Sailing in the Mediterranean

[shellywilson]

Hi

My fiancee and I are thinking of early retirment and would love to sail the first year or 2 in the mediterranean.

Any info you have would be appreciated- marinas, must sees, costs etc..

Thanks
Shelly

[s/y spindrift]

Try Rod Heikell's recently published "Mediterranean Sailing" ( or a title something similar), a short easy to read book with all the do's and dont's together with a brief summary of all destinations and costs.

[shellywilson]

thnak you

[sy_gilana]

Its more fun to do it without cruising guides, especially those that have restaurants listed (at a price) The thing about cruising here in the med as elsewhere is the fun of discovery, if you follow the cruising guides you will follow other cruisers, same anchorages, same ideas, same rip-off artists waiting... It is better to follow your nose, speak to the locals, see where they go on weekends on their boats, then go there during the week. Another, "Must" is, you must NOT plan too far ahead, 10 days is enough of a horizon, you will meet other boats in anchorages that have come the other way, ask them about their last port, and they will ask you about yours. Do NOT rush it. The sights and history are densely packed, there is 4000 years of history here, take your time, make friends, kick back and enjoy. Take a look at our web page, there are many photos, Lat/Longs of actual anchorages and comments.
Carry fuel, its not called the Motorterranian sea for nothing. There are few gradient winds, and most of the weather is "local". Start looking at med weather trends online before you get here. We have sailed under spinnaker in 15 knots westerly, and later that day had 4 reefs and a storm jib beating into 70 knots, while 25 miles away friends were having a BBQ.
ENJOY!!

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by shellywilson

Hi

My fiancee and I are thinking of early retirment and would love to sail the first year or 2 in the mediterranean.

Any info you have would be appreciated- marinas, must sees, costs etc..

Thanks
Shelly

As a guide, €50 a night is typical in the " better sort of marina", things get crowded fast in the Med. Fuel is about €1.80 a litre. Food is cheap-ish and local ingredients are the best in the world. Dining out can range from cheap €6-8 euros a head to any number you fancy. Avoid tourist traps. (but the obvious tourist places are fine, once you stay away from the obvious rip-off places in those areas).

Must -sees, as said theres 4000 years of "civilization", if you're a culture vulture, art junkie, book worm, architecture nerd, etc then you are entering paradise. Hard to categorize. Its an area I am particularly fond of.

I would agree with the previous poster the key to the Med is to avoid the ten countries in ten days sort of thing. You could quite happily spend a whole summer out of one area, day sailing. Theres lots to see and do and develop a few "roots".

Don't "plan" to much

[levm]

Regarding fuel, my advice is DO NOT take fuel from a fuel barge, I got 20 liters of water with the 200 liter of diesel last time I did that. Your best bet is to fuel the same way as the local boats do, which in many cased is from a fuel tanker or second best at the marina fuel dock which is more expensive. If there is a gas station nearby your best bet is to refuel your boat one jerican at the time from the station.

[tbj402000]

Like i said in other posts, practice stern to docking and get used to rafting and lazy lines. Many marinas get you to dock off your anchor and back in so crew on board becomes an issue. Very tight and not cheap. Must able to speak the language as many spare hands dont speak english. check out utube docking in the med for what i am on about, it can be very scary. That aside book early and check windage for dockage. I had ten years of grey hairs after three months cruising from croatia to madiera, luckily met a beauty therapist who sorted that one out, enjoy your life and dont let any hurdles get in your way!!

[Lagoon4us]

Originally Posted by tbj402000

Like i said in other posts, practice stern to docking and get used to rafting and lazy lines. Many marinas get you to dock off your anchor and back in so crew on board becomes an issue. Very tight and not cheap. Must able to speak the language as many spare hands dont speak english. check out utube docking in the med for what i am on about, it can be very scary. That aside book early and check windage for dockage. I had ten years of grey hairs after three months cruising from croatia to madiera, luckily met a beauty therapist who sorted that one out, enjoy your life and dont let any hurdles get in your way!!

Still smiling at your remedy for docking LMAO well done! Cheers Frank & Viv

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by tbj402000

Like i said in other posts, practice stern to docking and get used to rafting and lazy lines. Many marinas get you to dock off your anchor and back in so crew on board becomes an issue. Very tight and not cheap. Must able to speak the language as many spare hands dont speak english. check out utube docking in the med for what i am on about, it can be very scary. That aside book early and check windage for dockage. I had ten years of grey hairs after three months cruising from croatia to madiera, luckily met a beauty therapist who sorted that one out, enjoy your life and dont let any hurdles get in your way!!

I think this somewhat overstates the issues. Stern too is just a process that needs experience, like all others. IN winds, most people screw up anyway, no matter what way they are docking.

As to language, yes of course its helps, but in my experience, you'll get on fine with a smile.

The other thing with stern too, is that now in recent years there is far more lazy lines , hence its much easier. If you have to dock stern to with the anchor , it is often better to row the anchor out afterwards then handle it on the way in. Its just a skill that needs practicing. Remember that its quite acceptable to fender up and let her sit on your neighbors while you sort things out. The key is not to panic and never use the throttle to sort things out. Its the speed that does the damage.

Yes marinas spaces in season are a challenge, but its all doable.

PS: Check you tourist visa stay times, on a wavier its 90 days in 180 across all the EU countries in the med.

Dave