Quote:
Originally Posted by exitstrategy
Thank you so much guys,
Yes the name is German, but unfortunately my ancestors came over in the 1770s. So yeah, I am going to have to manage the Schengen zones. It seems like I have a few options:
1) Default - keep moving
2) Apply for long-term stay in France or Italy showing proof that we can support ourselves.
3) Apply for Spanish and/or French university visas
4) Apply for a German freelance visa
My assumption is that google is my best friend for exploring #2-3-4, and #1 you guys have the best experience.
It seems like the non-Schengen countries sadly are not the best for a boat in the winter (Ireland, UK, Ukraine)
In fact, I have been in Martinique a bit long now (69 days) and need to manage the clock a bit.
This is exactly the direct, thoughtful opinions I was looking for.
@chuckr - very nice program you laid out there. Wintering in Tunisia, I have seen this a couple of more times. I need to learn more about this.
@yeloya - I love your practical sailing directions, point taken on a little early. Maybe I will split the difference and aim for May 10 +/- 5 days
@boatman - thank you so much so so many great details.
All of your comments have been copied over into a google doc, where I am chopping it up to follow through on.
Truly thank you all!
-Erik
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A few things to think about.
1. Unless you got something going for you getting an long term visa in the EU is really really hard. A lot of time and paperwork involved. We took one look and said no way. That is why we wintered over in Tunisia at Hammamet and had a great time at a great marina. And they do have a limit on staying over and if you do you have to pay a fine which we did as we stayed 7 months and it cost something 80 Tunisian dinar we think which is not much - and what a great country
2. Wintering over in the EU can be cold that is one reason we went to Tunisia as we don't like cold and now central Turkey. Some folks stay in
Sicily or Greece.
3. Did you know the distance from Gib to Turkey is almost the distance from the Carib to Azores, about 2,000 miles. Did you know the distance from Gib to the Suez is farther than
Miami to the
Panama Canal? The Med is not a small pond and there is a ton to see. The sailing season is from say April to Oct or so. We stretched it to Nov last year and got very few
weather windows on our southbound run from
Istanbul to Kusadasi and got bashed a couple of times.
4. If you
work at it a bit you can duck in and out of Schengen and be creative with you days and it can
work quite nicely. but you have to plan
5. Be carful with leaving before May 1 as the fronts come across the
USA and sometimes go deep south before going ne and that can create some real bad conditions - after May 1 the fronts can still do that but not quite as deep and not quite as violent - We were going to leave prior to May and had what appeared to be a good window and saw a front coming - looking at 3 different
forecast and talking with Chris Parker we waited as the probability was 50/50 that the front would move south - it did - 3
boats left and3 boats were
lost with crew -
6. If you do over stay and we have - the port folks really don't care. The only time we got a sideways looks was in Sardinia our first year when we were checking out and the
customs guy looked at our papers and said "no Schengen" and we said si no Schengen and we smiled stamped our passports. But we did not check out in
Malta as we knew we were way over but had visited a lot of countries so we had a lot of stamps and if anyone wanted to take the time they could tell we overstayed and Malta is exbrit and seem to want to check every i and dot every t so we sailed to Lambadusa and checked out there and the police had no idea what to think - it was so
funny
7. Not sure how you included
Ukraine in your list but maybe a look at the map and
Ukraine is up on the Black Sea and a great country to sail to and you boys will love once they get a little older but a bit out of the way and yea it is way to cold to winter there - we have friends there and it is cold and very cold
8. Do not forget that it is 220v over here so get a big and I mean big converter there before you leave - we have a 3k one and at time wish it was bigger.
9. As for our plans and Turkey - i will refuse to comment on politics on any country we have visited and we have been to 45-50 - But we are watching and will see how things go - we also are watching the Greeks as they impose a cruising tax and if not to bad we will sail there again. SO - plan 1 is if everything is good we will sail from Kusadasi to northern Greece on a bash north and then work south to Crete and across back to Turkey for the winter. Plan 2 is if things in Turkey go south we will sail the Turkish coast south to
Cyprus and across to
Israel and the Red Sea and then up and around the northern Med down to Gib and
Canaries and cross over in Nov -
hope this helps