Barcelona to Thailand

[zavier38]

I want to get my boat to Thailand, and it seems to make sense to take it there myself.

I don't want to do more than 3-4 weeks at a time on board, as I would like to be able to hop back to UK for a week or so in between legs to keep an eye on work things, although I'll have an Iridium phone with me on board.

Has anyone any advice on the best route, where it will be feasible and realistic to leave the boat, possibly unattended. I would be ideally looking to leave it in secure marinas with gardienage services. Is this unrealistic or should I make arrangements for a crew to be permanently on board?

Time is not an issue. Places where running repairs can be organised would be useful.

Our initial thoughts are:

Barcelona
Malta
Tunisia (Sousse)
???? for Suez/ Egypt
Maldives
Sri Lanka

All suggestions and ideas appreciated.

The boat's a 2003/4 Jeanneau 49. It's MCA coded having spent 3 years on skippered charter in Barcelona. There's a watermaker and generator already fitted + AC and all usual nav / safety gear.

I sailed the boat down from UK (my first offshore trip) in 2004.

Thanks!

[Boracay]

I would have thought that taking a big yacht from Spain to Thailand would not be an easy trip.

I do not recall too many nice places to stop between the Eastern Mediterranean and Thailand.

Have you priced out having a professional deliver your boat? It may work out cheaper and easier.

I followed a few threads about chartering in Thailand a while ago. I got the impression that a few Thais had tried it, lost money, and have turned the area over to the crazy farangs. Check out the Phuket forums and references to Phuket marinas.

Some links :-
Thai Regulations
Gulf Charters
Big A Swan 55

[zavier38]

I e mailed Gulf Charters a few days ago. Still waiting for a reply, more or less confirms your thoughts on the state of chartering in Thailand!