Got quite a few reasonably accessible options for keeping a boat, Weymouth to the East along to Plymouth say in the West. Availability as said may be an issue but if you’re buying new or nearly new through an established dealer or broker they’ll be able to help with finding you a berth when the time comes.
Also only an hour from Cardiff. Another issue with boats is unless you're already in the team, you only get to see the new shiny shiny at the boat show, Im sure there are a lot more boats available for a lot less money with for sale signs hidden behind that locked marina gate lol
Once you’re ready to buy you need to physically visit the dealers and brokers and make sure they know you. Once you’re on their radar properly then they’ll treat you seriously. Pointless emailing or filling in web forms.
Don’t overlook inflation. You can save the money but may find increases in boat prices outstrip what you make on the investments. Certainly that’s the case right now, a 40 footer would have been 100k just a few years ago and anyone who bought one is quids in compared to the savers if the aim is owning a boat.
Excellent man maths starter for 10!
It’s not man maths, it’s documented history.
Especially Croatia. They require radio cert as well as ICC or equivalent, so we've stopped going despite many visits since it was Yugoslavia. (Though price is also a consideration!)
You’ve stopped going to Croatia because they require you to have a VHF radio certification? Which by the way is also require in the UK.
There is to use a marine VHF except in an emergency. Either you, or someone else on the vessel at the time and under whose direction you operate the VHF. This is the SRC / short range certificate.
I would also have made a similar suggestion. I’d give Britsail at Inverkip a call - they are a “school” but will do a custom course for the people in your family and book the whole boat for you (at a price).
a flexible provider won’t care if she wants a certificate or not. Comp crew is however “a bit of helm time, a bit of pulling some ropes etc - all the things she’d probably do if on charter and getting involved but with some more “understanding why” added in. Yes the full course will have her learning about some safety stuff and engine checks, tying a few knots etc - but really it won’t be life being in a classroom or with a driving instructor.
Experienced people here often underestimate the size of the learning curve for newbies to reach even that standard - even scarier is the suggestion that if you only have that absolute minimum level of experience that it’s a great idea to jump on an unknown boat (even as a flotilla in the med) and take responsibility for your family’s lives - the RYA see that as being a process that would normally take 11 days at “sea” and 5 in the classroom. It’s fine to shortcut that for people with lots of real world experience - but would you want to be a novice crew on a boat where the skipper had never heard of a softwood bung? Or had never considered how to sail onto a mooring or anchor without an engine? Or who had no appreciation of the risks associated with an electric windless? Etc…. A radio call to the flotilla boat might be able to help with a lot but they might be an hour away or already dealing with another skippers cock ups.
as a 50ft is vastly different feeling to sailing a family 29ft boat say. If doing a flot just avoid Croatia - a week round Greek islands like spetsai has v short hops and plenty of eateries etc of course but sailing in med is vastly different to a wet day in Scotland which might put the crew off.Having boated from Poole for nearly 50 years I find that a bit odd. One of the attractions is the range of places to visit, going either east or west - the latter being the more scenic and the former into the Solent opens up more destinations. You really can't do much in 3 days with 2 overnight stops. A 5 hour sail from Poole into say Yarmouth or Lymington then day sailing in the Western Solent with a lunch stop in either Beaulieu or Newtown. Overnight in Cowes then back to Poole will give plenty of scenery and variety. Going west would be more dramatic but anchorages a bit wild but Weymouth a good overnight. Suggest mid week rather than weekend wherever you go
it does seem i could be a little misguided on the Solent, we generally prefer smaller places than we see on day trips to the south coast, but then i suppose we only go to large towns for shopping, lunch etc.
I think id prefer to do the DS theory here and just do a practical for a week in the med if i were to do that. I did look at skipperred flot but it was roughly £5500 + flights + flash money which is more than i want to commit to for a weekDo speak to some of the med charter companies as might be courses where you could do a week land based doing tutored learning etc followed by a week on a flot as a family . I know it’s not what the op originally wanted but a week being jolly on a flotilla Bav36 or suchlike as a family might be a wise investment as it’s rather different to a short day sail. Also choose any skipper carefully if using one for a uk weekend. Re icc etc for flot the main concern based on my experiences is whether you can park the boat competently astern as the rest of time on short hop flotillas it’s rather like follow the leader but I sure any decent company should have a way of you having a skipper on board for first couple of days to show you controls etc. you could of course do a dinghy course in uk to learn basics re the flappy things .If budget is limited that course in Salcombe on the grand Soleil 50 looks interesting and could be pitched with short hops,anchoring for lunch and say a night in Brixham etc but it might set expectations too high for your crew
will give them a call, thanks for the suggestion
The view from the waterside is completely different. I live on a hill on the edges of Poole overlooking the harbour and 20 minutes from my boat. I often ancho among the islands in complete isolation but can see where my house is just 5 miles north. I frequently do a trip such as I suggested, usually mid week as I am retired and spend the nights at anchor. The passage from Poole, leaving around low water through the Haven and entering the Solent via either the Needles or North Channel is a classic day sail coastal passage. The harbours and anchorages in the western Solent are as good as you get. Yarmouth is like going foreign!