Marina's on the French Med

[Simonradiohead]

We are determined to get more use out of our 45 yacht and move it from Plymouth to the Med.

We figure a direct flight - 2 - 2.5hrs flying time from one of London's airports is about perfect. Spain is out because of all of the taxes levied so now looking at French med coast.. maybe around the Camargue -

Can anyone give me any insight or experience in the area (sailing, Marina's, relative prices etc). We're quite happy with an out of town Marina provided its within a reasonable drive of one of the regional airports..

Thanks !

[boatman61]

What taxes in Spain.. news to me..

[goboatingnow]

yes what taxes in Spain, nothing applies unless you are a Spainish Tax resident.

As to France, Very very difficult to get any sort of permanent berth At the very best you might get a 1-3 months berth. This is especially true if you are in the 14-15m area.

I spent a week, driving to every marina from The carmarque east to the italian border, nada. My suggestion is you do the same. ( you will get depressed) Iwas looking for a 40' berth. what happened at the time is I also had a 8.5 metre boat and I got a summer berth for that , had to change plans

Spain definitely has space, places like Torrevejica etc have space as of 2013.

best of luck , if your set on france , it will not be easy.


dave

[Simonradiohead]

In addition to any legitimate taxes, I've heard of an additional tax equal to 20 % of the boats value pa in the Valencia area - and 12 % of the boats' value elsewhere (Majorca etc) - where the valuation is carried out by the locals.! (This is for boats who are in spanish waters for more than 6 months in any year, whether occupied or not). One chap I spoke to told me that this tax is 'illegal' but still being charged to Brits in particular.

[Simonradiohead]

Dave, Thanks for that - We just did that same task in Majorca and were pretty settled on it, until I spoke to a couple of people who had been stung by what they called illegal taxes.. Where did you end up putting your boat ?

[goboatingnow]

you are listening to rumours. the matriculation tax applies to boats owned by Spanish tax residents. so unless you ( you personally ) intend to spend more then 183 days in a calendar year in Spain the tax does no apply to you.


dave

[Simonradiohead]

The guy I spoke to had no reason to be lying ? How can you be so sure ? - Where can I get the definitive info from ?

[goboatingnow]

In practice you have little choice, you simply will find it almost totally impossible to find a berth on the French med coast , especially as you progress east. Short of luck falling out of the sky , or you have very very deep pockets. I mean bething around nice, is running at about 11K a year for 45 footer.

As to te matriculation taxes, you could talk to the marina in Torrevejica , or Almerimar.

Why not get a Ryanair down and have a look, none of this can be done over the Internet or by email or phone, you need to press the flesh.

dave

dave

[Simonradiohead]

Agree with all of that ! We just spent a long weekend driving around the coast of Majorca - thinking that we'd found a great place, then heard about this tax... My preference would still be Majorca rather than France..

£11k doesn't sound too bad.. particularly as thats about the going rate in a decent place in the Solent right now...

[boatman61]

For best value for money and a good jump off for Spring/Summer cruising I recommend Almerimar.. as to the 'Tax' your talking about there are Brits who've been based outa there nearly 10yrs with no problems..
What you might have is where 'Folk' have pissed off locals either freelancing charters or something else and a Denuncia has been made.. then the Guardia step in and the levies are then applied..
Happened to someone I knew in Mallorca.. 1st couple of years he was okay but then he bought a second boat.. got cocky and rude to the wrong people.. next thing he knew his boats were chained and he had hefty bills to pay... he left shortly after and has not been seen since..
Keep your stuff in order.. keep your nose clean and leave the bluster at home.. no one likes foreigners who shoot their mouths off... as for the 'Limits'.. every time you leave for a cruise the clock restarts when you return...
Mallorca I paid 50euro/night in Alcudia for a Lagoon 380 Cat...
Almerimar I paid 15euro/night for the same boat... the savings should pay for your cruising..

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Simonradiohead

Agree with all of that ! We just spent a long weekend driving around the coast of Majorca - thinking that we'd found a great place, then heard about this tax... My preference would still be Majorca rather than France..

£11k doesn't sound too bad.. particularly as thats about the going rate in a decent place in the Solent right now...

The big issue in the French Med, is there simply no free berths that are available on a long term basis, some marinas, have 20 year waiting lists. Even when you cruise the area regular like I did , its almost impossible to find a berth, There are reasons of this , but must boil down to the fact that the municipalities handed out 20 years leases to many people , 10 - 15 years ago in an effort to get in wads of cash. Hence most berths in Med France are temporarily relet to short term users.

dave

[stefan64]

Hi,
check Port Napoleon, it is in the east part of the Carmargue in the french med and you can always find a space- and it is (compared tomost otherplaces) rather cheap. See here: Port Napoléon : mediterranean marina and ashore storage
ciao,
Stefan

[JJ77]

Alternative to Mallorca/France might be Italy.Beside the fact that the dreaded Italian boat tax is not applicable to foreigners they also realized that they were about to kill their own tourist/boating industry,so 23500 more marina berths are being built and 50000 more being planned as we speak;
Italien: Hafenbau-Boom in Bella Italia - Reise*|*YACHT.DE


(click on "vorschau" for a summary,it is free...in German though.you need to register)


More on Italian marinas here;

Marina berths and moorings for sale in Italy, France, Cote D?Azur, Liguria, Balearic Islands, the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Mallorca, Malta. Berth and Mooring sales from St Tropez to Portofino - Worldwide Marina Sales

Ventimiglia building now and compared to Antibes etc it looks very cheap..

Good luck!

Cheers,
JJ

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by JJ77

Alternative to Mallorca/France might be Italy.Beside the fact that the dreaded Italian boat tax is not applicable to foreigners they also realized that they were about to kill their own tourist/boating industry,so 23500 more marina berths are being built and 50000 more being planned as we speak;
Italien: Hafenbau-Boom in Bella Italia - Reise*|*YACHT.DE


(click on "vorschau" for a summary,it is free...in German though.you need to register)


More on Italian marinas here;

Marina berths and moorings for sale in Italy, France, Cote D?Azur, Liguria, Balearic Islands, the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Mallorca, Malta. Berth and Mooring sales from St Tropez to Portofino - Worldwide Marina Sales

Ventimiglia building now and compared to Antibes etc it looks very cheap..

Good luck!

Cheers,
JJ

Yes I see Ventimiglia is building ( or is it extending) the marina, nice town, direct train link to Nice and Cannes etc.

dave

[LordByron]

I just arrived here at Argeles, France (near the Spanish border) in my 45 footer and have managed to book a berth for the month of May. The cost for this time of year is 856 Euro for the month. And the marina has everything that I need at my transom.

Mind you I also have a hire car which I use to explore the nearby Pyrenees. The car is only 20 Euro per day and has only done 2,000 kms. Such good value.

Before coming here I spent the month of April in the marina at Canet-en-Roussillon. I was only going to stay a week but stayed a month and even then I was only paying 23 Euro a day. It was such a pleasant stay.

After here I am off to Roses on the Costa Brava. Apparently another nice affordable marina. I will drive down there next week and see for myself.

Then for the peak period of mid July to end of August I am going to probably head back to Canet where I have been assured there will be vacancies. It's not an Antibes or Cannes that's for sure but a berth is a berth.