UK boating Verse Med Boating ,

[Portofino]

Reasons for choosing the Med. During our evening dog walk, my weather eye told me that tomorrow could be quite boaty :encouragement:

It’s worth mentioning if you are tied workwise , socially , relationship or what ever and other general domestic week end stuff taxi driving your kids etc , then you can Med boat seasonally.Most do they lay up there boats over the winter .

By that I mean hire a guardian to look after it maintain it so all you do between Easter and Oct 1/2 term is holiday on it .Thats what I did once .
The pic above shows zero boats because the SoF boat season is closed ,boats are hibernating or ashore in hangers or yards .
The water is cold btw .
So keeping a boat in the Med with the weather and sea temps in summer does not mean it has to be tying time wise , you don,t have to waste your life in airports during the winter closed season if you can learn to delegate effectively , some never can .
And accepting any real or perceived disadvantages to delegation.
I know a few guys particularly in the Easten Med just haul out and leave in the winter .

 

[Bouba]

The pic above shows zero boats because the SoF boat season is closed ,boats are hibernating or ashore in hangers or yards .

There’s no boats because it’s as rough as guts! Tomorrow should be calm
No, you are right, except for boaty weekends and public holidays I own all as far as the eye can see. It’s another reason for boating in the Med, a good winter can be better than summer

 

[Portofino]

There’s no boats because it’s as rough as guts! Tomorrow should be calm

There’s not a white horse in sight or any waves breaking on the beach .

Reminds me of
“ only mad dogs and Englishmen “ in this case “out in the Med mid winter “

Place is a ghost town devoid of life in the winter - they are in the Alps doing something else .

 

[petem]

For me, being in the Med means being on holiday (unlike sitting in the rain as we used to in the UK).

I don't actually find maintenance costs that dear but I'm lucky having an ex Fairline guy looking after our boat. Even the regular boat washes are cheap (I hardly dare say this but I pay €30 for en exterior wash - beat that!).

I don't even mind Med mooring (nudging your neighbours boats when mooring is almost expected).

The one thing that does my head in is hire cars. They're either cheap rip off merchants like Goldcar or really expensive.

 

[Bouba]

There’s not a white horse in sight or any waves breaking on the beach .

I go out when the sea is glass like. It’s the only stabilization that I can afford

 

[kashurst]

Re: UK boating Verse Med Boating , warning engine porn ;-)

Waahey!!! day or two ago, plus dolphins - sorry no pics of dolphins - do they know when your camera is out of reach - devious buggers

today force 5-6 occasional 7 cloudy, so took the engines to bits - close on 200 hours run now and it will be far too hot in the summer

did the infamous KAMD valves - bit of a stiff back now. I believe wine is a well known cure.
P.S special thanks to Spannerman for his how to do it guide from 2007 - this forum is brilliant! The Volvo manual is a tad sparse.

 

[Hurricane]

Completely the other end of the spectrum for me.
I have just got home after 1 month away.
The trip back from SC took me 2 days.
Drove to Santander and a very slow bumpy Biscay on a comfortable ferry.

That said, I took my box trailer and loaded it with cushions both ways - and loads of Cava for the return trip.
Travelled with a group of us from SC.

Hardly a quick weekend break but it is "horses for courses" - a great way to spend retirement.
And whilst the UK was being battered, we were in shorts and T shirts.

 

[jfm]

I'm not going to argue with you but that official stats say that around 25% of BA flights are officially late (ie + 15mins) and thats with airlines exaggerating flight times so as to avoid just that and Easyjet are even worse. Maybe I'm just unlucky but our last 3 trips to Nice have involved a flight with more than 1hr delay including only a few days ago when we sat on the tarmac at Nice for 1hr 40mins. Having said that we tend to fly in the evenings when delays are at their worst

Thanks Deleted User. Hmm yes a quick google does indeed show that BA/EJ etc are around the 75% on time, using the 15 minute definition. It certainly doesn't feel like that to me, but if it's true it's true. Perhaps a better figure is where lateness is defined as 30 mins, because obviously 15 mins is neither here nor there (and perhaps unnoticed, at least by me!). On the CAA stats for August 2018 LHR to Nice, which is 414 flights by BA, BA's punctuality is 68% if you define late as 15 mins, 83% if 30 mins and 93% if 60 mins. Zero cancellations. Yup, not outstandingly good.
https://www.caa.co.uk/Data-and-anal...Punctuality-data/Punctuality-statistics-2018/

 

[MapisM]

I go out when the sea is glass like. It’s the only stabilization that I can afford

LOL, amen to that - and I'm saying this after 17 years of stabilized boating!
In fact, imho affordability is just a side point, so to speak.

Truth is, boating for pleasure in glorious weather makes for a so much better experience, that when you get used to it you just don't want to turn the engines on for anything less, regardless of how big and/or stabilized your boat is.

Of course, being time rather than money rich does help, in this respect!

 

[Bigplumbs]

Indeed, I tried LGW just before Christmas ( I live 15 mins from LHR) it was going swimmingly well until someone put a drone up.... !

Did they we never saw any proof

 

[Bigplumbs]

Far be it for me to speak for jfm - but as it happens I do know the answer to this because we were talking about it in the bar at Heathrow when we all went to Dusseldorf in January. The number is definitely 200, not 20.

Criky that is 1 flight every 1.82 days based on 365 days in the year. Is that even possible...…… I just read further and yes it must be possible...…. Hell of a lot of ones life on planes and at the airport though...….. I told her indoors and she said..... Too much !

 

[Bigplumbs]

There is of course the cost of all this travel to the med to consider

 

[Bouba]

LOL, amen to that - and I'm saying this after 17 years of stabilized boating!
In fact, imho affordability is just a side point, so to speak.

Truth is, boating for pleasure in glorious weather makes for a so much better experience, that when you get used to it you just don't want to turn the engines on for anything less, regardless of how big and/or stabilized your boat is.

Of course, being time rather than money rich does help, in this respect!

Spot on! When I first moved here, I had a small outboard powered boat and winter only berth. I would go out everyday, and I mean everyday. I would not check the forecast or even look at the sea, just get in the boat and go. Sometimes I’d get as far as the port entrance and think oh no, what have I done how can I even turn around? I’d just say a silent prayer.
Now, well take this morning, it’s perfect but the forecast is gusts of 8 knots at lunchtime before it becomes perfect again late afternoon. And we have just decided it’s too risky, so we will have a quick spin and then wait for better weather

 

[Bouba]

There is of course the cost of all this travel to the med to consider

Very true but some people have a vast investment in fiberglass sitting there doing nothing. The cost of getting there is incidental

 

[Portofino]

Very true but some people have a vast investment in fiberglass sitting there doing nothing. The cost of getting there is incidental

“Investment “ in fibreglass-hmm not a phase I would use .More like leisure spend of disposable £/€?

Are you saying it’s more like a “got to get my monies worth “ kinda thing ? Maxing out on usage time even in the winter sort of subconsciously justifies the spend , and travel hassle of a short trip ? Or 100,s of trips

Well each to his own on that .

 

[Bouba]

“Investment “ in fibreglass-hmm not a phase I would use .More like leisure spend of disposable £/€?

Are you saying it’s more like a “got to get my monies worth “ kinda thing ? Maxing out on usage time even in the winter sort of subconsciously justifies the spend , and travel hassle of a short trip ? Or 100,s of trips

Well each to his own on that .

Cost of the toy divided by how many times you play with it. Classic man maths

 

[Momac]

I don't mind the challenge of planning to suit the tides and in fact quite enjoy that aspect of boating.
However the marina is on a non tidal river so we can go when we like until we get to the tidal section. We have a good cruising range on the non tidal river.
We have had some brilliant summer weather in the UK although it is of course unreliable.
I do find it can be too hot in the mediterranean summer - we went to Greece last year in October and it was just nice.
In the UK my boat is less than a mile from home so I can be on board on a Friday evening and opening a bottle of wine by about 6pm rather than driving to an airport. I can leave the boat in the evening on Sunday or could go to work from the boat for work if I wish (I prefer not to do that).
I can attend to engine bay checks and cleaning in the week so the boat is ready to go at the weekend. We can be on the move on the boat on friday evenings.
My wife hates flying so that is stressful for me too.

 

[Bigplumbs]

Very true but some people have a vast investment in fiberglass sitting there doing nothing. The cost of getting there is incidental

Incidental only if one can afford the cost of getting there frequently (Many cant) I suspect the cost of a return trip is on the order of £250 minimum...… am I right

 

[jrudge]

If you keep a boat abroad you will find most book in advance. It is late booking that is the cost killer. Ba avios if you have any can be useful if the fare is daft.

I am in Mallorca. The average I would say is £150 return. I can pay down to about £70-80 and up to about £250.

The season has something to do with it but there are some 20 flights a day so even August can be cheap.

There bigger determinants are

1 half term. It is only a week and if you are not in quick it is daft
2 last few days of summer holidays. Same. Flights can be £400 one way if left to last knockings
3 out Friday back Sunday is always more expensive but nothing close to the above

Pre book and it is pretty cheap. Leave it and it will cost you

 

[julians]

Return flights to mallorca prob average out at £150per person for me. Some are more expensive, some cheaper, but that's the average.

If you can go mid week to mid week you'd do it cheaper, flights around the Weekend are the most expensive.