Hi Keld,

Thank you for your message. Nice that you like our stories. We have been at home in Denmark since the end of October (we have fallen a little behind with the reports). We are planning to go back to Heron in the latter half of March. Last year we put Heron ashore on the small island of Ægina, which lies a little south of Athens, and expect to sail in this area again this year. Funnily enough, we have met. In Mandraki - the old port of Corfu. We greeted each other but didn't get to talk. Are you going to the Ionian again this year?

Hi Axel,
We chose to have the mast transported by car to Port Napoleon. The mast was rigged at Boeb's shipyard in Travemünde (these are the three men you can see in the video.) The company Fastmast (https://www.fastmast.com/ca/) was responsible for the transport and the mast was rigged by Global Nautic in Port Napoleon.

Everything seemed perfect.

But good things cost money and it was certainly not a cheap solution. I have seen more people join forces on transport. Thus, one can get it a lot cheaper.

Some choose to have the mast on the boat. It is of course much cheaper and also has the advantage that you are not bound to sail to where the mast is located. The downside is that one risks damages, which can very easily be much more expensive than the cost of transportation

But as I said. It can of course be done to transport it yourself.

Hi Birger,

Congratulations on your new boat. It is a lovely boat that you will surely be happy with.

No special declarations and declarations must be made when you, as an EU citizen, call at another EU country.

Greece is special. Here, yachtsmen (regardless of nationality) are charged a fee for sailing in Greek waters. The fee is called Tepai and must be paid for the period the boat is used in Greek waters. If it is taken ashore, no tax must be paid and if it is stored in a marina, no tax must be paid. In the latter case, the boat's papers are deposited with the local port police.

Much has been written about how cumbersome it is to pay Tepai. But the tax can also be paid online. It's a lot easier. (if you do it right). We have spent a lot of time figuring out why the payment did not go through, Finally we found the solution. You can see it here Click here...

Hi Steen,

Thanks for your mail. You can be completely calm. Heron landed on a place on the mainland opposite Corfu. We have just landed at Aktio Marina.

It is difficult to guard against a burglary like the one we were exposed to and when it happens you should (rightly) be able to expect support from the company you have paid money to store your boat (even if they are not responsible for damage and theft to the boat).

I'm pretty sure Aktio Marina would have approached the matter differently if this was where the burglary had taken place.

Heron is also on lane 8

Thanks for the nice words.

Exciting that you are planning a trip. (You can enjoy yourself)

For us, port money has been a nice part of the cost of sailing in the Mediterranean.

MEN

when it is said (or rather written), it must be added that we as Danes also sail as Danes. That is, we go to port every night. Many others are at anchor. Some only to supply and bunker water and diesel and then spend the night at anchor. Others go to port maybe a couple of times a week and spend the rest of the week at anchor.

Prices vary from country to country, from port to port, but also within the year.

Of the three countries we visited, the most expensive was Italy. Greece the cheapest, while France was slightly cheaper than Italy.

A small impression of the price variation:

In Porto Rotondo in the Northeast Sardine, a port site for Heron costs € 218 per day in August (Yes you read right). € 142 in July, € 65 in June and September € 35 in May, € 18 in April and € 8 from October to March.

Typically, the price in Italy is around € 60 - 90 per day during peak season and slightly lower in France.

In Greece the price is € 20- 25 per day in the municipal ports and € 50- 60 per day in the private (here is also a great comfort).

We recommend downloading the app "NAVILY". Here you can enter data on your boat and get the port fees per day in most ports in France and Italy and a few in Greece. You can also (free) book a place, which may well be necessary in high season. The app also has an excellent overview of anchorages and user comments and weather forecasts (wind and waves) for each site.

The port fees in the canals are low. Typically € 8-12 per day. But you can also lie for free at a resting place, of which there are many in Germany, Holland, Belgium and France.

Hope this answers your question. Of course, feel free to ask for more.

Greeting

Carl & Pia

Hi Christian.

We came home last Thursday, Heron is on land in Plataria. It is located on the mainland well 20sm southeast of Corfu. We are already looking forward to next season (it is cold wet and foggy here in Denmark).

In 2020 we stay in Greece and sail slowly around the Peloponnese.

We don't yet know when to start, but shouldn't we be able to meet?

Does your AIS work?

We spent the winter in the new port of Menton in the winter of 2017/18, but did not live on the boat ourselves. 'Live-aboard community' was not large according to the port office about 50 people spread over an unknown number of boats. However, it did not appear that all 50 were there at once. There was not much life at the long concrete pier we lay by. It seemed as if there was a little more life on the boats at the drawbridges. Therefore, insist on getting a place there if you want to spend the winter in Menton.

The new harbor where we were located has nice facilities, but is troubled by southwesterly winds. We got a lump out of the hull as the city was hit by an 10 year storm from the southwest for the second year in a row. Watch our video [url Watch our video ....

We liked the city very much. Here is life all year round. Christmas was very atmospheric and not far to Nice, from where there are many and cheap departures to Copenhagen.

We were also very happy with Cannes (the old port) but here we were too late to apply for a winter location.

Loano in Italy could also be a possible wintering haven for you. The harbor is almost brand new, is much better protected than Menton and has some of the nicest toilet and bath facilities we've seen. (They were also fine in Menton now)

In Lavandou and Sanary-sur-Mer, the residents themselves complained that too much shut down in the winter. These are now otherwise nice towns.

You can also download the Navily app. You can reserve space and read reviews of most ports in the Mediterranean.

Heikel's pilot books and the French port pilots we also enjoyed

Hi Niels,

Thank you for your kind comments.

Greeting

Carl & Pia