I really dont think you will have to worry just join the cue at the capitanery paying wont shock you but it could be that from time to time there wont be a palce .
As you arrive in the Cannes area along to San remo you will only need to call the capitanerie a day or two before to reserve a place as the ports have got rid of a lot of smaller places to provide for the 15m plus group.

In gerneral theres no where to leave your tender youll have to keep it on the davits

The reason no mooring bouys were seen is because theyve all been lifted!There forbidden i think in about 1992 i had to remove the mooring though the blocks still there!! Now we dive down and pretend were at anchor!Same in Cannes where its a F3 anchorage.Otherwise between the islands

In that area there are boats everywhere in summer by now.Ive been leaving the med for the last 4 summers

Good luck ill be leaveing for sete later this week no doubt our bows will cross
 
Thanks for that.

Some friends of ours who have been cruising since 1976 as constant liveaboards always dive to find any unused moorings. The find that in crowded anchorages it causes a problem as people think they are at anchor and then anchor too close to them; they are effectively fixed to the sea bed while all the boats at anchor move with the elements.
 
Port Napoleon, or Navy Services , or Port St Louis - Port st l now a lot better, much money being spent, safe yet handy for Med
 
If you are heading for the Cote d'Azur (French Riviera in English), these are my 'must do's': Cassis, the islands of the Porquerrolles, St. Tropez, Cannes Bay (you can anchor off the beach opposite the Carlton Hotel and watch all the film stars who pays $3000 a night to be on that beach - you don't pay anything), Cannes old harbour (walk up the hill north west of the harbour and find some of the best restaurants in this world), Antibes - anchor off west or east depending on weather and enjoy one of the main yachting centers of this world, Nice, again anchor off the beach, Villefrance-sur-Mer - beautiful bay with great restaurants ashore, and then the big show-off: Monaco: you should be able to get one odd day in the main yacht harbour - just to say you have been there.

Again, in my mind the Cote d'Azur is one of the most spectacular cruising grounds in the world.
 
It is indeed even in summer!And your advice is 100% Im not sure hell feel able to leave his boat in all those places and cannes is a force 3 holding that why anchorings forbidden (French forbidden) as the affairs maratime had enough of pulling charter boats left at anchor off the beach!!

Have you never noticed a small rather tierd sailboat at anchor just off the port entrance? ditto port galice?
 
yes trouville, I have experienced the port police trying to move you off the Cannes beach but once they understand that you know what you are doing and are not a charter yacht they usually leave you alone.

However, there is another development on Cannes beach that might make this the last year you can anchor off there: there is a project underway to put down netting on the sea floor to reduce beach erosion. This project is supposed to have been approved by the regional authority (PACA) and could commence at any time. I just assume that once these nets are put down, anchoring will be impossible. Get there while you can!

And sorry trouville; I have missed that small sailboat you are talking about. Is that you??
 
It could be me? Im quite often there.

Thats really bad news,the islands are a bit far to row the tender in from.

Last November i was offered a place in the port as were a few others unfortunately i had a far bigger boat when i put my name on the waiting list all those years ago & had to refuse, far to expensive anyway,i wonder if they "found places" now because of the netting??

Cannes is perhaps the best town along the coast for finding things,it also has arguably the best market amongst many other good points
 
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