Med for a year, Carib for a year, 2016-17,18, what new Cat should I consider?

[2Hulls]

Originally Posted by Palarran

Dave, I can't imagine why anyone would want to cruise the Caribbean. After a month what more can you see and experience. It's all the same - Ya mon's, coconut drinks, and very few palm trees. No real history or culture.

Well, I don't think there's any debate that the Carib has nothing on Europe or the Med in history and culture. But to say you wore it out in a month, you must have been to a different Carib than I've been. What islands have you been to? It's not about history and culture, it's about tropical conditions, superb sailing, geography, and nature. You must have been in a hurry....

2 Hulls Dave

[monte]

I'd stick with the FP. Another helia or the new Salina 48 or Saba. I've heard mixed reports about the Saba and although I saw it in La Rochelle I didnt check it out thoroughly. All good performers and much higher comfort factor than the ' higher performance' cats and great value for money. Don't underestimate the size of the med or the length of the cruising season though. It's closer to 6 months sailing and not possible to see much past the Balearics from La Rochelle in one season unless you really like sailing a lot and don't want to stop and savour the places you visit. If you just have one or two years I'd skip the med, you don't have enough time. May pickup in La Rochelle at the earliest. Spain in July, August, Portugal sept, canaries October, nov, Caribbean dec to March, pacific April to October.
If you can spend an extra year you could head into the med and sail till October but then it gets too cold and changeable and you cant sail again until may. The season in Turkey may be a little longer but it's way down the eastern end so there's no way you will reach it first season unless you are on a purely delivery trip. Most people underestimate the size and time it takes to see the med and find they spend a lot more time getting to places than enjoying them. It's better to have no fixed agenda and sail as far as you like and stop when you like for as long as you like

[Helia 44]

Wow Monte,
Thank you.... That was a very valuable response there....

I mean the part about the F.P. in the past couple of years they have elevated to definitely a Blue Water Cruiser with good performance, I have even raced mine. I have not heard anything bad about the Saba, the Maestro edition Captain Jay has in BVI they coined my phrase "A Helia on Steroids" heh he... Anyway we are on the same page there, but the seasonal bit on the Med is a big wake up call for me...

First of all I thought I had about 9 months, but now see how you are probably right as coming from the semi-tropics of Queensland we would be in shock.. heh heh .... I may be naive, but I thought the coast of Italy and Greece and 20 islands was well within one year in the Med...
I can see how you could be right, as I had not actually done the sums on the tyranny of distance... You would want to start a bit with the south of France, and on the other end see the Crusaders Castles of Cyprus and such as that... Hmmm

I have seen it as a kid, very memorable, just thought to share it with my kids.. You know, Doge's Palace in Venice, glass blowing, plus the cruising around.. and part of it was ending up back in Oz with a newer yacht.. Sounds like you know the route... I am a bit stuffed up on schedule now since the Saba 50 in the Southern Hemisphere is a 6 cabin one.. dunno.. I am going to try and make the Keppel Island Group in the lower GBR in January, doing a DVD trip in the Outback filming, then in June do 10-12 weeks as far as the Whitsundays, mid GBR, and come to a decision.
I don't know how to handle wintering over in the Med... hmmmm Leave it in care and fly home... Hmmmm

Thanks, Helia 44 "Avalon" in Oz...

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Helia 44

Wow Monte,
Thank you.... That was a very valuable response there....

I mean the part about the F.P. in the past couple of years they have elevated to definitely a Blue Water Cruiser with good performance, I have even raced mine. I have not heard anything bad about the Saba, the Maestro edition Captain Jay has in BVI they coined my phrase "A Helia on Steroids" heh he... Anyway we are on the same page there, but the seasonal bit on the Med is a big wake up call for me...

First of all I thought I had about 9 months, but now see how you are probably right as coming from the semi-tropics of Queensland we would be in shock.. heh heh .... I may be naive, but I thought the coast of Italy and Greece and 20 islands was well within one year in the Med...
I can see how you could be right, as I had not actually done the sums on the tyranny of distance... You would want to start a bit with the south of France, and on the other end see the Crusaders Castles of Cyprus and such as that... Hmmm

I have seen it as a kid, very memorable, just thought to share it with my kids.. You know, Doge's Palace in Venice, glass blowing, plus the cruising around.. and part of it was ending up back in Oz with a newer yacht.. Sounds like you know the route... I am a bit stuffed up on schedule now since the Saba 50 in the Southern Hemisphere is a 6 cabin one.. dunno.. I am going to try and make the Keppel Island Group in the lower GBR in January, doing a DVD trip in the Outback filming, then in June do 10-12 weeks as far as the Whitsundays, mid GBR, and come to a decision.
I don't know how to handle wintering over in the Med... hmmmm Leave it in care and fly home... Hmmmm

Thanks, Helia 44 "Avalon" in Oz...

Helia,

Check out this excellent detailed blog. Doing exactly what you are planning.

Finally My Darling

Another option is to take delivery further east say Crotia, spending 1st year there overwinter in turkey and work your way back to to carib as winter approaches 2nd year.

Agree that a Helia 44 would be adequate.

A member here on CF recently took delivery of a 43ft Catana (story in one of this years Aust multihull world mags) I think in Turkey to start their journey. Pm her.

Here is an american couple who have just taken delivery of a Helia and are heading south now. Not sure of their plans for the med.

You may view the latest post at
http://outchasingstars.com/2014/12/11/almost-there/

cheers

[Helia 44]

Hi Ya Downunder..........

I swear the further I go with this the behinder I get... If I give up on the Saba, sour grapes, too big, tight fit on my dock, too hard basket to get the schedule right for Delivery, selling Avalon...There is another wild card (you will really KNOW I am crazy now).....

I was just talking with Nod of Multihull Solutions, the best Cat Brokers in the Southern Hemisphere (IMO) I took a stab at it just yesterday and said: "So Noddy, $40,000 get me back on the freighter to the Med?" ...He looked at me and said yea.. I mean I have a really well equipped Helia, two years old, 500 hours on the engines, loaded with just about anything you could dream up... So I don't get a newer one, turns out there is no feeling (as reported by Nod) in the newer hydraulic steering ones, I get nothing much more out of a newer one.. Hmmmmm NO WAY could I get one done up this good. My last major move is conversion to 600 AH Lithium, DC to DC Chargers on both engines, and Lithium algorithm 80 amp Victron charger conversion.... Hmmm I mean I really have a Helia with the "Full Monte" right now, that is why I bought it..

Talk about another wrench in works.... What is wrong with the best equipped Helia in the world? And no huge import duty on my return? crud now I am really under the weather..

I swear the further I go with this the behinder I get...
I am going to cruising the Great Keppel Islands, and the Whitsundays and then decide... Mid year...

[hoppy]

Don't forget that as an Aussie you will have to do the Schengen shuffle. As a bonus to the visa fun, a favourite Schengen hiding place for cruisers, Croatia, is hoping to join mid-2015 leaving no European cruising grounds free of Schengen.

[BigBeakie]

Helia 44,

You sure you can get the boat back to the Med for $40k ??? I was checking shipping prices awhile ago for a 46 footer (cat) and it was $USD 70k to Florida from east cost Oz. If that $40K is legit, I'd like to know the shipping line. I was checking with SevenStar.

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by hoppy

Don't forget that as an Aussie you will have to do the Schengen shuffle.

But didn't I read here that they are proposing extending the time considerably on that? Was it 180 days instead of 90?

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

But didn't I read here that they are proposing extending the time considerably on that? Was it 180 days instead of 90?

Not sure, but the EU proposing and the EU implementing are two very different things 😜


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[navy davy]

Sail Mag. 2015 Boat of the year. GUNBOAT, unsinkable, roomy, luxurious, safe, fast. take a look, several vids at their web site, several reviews from the trade shows, and sizes from 40ft to 78ft. I like the 60ft. At first I wanted a multi hull with a fly helm. After seeing the gunboat helm, that all changed for me. Sounds like you are leaning toward the Saba 50 I love that also but it is my second choice, for several reasons. You may feel the same about the Saba50 and I get it, But the Gunboat is just different and the difference is what got me hooked. Check em out.

[Helia 44]

Hello Navy Davy,

Thank you for that, and I know of the Gunboat... I have never seen one, but looked at them on the internet. There seems to be two things that stand out to me, first of all is cost. The Saba is VERY good value for the money. The Gunboat, in that size, would be something like $500,000 to $700,000 more money? For my use, that is probably not good value..

Secondly, while I have not seen one in person, it seems like the Bridge deck is placed too far aft.. The Gunboats all LOOK fast, long front end, but the outdoor living area in the back cockpit behind the bridge deck main salon seems to have been reduced. The Helia 44 and the Saba 50 have very large cockpits for outdoor living aft of the main salon in the bridge deck area, where you are going to spend most of your time in good weather. I am quite sure from all the reviews, I am sure the Gunboat is stronger, just like the Catana is stronger, but I am not going around Cape Horn or travelling in the Roaring 40's circumnavigating. I am a fair weather cruiser and will travel with the seasons and weather are in my favour. The extra money for the Catana and Gunboat is not warranted. Also, neither one of them are any where as liveable as the Helia 44 and Saba 50 Maestro layouts are. You can see through the whole bridge deck main salon out the front windows from the rear cockpit area all on the same level. Further the Owners Cabin in the starboard hull of the Helia 44 is superbly laid out (without the extra couch and lounge you get huge wardrobes and drawers for storage)... Anyway, thank you for the input..

Kind regards to all, Helia 44

[JonSY]

Hi Helia,
Not sure if this too late, but have you looked at Isara catamarans?. With newly designed 45 and 50 footers in production it sounds like they may fit your requirements.

Also, if you have extra time to spend in the Med, as an option have you thought of investing/chartering ? Typically this best suits if you don't want to sail full time, but it works like this; an investor purchases 50% of the desired boat, the chartering company purchases the other 50% via a loan, the chartering fees pay off the other half over time. There are of course variations to this, but the big advantage is that the boats are maintained to as new condition and wintered properly without you having to be there, i.e. you can head back to Oz without the worry of whats happening to my boat during winter storms.