New to sailing in the Med. - seeking advice

[Joe Paulo]

Very new to the world of sailing but loving it and our vision is to own a catamaran in the near future. Currently doing a skipper course in Cape Town, wanting to charter a bareboat catamaran in the Med. ideally mid 2014. Would like to establish contacts and share experiences of those of you that have sailed in Europe. Where's a good place to start, where is the best place to charter a catamaran? Any South Africans that can share what they've learned and valued the most in the Med.? I have a wife and 6 year old daughter to do the trip. Any experiences with home schooling, how effective? I'd appreciate learning from all of you that have already enjoyed and experienced the Med.

[goboatingnow]

The med is a big place, any idea where you want to start , how long have you got , and what is your experience.

The big charter areas are , Greece, Croatia and Turkey. Then you have Italy, France and Spain. It all depends

dave

[Joe Paulo]

Thanks Dave - heard that Croatia's a good starting point. Definitely want to do Italy, France, Greece and Spain.The first trip would be a 4 to 6 weeks.When i own my own cat i will take 1 to 2 years for sailing.

[goboatingnow]

SUggest you focus on giving the wife and family a nice time, and concentrate on one or two countries, many charter companys will limit your distance away anyway.

Bear in mind that in the med in peak season , marinas are crowded, unavailable or very expensive, especially so for Cats. I would avoid France. italy and spain for that reason, and consider 4-6 weeks in Greece, Ionian for light winds, Cyclades for more adventurous stuff. Cats are available but not common in the med. ( much more so in the Carribean).

Dave

[jckb]

Originally Posted by Joe Paulo

Very new to the world of sailing but loving it and our vision is to own a catamaran in the near future. Currently doing a skipper course in Cape Town, wanting to charter a bareboat catamaran in the Med. ideally mid 2014. Would like to establish contacts and share experiences of those of you that have sailed in Europe. Where's a good place to start, where is the best place to charter a catamaran? Any South Africans that can share what they've learned and valued the most in the Med.? I have a wife and 6 year old daughter to do the trip. Any experiences with home schooling, how effective? I'd appreciate learning from all of you that have already enjoyed and experienced the Med.

That's a big question.