Can i send my boat from the marina in England to one on the med? what do i need? is there any special needs?

Question

Can i send my boat from the marina in England to one on the med? what do i need? is there any special needs?

Answer 1

Yes you can; either by sea or overland by a haulier, or, if it's small enough: on a trailer behind a land-rover. If it's a sailing boat of 8metre or more , sail it there and head for Gibraltar.

The next ports are Sotogrande (very posh), Duquesa & Estepona. The problem is that you will need a gold plated credit card ! Almerimar is half the cost and has twice the life! I keep my boat there even though I live in Estepona.

You will need: (a) a Certificate of Registry (b) Insurance policy and (c) an International Certificate of Competancy ICC.

The RYA will give you all the right advice, but you may have to become a member (worth it at any price). As for overland transport, there is a company in Poole who come to Spain often (Bugler or Transboat I think).It's on the web anyway. One final word; the sailing here is lousy. I'm on my way to Port Nouveaux to get into the French canal system for La Rochelle.  Good luck. Ed

Answer 2

DOES HE GO ON, if you wish to sail you need a captains license, this takes an exam and navigation test to make sure you will be safe on the open sea takes some time, If on the other hand you just wish to send your boat abroad to the med you will need an export license and somebody to arrange the transport who may be able to help with the afore mentioned Good luck.

Answer 3

big question, how big is your boat?

is it tiny, and hitched up on a trailer behind the car, or huge and sea worthy?

The worst part, is where in the UK is it. Cornwall is a nasty sail around, as are the rocks in Brittany...

If your boat is small enough, and has collapsible sails/motor, you could use the canals and rivers of France to reach the Med.

Most rich sailors hire a crew to take the boat down to the desired location before they join it by jet, I have worked as crew for such a rich owner. You sail the yacht around to the desired mooring, and they jet down to take in the marina scene, go for one trip out, and fly back home, then you get the job to move the boat to the next holiday site.

You don't say how big or whether you charter. You'll need to keep the vessel up to date with any legal requirements you'd have in the UK plus radio licence. The skipper's qualifications need to be the same as those he'd need in the UK (if any). You will need to show proof of third party insurance in every European marina.

Spain was the main area we sailed too - You have to make sure that the vessel is free of all charges in particular that there is no charge on the vessel by the Spanish authorities for non-payment of taxes by the vendor. So you should be careful if you plan to keep it there?

If a foreigner becomes resident in Spain (includes EU citizens and this is de facto after spending more than 183 days in Spain in any calendar year) then a special tax becomes payable. The authorities generally put a sticker on the boat and it is not permitted to leave harbour until the tax has been paid.

I don't know how you prove the absence of one....but it is fairly rare. Goes without saying that you need to check that the marina have been paid. However, Being a foreigner - the only thing I have to pay for is a $25 / year sticker on the window. Apart from that no bureaucracy. No fuss over radio licences, short or long range range - cheaper stuff etc etc - it's great!

If you are really strapped for time or just want your boat positioned for you, then the option of having it moved overland by lorry is always available. You can arrange for the boat to be loaded in the UK - taken on the lorry & ferry or from a northern French port to or from the Mediterranean -

THE ALL FRENCH OPTION: Because of the very high charges the cross channel car ferry companies make for HGV's it can be considerably cheaper to use a French based boat haulage company to take the boat to or from the Mediterranean from a northern French port - Calais, Boulogne, Le Havre, Cherbourg for example. Sail it on its own bottom across the Channel.  

The only 'down' side of this is you and your crew need to use a car ferry or cheap airline to get to the channel port. As foot passengers this not too expensive but transport costs and the possibility the lorry may be a day late has to be taken into account. The French boat haulage companies will of course also deliver to the UK. You will find they nearly all speak reasonable English and are highly professional - the French probably move more boats by road than the British do.

Navicarte are the canal and river route charts, which detail all the stopping places, locks, fuel points, marinas, port de plaisance and tourist information. Whilst it would be possible to do the trip only with my book

'The French Canal Routes to the Mediterranean'

and the

'Navicarte #21 - chart of all French navigable waters,'

it would be an awful lot less stressful and more enjoyable, to use the relevant Navicarte maps/charts

Answer 4

simple yes