Catamarans and the Med

[chris1957]

I am moving from mono to a sunreef cat. I have some trepidation about this move. The reasons are.
1.How safe are they in open ocean crossings
2.Berthing in the Med and associated areas.

I have listened to a number of mono and cat owners and I have great difficulty in sorting the facts. This may be one of the suck it and see questions. However my wife wants a cat. So I would be very greatfull to get some truth on the above questions.

I am convinced that the cat is a good option for my home. which is Far North Queensland Australia, but we want to spend two years doing Baltic to Med etc
chris1957

[cchesley]

Sunreef. You're talking a big 'un. Don't worry about the 'safe' thing. It's been done waaay too much. Kinda like asking is the 'Blue' one safer than the 'Green' one.

The Med. Welll, there's lots of cats there. They cost a lot to Med moor. How deep are your pockets? Hmm, Sunreef? The pockets are deep.

Wish I was you. Enjoy!

[maxingout]

Cats make good blue water cruisers.

With respect to marinas. When we were in the Med, we used marinas in Turkey, and in the rest of the Med we anchored out. The next time Exit Only saw a marina was in Trinidad.

[chris1957]

Chesley. always been a sailor. this will be a long overdue dream. always found the fraternity helpfull and interesting people. so hope it continues. I am a firm believer in the two times in life "now and too late " hope I am in the now

[chris1957]

thanks dave. take it on board. i take it u had no problems finding a berth in the med

[goboatingnow]

The Med. Welll, there's lots of cats there. They cost a lot to Med moor. How deep are your pockets?

From my experience, cats are not that common in the med. not like say the Carribean. There are some in every marina, but getting transient berths is difficult and expensive,

dave

[cchesley]

Originally Posted by chris1957

Chesley. always been a sailor. this will be a long overdue dream. always found the fraternity helpfull and interesting people. so hope it continues. I am a firm believer in the two times in life "now and too late " hope I am in the now

This is how I've lived and it's worth it. Sure, there are uncertainties with just about any boat/dream/etc, but do we really want to stand at the Pearly Gates and say, "Well, I WOULD have fulfilled my dream but I was worried about moorage availability!"?

I have yet to see a multihull just drifting around because there wasn't a place to put it... just sayin'.

In the succinct words of the previous poster--- Goboatingnow!

[chris1957]

thanks. well many different opinions. perhaps someone has access to marina web site for the med. it seems i need to go to the "look see place" Not saying that the comments are not valid, just confusing.

[multihullsailor6]

Chris1957,

Try www.marinas.com for information.

[Maverick]

Hi, although living in the Caribbean now for more than 20 years now, I was born in the Med. I still regularly go. There are not so many catamarans in the Med.
Security with a Sunreef. Do not worry too much. The Med is a strange sea, and definitily not a good sea for sailing. There is either not enough wind (often 0 to 5 Kts) or too much (35 and over). The waves are short and high, crossing . But nothing too much for a Sunreef properly trimmed.
As far as mooring is concerned. It is different. There are some "marinas" throughout the Med, but many more small ports where transcient can stay overnight provided there is space.
One evening, we were approaching a nice small port between St Tropez and Marseilles, called the port Captain on VHF and asked if they had an available space to overnight. He said
"Yes we Do" What is the size of your boat?
My friend reply: It's a Cat , 65 Feet x 30.
The Captain said, with a wonderfull accent from Provence: I have space for a boat, not for a soccer field!!!
Typical Mediterranean ports are tiny, and do not always have space for a wide CAt.
Plan ahead and enjoy....
Sunreef is a very nice boat.

[chris1957]

thanks, I am getting the picture. love the sunreef, but....
chris

[chris1957]

thanks, I am getting the picture. love the sunreef, but....
chris:flowers

[yeloya]

Chris,

Italy, France and Spain would be difficult and if possible, very pricey... Turkey can be good option. There are many modern and large marinas where you can get space. However, the prices are getting increasingly high. Another problem is the wintering. The smallest Sunreef is 58 ft and there are few marina that can haul it safely on dry. We can handle up o 25 tons cata in our marina, but even 58 Sunreef is above this limit.
You can try Netsel Marmaris in down town and a bit more expensive and Yat Marin in Marmaris. This latter doesn't have a regular price list and quoting sometimes very favorable prices when they have an empty berth.

Cheers
Yeloya

[gramos]

Cats are definetely ok in the med ! its a beautiful place to live and sail ,. Having sailed some of it I find it has plenty of room for cats . Just be prepared to anchor off and it ,s free . sure in some of the hotspots you will be overcharged compared to a mono-maran , but by having good ground tackle and a decent rib you can avoid high marina costs . everyone who ever came out on my cat just loved it , sailors and non sailors . "why are we overtaking that monohull over there ?", " Its amazing how much space there is on a cat " add plenty of solar panels and a watermaker and jump in !

[caribcat]

Hi Chris,

I manage a couple of large cats in the med and have done a few more over the years -it's not all bad news! I'd be more than happy to offer some tips if you would like to drop me a line tomATsynergyyachtingDOTcom

Cheers, Tom