Cruising the Med . . . Thoughts ?

[dniello]

So i live in California but am interested in doing some cruising in the Med. I have an idea to buy a relativly cheap boat once I get there (not sure where yet...ideas?) and cruise for a year or so (as long as money holds up). I would just like some people opinions on this idea. How expensive is the med? Too crowded in some places? Plenty of boats available? Any thoughts on this dream of mine would be great.

Thanks!

[boatman61]

Ahhhh.... another Dnielo thread... when are you going to bite the bullet and buy one or is this another 'Whimsey'....
The Med is great... as expensive or as cheap as you want to make it... many may Pooh Pooh this statement... but then do they and I sail in the same places... I know MarkJ, Ram and a few others on here don't.... seems they can't find the 'free town quays'... but then I guess.. you wanna be a culture vulture tourist... bring your wallet.
Just happy getting down an dirty with the locals... whole different story

[DannySt]

Highly recommended. Have no idea about cheap boats, but in Greece, Athens there is a very big market, and a lot of second hand charter boats in fairly good condition.
Winter sailing is no fun in the med, and can get real nasty at times with unpredicted weather.
Most of the med is crowded during the summer and empty during winter (anchorages).
Amazing places - check some info about Ibiza, and minorca (did not like palma to much) and Italy will make you revalue food.
north Sardinia is an amazing cruising ground as well.

[dniello]

Hahaha...indeed another thread. Come on...im dreamin like the rest of you! Good thoughts...thanks.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by DannySt

Highly recommended. Have no idea about cheap boats, but in Greece, Athens there is a very big market, and a lot of second hand charter boats in fairly good condition.
Winter sailing is no fun in the med, and can get real nasty at times with unpredicted weather.
Most of the med is crowded during the summer and empty during winter (anchorages).
Amazing places - check some info about Ibiza, and minorca (did not like palma to much) and Italy will make you revalue food.
north Sardinia is an amazing cruising ground as well.

Ibiza Town is great if your into TV/TS/Gay bars, S&M and drugs... otherwise its overpriced and crap... coming from a 60's sex, drugs n rock n roll hippy... it must be a waste of space

[dniello]

I know theres more....

[atoll]

mykonos.........

[goboatingnow]

The med is a beautiful fantastic cruising ground, the birthplace of modern civilisation the home to the Renaissance , the age of discovery , etc. It can be as cheap as expensive as you wish. It can be crowded in places but in general outside of august it's not.

Do it , you'll never regret it.

Dave

[Ram]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Ahhhh.... another Dnielo thread... when are you going to bite the bullet and buy one or is this another 'Whimsey'....
The Med is great... as expensive or as cheap as you want to make it... many may Pooh Pooh this statement... but then do they and I sail in the same places... I know MarkJ, Ram and a few others on here don't.... seems they can't find the 'free town quays'... but then I guess.. you wanna be a culture vulture tourist... bring your wallet.
Just happy getting down an dirty with the locals... whole different story

Your right and wrong here ! Right about its as expensive or as cheap as you make it, - wrong , I have found many town quays that are free, in fact Ive been through most of the med not paying for dockage and have kept my yacht 2 years with out any charge at a marina (dont ask where)-=food is about the same price as in America if you shop the markets and bring it aboard and make it yourself- I ve spent a few years in the Crib & many in the Bahamas and I like it much better in the med- cannot seem to be able to leave the Med , its got it all except good fishing , im were I want to be for sure ,and dont plan on leaving anytime soon, 5 years this year- and still have not seen it all, I expect you could spend a lifetime here and not get tired of it ! yacht insurance is for me 1/3 cheaper also!

[beneteau-500]

ram is very much right but one thing that has really sky rocketed in the past 12 months is diesel fuel i last put fuel in , 500 ltrs in june last yr which cost me 1.17 euros a ltr and only last week whilst getting ready to relaunch after a month on the hard i thought i would top up the tanks only to discover now it cost me 1.95 euros per ltr

[Charlie]

I am thinking of doing the same thing traveling thru the Med. Would anyone be willing to share the cost of insurance. I am thinking of self insuring for the boat but getting liability insurance to cover multiple countries.

[Ram]

Originally Posted by Charlie

I am thinking of doing the same thing traveling thru the Med. Would anyone be willing to share the cost of insurance. I am thinking of self insuring for the boat but getting liability insurance to cover multiple countries.

That I believe is going to be as individual as each cruiser >? I think they go by many factors, age of vessel, your experience, cost of vessel, your credit worthiness and who knows what else? Mine is about 1/3 less than in the Atlantic

[Roaring Girl]

The Med isn't one place but a huge range of them. Crudely though, the Western Med is (I'm told) much dearer than the east. I can't say for certain because I haven't got east of Sicily yet in 4 years. Also the north (Europe) is dearer but safer than the south (Africa). The same dualities apply to the crowds, but it's right to say that July and August are much more crowded than the rest of the summer, and in winter lots of places are empty but the weather can be really rough.

How much depends on your style of sailing - and being aware that some coasts (eg eastern Spain, western Italy) have few anchorages while others (Southern France, Corsica) have many.

Personally, I believe that if you're visiting the Med part of the fun is visiting the great cultural sites, and yes there's a cost to that. Not least some of them (eg Rome) really don't offer anchoring spots). But it's your taste. The old saw is that cruising costs won't be that different from what you spend in other phases of your life. If you like museums/theatres/eating out in one part of your life, you'll fancy those things when you're living aboard. And of course there's a lot of that to see in the Med.

Cheap boats: loads of places. Whole other post. Search the web and try Port St Louis, Athens, Gelves (Seville) even Gibraltar. Anywhere people give up on the dream, or where there are older charter boats.

Good luck!

[dniello]

Good thoughts. So im 27...will be on a budget and looking for a boat. Where would you begin? Athens? Spain? Even outside Med? Hook it up!

[Jatkins]

Originally Posted by dniello

Good thoughts. So im 27...will be on a budget and looking for a boat. Where would you begin? Athens? Spain? Even outside Med? Hook it up!

Perhaps you'd consider buying a boat in England then taking it through France on the rivers and canals to join the Med near Marseilles. It's a lovely cheap way to travel. Set off at Easter and spend a week or so in Paris then slowly work your way south, arriving at Port St Louis in early summer. Then you decide whether to turn left for Spain or right for Italy. Great experience. You'd need an ICC cert and CEVNI cert - not difficult to get.
Good luck.