Welcome one and all to my first post on "Bisou de partout" - I hope you will be patient with my early attempts as I struggle more with technology than the actual writing, but I am a fast learner and will do my best to make the posts interesting and easy to read!
First, let's talk about the blog name - for those who speak/read French, it should not be too much of a mystery - the literal translation of "Bisou de partout" is "Little kiss from everywhere". But why French and why the kiss? Well, we have decided to christen our catamaran "Bisou" (little kiss) and the blog title is a play on the name - we will be getting around, and so you will receive a little kiss from wherever we travel. We also have a French friend here in Shoal Bay who has a lovely yellow labrador called 'Bisou' who was partially an inspiration for the name. Finally, since the boat is being built and will be launched in La Rochelle, France, it seemed only fair to choose a simple (easily spelled and pronounced) name.
I would like to give honourable mention to my sister-in-law, Samantha, who proposed the name "Tadamaran" (a play on Tad and catamaran) for our vessel, however, the thought of repeating that name over the marine radio to a harbourmaster as we request permission to enter was daunting to say the least (particularly if they wanted us to spell it out!).
My goal with this blog, is not only to keep family and friends informed of our progress both before and during our adventure, but also to potentially help anyone out there contemplating doing the same sort of thing down the track. We have learned so much through reading other sailors' blogs and chat sites, and I would like to be able to 'pass it forward'. Please feel free to provide feedback (constructive please!) to assist me in providing you with an entertaining, informative and hopefully interesting read!
Since we made our big decision to purchase a new Fountaine Pajot Helia 44 (see http://www.fountainepajot.com.au/sail-range/helia-44/ for photos, and specifications), our dream to sail the seven seas has begun to take shape. Once we had committed to purchasing our yacht from the factory at La Rochelle, France, our path was determined by geography as well as convenience. We would sail down the west coast of France to Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and thence through the Mediterranean to end up in Turkey by the end of summer. Too easy! Except that it hasn't been; our first 'hiccup' came in the order of The Schengen Agreement (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement) which will severely limit our stay in Europe to 90 days in a 180 day period. Since the Mediterranean is literally bounded by Schengen countries (except Croatia, Albania, Cyprus and Turkey) the net result of this situation is that if we want to enjoy any cruising time in Greece, we shall have to make our way swiftly down to Gibraltar where we can rest for a week or two (ex-Schengen and therefore stopping the 'clock' temporarily) before racing across to Sicily (possibly via the south of Sardinia) and from there up into Croatia (again, resting here for up 90 days as they are also ex-Schengen). Of course weather, and all kinds of other challenges could change things, but this is our plan for now. Tad has a US passport and is in the process of obtaining Australian citizenship (followed, hopefully by an Australian passport), and Robin has both Canadian and Australian passports. None of these citizenships allow for a longer than 90 day stay in Europe, although we can obtain a 'reprieve' (additional 90 days) in both Croatia and Turkey, with Turkey allowing for an extended stay for an additional charge!
The next challenge is what to buy in France and what to have air-freighted over to France - it seems silly to go out and buy all kinds of new items for the boat when we have perfectly good bits and pieces (eg. beach towels, diving equipment, etc.) here in Shoal Bay! Some wonderful cruisers have compiled a comprehensive yacht shopping list for purchasers in La Rochelle, including where to buy the items AND a French translation for each item. Now that's what I call helpful. We have also discovered that shipping/ airfreighting items to France can potentially incur duty, customs fees, and all kinds of other problems. The problem may be solved by taking as much as possible with us on the flight - luckily for us, Tad is a Gold Star Alliance frequent flyer with Singapore Airlines, so we have been able to transport 80 kg of luggage between us on our most recent trip to La Rochelle. We plan to take another 80 kg when we travel to collect our boat in May, and if there are still items to be air-freighted, we will deal with that challenge as it comes!
Then there is the health insurance issue - being a former travel agent, I am very familiar with policies and their exclusions including the fact that a large majority of travel insurance policies will not cover you if you are travelling on a private yacht or travelling more than 12Nm (nautical miles) offshore. The other factor is age, and one of us falls just outside the maximum permissible age range for a more popular insurance provider used by yachties :( I think I may have found a policy that will work for us, but we will also be relying heavily on reciprocal health agreements with countries such as Italy and Malta if necessary. More to come on this.
Boat insurance seems to be fine (so far) and that just leaves registration of the vessel here in Australia, and qualifications. We have been advised that obtaining a ICC (International Certificate of Competency for operators of pleasure craft) might be a good idea, but have not pursued this to date as it is expensive and time-consuming and no one so far has advised that they actually have needed it. Tad is a highly experienced sailor, with Robin less so, but we feel that we should be able to cope. We have both obtained our marine radio operators' licence, our marine first aid, and Robin is about to complete a coastal navigation course as well (by the way the marine radio operators' licence and coastal navigation courses are both available online at www.allhandsondeck.com.au in Australia). Both of us also hold Australian boat licences which will hopefully satisfy the authorities that demand some sort of documentation.
One comment I would like to make is that we have travelled to La Rochelle twice since purchasing (well, ordering) our Helia. This may seem rather extreme, and costly, but we felt that it was important not only to visit the factory and meet the people in charge of building our new 'home away from home', but also discover for ourselves where to shop, what was available and figure out how we were going to manage things in the most efficient way. With time against us (Schengen again!) once we arrive back in La Rochelle to take possession of our boat, we want to finish things up as quickly as possible (this may be an oxymoron as so many people have indicated that the last thing you can expect in France in May/June is for people to be in a hurry to get things done!) and be on our way - that being said, we have spent a week in La Rochelle in March this year to shop for the majority of our needs for the boat including kitchen items, bedding, hardware, etc. and storing them in a self-storage unit (www.homebox.fr) about 5km from the centre of town. When we return in May to collect "Bisou" we will rent a van for the day, collect our goods from the storage unit, load the boat, do a final big shop for grocery items and any last-minute large items, and we shall be ready - hopefully! Another comment - Robin speaks relatively fluent French which has proved invaluable to finding hard-to-locate items, getting 'de-taxe' documents (so as to be able to claim VAT back) and other situations we didn't think of. We would strongly suggest that you get a good phrase book or find someone to accompany you if you have no French!
Bisou in the factory - almost finished!
We would like to thank fellow Helia owners, other yachties and everyone on the various blogs, forums, etc. who have been so forthcoming with their ideas, comments, advice, etc. and look forward to more of the same as we proceed.
We shall be only to happy to pass the help on to anyone who may need it - we will be in La Rochelle from about 05 May 2014 for approximately two weeks (we think!), and will look forward to seeing other yachts collecting their vessels or seasoned sailors passing through.
First, let's talk about the blog name - for those who speak/read French, it should not be too much of a mystery - the literal translation of "Bisou de partout" is "Little kiss from everywhere". But why French and why the kiss? Well, we have decided to christen our catamaran "Bisou" (little kiss) and the blog title is a play on the name - we will be getting around, and so you will receive a little kiss from wherever we travel. We also have a French friend here in Shoal Bay who has a lovely yellow labrador called 'Bisou' who was partially an inspiration for the name. Finally, since the boat is being built and will be launched in La Rochelle, France, it seemed only fair to choose a simple (easily spelled and pronounced) name.
I would like to give honourable mention to my sister-in-law, Samantha, who proposed the name "Tadamaran" (a play on Tad and catamaran) for our vessel, however, the thought of repeating that name over the marine radio to a harbourmaster as we request permission to enter was daunting to say the least (particularly if they wanted us to spell it out!).
My goal with this blog, is not only to keep family and friends informed of our progress both before and during our adventure, but also to potentially help anyone out there contemplating doing the same sort of thing down the track. We have learned so much through reading other sailors' blogs and chat sites, and I would like to be able to 'pass it forward'. Please feel free to provide feedback (constructive please!) to assist me in providing you with an entertaining, informative and hopefully interesting read!
Since we made our big decision to purchase a new Fountaine Pajot Helia 44 (see http://www.fountainepajot.com.au/sail-range/helia-44/ for photos, and specifications), our dream to sail the seven seas has begun to take shape. Once we had committed to purchasing our yacht from the factory at La Rochelle, France, our path was determined by geography as well as convenience. We would sail down the west coast of France to Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and thence through the Mediterranean to end up in Turkey by the end of summer. Too easy! Except that it hasn't been; our first 'hiccup' came in the order of The Schengen Agreement (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement) which will severely limit our stay in Europe to 90 days in a 180 day period. Since the Mediterranean is literally bounded by Schengen countries (except Croatia, Albania, Cyprus and Turkey) the net result of this situation is that if we want to enjoy any cruising time in Greece, we shall have to make our way swiftly down to Gibraltar where we can rest for a week or two (ex-Schengen and therefore stopping the 'clock' temporarily) before racing across to Sicily (possibly via the south of Sardinia) and from there up into Croatia (again, resting here for up 90 days as they are also ex-Schengen). Of course weather, and all kinds of other challenges could change things, but this is our plan for now. Tad has a US passport and is in the process of obtaining Australian citizenship (followed, hopefully by an Australian passport), and Robin has both Canadian and Australian passports. None of these citizenships allow for a longer than 90 day stay in Europe, although we can obtain a 'reprieve' (additional 90 days) in both Croatia and Turkey, with Turkey allowing for an extended stay for an additional charge!
The next challenge is what to buy in France and what to have air-freighted over to France - it seems silly to go out and buy all kinds of new items for the boat when we have perfectly good bits and pieces (eg. beach towels, diving equipment, etc.) here in Shoal Bay! Some wonderful cruisers have compiled a comprehensive yacht shopping list for purchasers in La Rochelle, including where to buy the items AND a French translation for each item. Now that's what I call helpful. We have also discovered that shipping/ airfreighting items to France can potentially incur duty, customs fees, and all kinds of other problems. The problem may be solved by taking as much as possible with us on the flight - luckily for us, Tad is a Gold Star Alliance frequent flyer with Singapore Airlines, so we have been able to transport 80 kg of luggage between us on our most recent trip to La Rochelle. We plan to take another 80 kg when we travel to collect our boat in May, and if there are still items to be air-freighted, we will deal with that challenge as it comes!
Then there is the health insurance issue - being a former travel agent, I am very familiar with policies and their exclusions including the fact that a large majority of travel insurance policies will not cover you if you are travelling on a private yacht or travelling more than 12Nm (nautical miles) offshore. The other factor is age, and one of us falls just outside the maximum permissible age range for a more popular insurance provider used by yachties :( I think I may have found a policy that will work for us, but we will also be relying heavily on reciprocal health agreements with countries such as Italy and Malta if necessary. More to come on this.
Boat insurance seems to be fine (so far) and that just leaves registration of the vessel here in Australia, and qualifications. We have been advised that obtaining a ICC (International Certificate of Competency for operators of pleasure craft) might be a good idea, but have not pursued this to date as it is expensive and time-consuming and no one so far has advised that they actually have needed it. Tad is a highly experienced sailor, with Robin less so, but we feel that we should be able to cope. We have both obtained our marine radio operators' licence, our marine first aid, and Robin is about to complete a coastal navigation course as well (by the way the marine radio operators' licence and coastal navigation courses are both available online at www.allhandsondeck.com.au in Australia). Both of us also hold Australian boat licences which will hopefully satisfy the authorities that demand some sort of documentation.
One comment I would like to make is that we have travelled to La Rochelle twice since purchasing (well, ordering) our Helia. This may seem rather extreme, and costly, but we felt that it was important not only to visit the factory and meet the people in charge of building our new 'home away from home', but also discover for ourselves where to shop, what was available and figure out how we were going to manage things in the most efficient way. With time against us (Schengen again!) once we arrive back in La Rochelle to take possession of our boat, we want to finish things up as quickly as possible (this may be an oxymoron as so many people have indicated that the last thing you can expect in France in May/June is for people to be in a hurry to get things done!) and be on our way - that being said, we have spent a week in La Rochelle in March this year to shop for the majority of our needs for the boat including kitchen items, bedding, hardware, etc. and storing them in a self-storage unit (www.homebox.fr) about 5km from the centre of town. When we return in May to collect "Bisou" we will rent a van for the day, collect our goods from the storage unit, load the boat, do a final big shop for grocery items and any last-minute large items, and we shall be ready - hopefully! Another comment - Robin speaks relatively fluent French which has proved invaluable to finding hard-to-locate items, getting 'de-taxe' documents (so as to be able to claim VAT back) and other situations we didn't think of. We would strongly suggest that you get a good phrase book or find someone to accompany you if you have no French!
Bisou in the factory - almost finished!
We would like to thank fellow Helia owners, other yachties and everyone on the various blogs, forums, etc. who have been so forthcoming with their ideas, comments, advice, etc. and look forward to more of the same as we proceed.
We shall be only to happy to pass the help on to anyone who may need it - we will be in La Rochelle from about 05 May 2014 for approximately two weeks (we think!), and will look forward to seeing other yachts collecting their vessels or seasoned sailors passing through.
