Captains' Med Refit Choices
We asked some of our trusted Captains if the quality of the refit work is equal, which location would they choose to lay up for a few months’ refit work? Barcelona, Marseille, Palma, or elsewhere in the Western med? Here are their answers.…
We asked some of our trusted Captains if the quality of the refit work is equal, which location would they choose to lay up for a few months’ refit work? Barcelona, Marseille, Palma, or elsewhere in the Western med? Here are their answers.
Capt. 1
First choice: BARCELONA
Of the choices you have given me, it would be Barcelona, Palma then Marseille.
If, and a mighty IF the quality was the same all over—and also cost—then I would be looking for what is best for the crew.
Barcelona has skiing not far away, flights are good as well, and the nightlife I’m told is good.
In Palma, the winter weather is better, the nightlife is good, and there’s a large yachting expat community, but it is on an island, and there’s no skiing without a flight.
In Marseille, nighttime can be dangerous, flights aren’t as good as Nice, Palma, or Barcelona—or so I have been told. And there’s the Mistral. La Ciotat is tucked away from the main city areas, and the skiing is further away.
Genoa, where I have done many a refit, has some flights and is an okay town closer to the ski fields. Viareggio and Livorno: Close to some skiing, but are dead places in winter.
Ideally, if there was a sizable yard, I’d be looking at the Nice area. It’s close to skiing, has great nightlife and huge expat and yachting community, excellent flight connections and all the contractors we need.
Malta has nice weather, is English speaking, has reasonable nightlife, but the flights aren’t as great as elsewhere and is on an island.
Valencia, Cartegena and other Spanish ports may have issues with flight connections, are further from skiing and have less city life.
Croatia and further into the sticks have less crew life and skiing etc.
Capt. 2
First choice: MARSEILLE
I know all these places very well. During our 2009 refit in Marseille we had all our crew living ashore for four months and we rented a house for my wife and kids just to the south in Point Rouge. I commuted to work by bicycle so got to know the town and the goings on in the street very well. Until someone stole my bike...
Marseille is still far from a safe place. It’s very crowed, has gridlock traffic and is dirty. I was constantly stressed about the crew going out at night—mind you, more got robbed in Barcelona than Marseille. We found out pretty quick where to go and where not to go. Our crew is responsible and stuck together. It’s actually pretty nice if you stay to the beach area to the south, from the old town to Point Rouge. Other boats had crew up in Aix de Provence, which is beautiful.
There’s a lot to do in the surrounding areas (100km plus) on the weekends so everyone enjoyed touring around.
Capt. 3
First choice: BARCELONA
Order of locations: Barcelona, then Palma, then Marseille.
Why Barcelona? Culture: “To be in the great city of Barcelona would be preferable.”
On Marseille: “There’s lots of wind conditions in the winter months. It’s a little more exposed.” But I think work in Marseille is picking up.
Capt. 4
First choice: MARSEILLE
For the complexity of a four month / five year survey and paint job, Marseille would be pretty close to my first choice, if prices were keen. Otherwise Barcelona as second choice.
In Marseilles, ITM has a skilled workforce, is well priced, accessible and secure. But the shipyard location in the commercial port is undesirable from a safety of the crew point of view. Marseilles is a tough city where muggings, in my perception, are commonplace.
I prefer the slightly less sophisticated La Ciotat yards (Composite Works and Monaco Marine) adjacent to a sleepy coastal village, where I have gone five times in the past three years. Accessibility via Marseilles airport (45min) and Nice (2hours) is fair.
Mallorca is outside of our normal movement. Also, as it is an island, European contractors struggle to get there easily and inexpensively. But, I hear only good things about the Astilleros de Mallorca yard.
In Barcelona, MB92 is good, the presence of Pinmar on site is a big plus. The city and beaches and access to European contractors via road and Barcelona airport is good.
Italian yards in Genoa (Amico & Co and Arredamenti Porto) are good, but again Genoa is not such a safe city. Genoa airport is close and the yards have skilled workforces.
Montenegro is an inexpensive but distant alternative.
Capt.5
First choice: BARCELONA
If the refit work were equal then I would have to pick Barcelona. Barcelona is a world-class city that benefitted from development for the Olympics in 1992. It has excellent transportation links and the airport is superior to those in either Marseille or Palma, and has much better connections. Although Barcelona has its own crime problems, they are perceived to be much less than what you could find in Marseille. Palma on the other hand is perceived to be quite safe.
Barcelona is, in my opinion much ‘prettier’ than Marseille. Marseille is a very large port surrounded by a big industrial area. Although Barcelona has a very large cruise port, the yachting facilities are separated from them.
I can only say that I am biased in the fact that I did complete a refit in 2010 in Barcelona and was pleasantly surprised. I had always avoided Barcelona, as I wasn't comfortable with their ‘creative billing.’ I also did a refit in La Ciotat in 2007/08. We often drove through Marseille to get to the airport. I was a very unappealing city with a reputation for being rather unsafe.
But I would always put the capabilities of the shipyard ahead of any of these other concerns.
Capt.6
First choice: MARSEILLE
1) Marseille
2) Palma
3) Barcelona
In that order without doubt............we love Provence!
Capt.7
First choice: BARCELONA
Barcelona is my preferred choice, mainly because I have a good relationship with the project managers and owner of MB92. Plus, the yard has a good arrangement with the builders of the yacht for warranty and specialized work.
From a crew standpoint, Barcelona is by far the preferred stop, the city is great, there’s beach, sports, and the airport is close and connections to other airports are good.
See the related article on Marseille in issue 132 of The Superyacht Report.
Capt. 1
First choice: BARCELONA
Of the choices you have given me, it would be Barcelona, Palma then Marseille.
If, and a mighty IF the quality was the same all over—and also cost—then I would be looking for what is best for the crew.
Barcelona has skiing not far away, flights are good as well, and the nightlife I’m told is good.
In Palma, the winter weather is better, the nightlife is good, and there’s a large yachting expat community, but it is on an island, and there’s no skiing without a flight.
In Marseille, nighttime can be dangerous, flights aren’t as good as Nice, Palma, or Barcelona—or so I have been told. And there’s the Mistral. La Ciotat is tucked away from the main city areas, and the skiing is further away.
Genoa, where I have done many a refit, has some flights and is an okay town closer to the ski fields. Viareggio and Livorno: Close to some skiing, but are dead places in winter.
Ideally, if there was a sizable yard, I’d be looking at the Nice area. It’s close to skiing, has great nightlife and huge expat and yachting community, excellent flight connections and all the contractors we need.
Malta has nice weather, is English speaking, has reasonable nightlife, but the flights aren’t as great as elsewhere and is on an island.
Valencia, Cartegena and other Spanish ports may have issues with flight connections, are further from skiing and have less city life.
Croatia and further into the sticks have less crew life and skiing etc.
Capt. 2
First choice: MARSEILLE
I know all these places very well. During our 2009 refit in Marseille we had all our crew living ashore for four months and we rented a house for my wife and kids just to the south in Point Rouge. I commuted to work by bicycle so got to know the town and the goings on in the street very well. Until someone stole my bike...
Marseille is still far from a safe place. It’s very crowed, has gridlock traffic and is dirty. I was constantly stressed about the crew going out at night—mind you, more got robbed in Barcelona than Marseille. We found out pretty quick where to go and where not to go. Our crew is responsible and stuck together. It’s actually pretty nice if you stay to the beach area to the south, from the old town to Point Rouge. Other boats had crew up in Aix de Provence, which is beautiful.
There’s a lot to do in the surrounding areas (100km plus) on the weekends so everyone enjoyed touring around.
Capt. 3
First choice: BARCELONA
Order of locations: Barcelona, then Palma, then Marseille.
Why Barcelona? Culture: “To be in the great city of Barcelona would be preferable.”
On Marseille: “There’s lots of wind conditions in the winter months. It’s a little more exposed.” But I think work in Marseille is picking up.
Capt. 4
First choice: MARSEILLE
For the complexity of a four month / five year survey and paint job, Marseille would be pretty close to my first choice, if prices were keen. Otherwise Barcelona as second choice.
In Marseilles, ITM has a skilled workforce, is well priced, accessible and secure. But the shipyard location in the commercial port is undesirable from a safety of the crew point of view. Marseilles is a tough city where muggings, in my perception, are commonplace.
I prefer the slightly less sophisticated La Ciotat yards (Composite Works and Monaco Marine) adjacent to a sleepy coastal village, where I have gone five times in the past three years. Accessibility via Marseilles airport (45min) and Nice (2hours) is fair.
Mallorca is outside of our normal movement. Also, as it is an island, European contractors struggle to get there easily and inexpensively. But, I hear only good things about the Astilleros de Mallorca yard.
In Barcelona, MB92 is good, the presence of Pinmar on site is a big plus. The city and beaches and access to European contractors via road and Barcelona airport is good.
Italian yards in Genoa (Amico & Co and Arredamenti Porto) are good, but again Genoa is not such a safe city. Genoa airport is close and the yards have skilled workforces.
Montenegro is an inexpensive but distant alternative.
Capt.5
First choice: BARCELONA
If the refit work were equal then I would have to pick Barcelona. Barcelona is a world-class city that benefitted from development for the Olympics in 1992. It has excellent transportation links and the airport is superior to those in either Marseille or Palma, and has much better connections. Although Barcelona has its own crime problems, they are perceived to be much less than what you could find in Marseille. Palma on the other hand is perceived to be quite safe.
Barcelona is, in my opinion much ‘prettier’ than Marseille. Marseille is a very large port surrounded by a big industrial area. Although Barcelona has a very large cruise port, the yachting facilities are separated from them.
I can only say that I am biased in the fact that I did complete a refit in 2010 in Barcelona and was pleasantly surprised. I had always avoided Barcelona, as I wasn't comfortable with their ‘creative billing.’ I also did a refit in La Ciotat in 2007/08. We often drove through Marseille to get to the airport. I was a very unappealing city with a reputation for being rather unsafe.
But I would always put the capabilities of the shipyard ahead of any of these other concerns.
Capt.6
First choice: MARSEILLE
1) Marseille
2) Palma
3) Barcelona
In that order without doubt............we love Provence!
Capt.7
First choice: BARCELONA
Barcelona is my preferred choice, mainly because I have a good relationship with the project managers and owner of MB92. Plus, the yard has a good arrangement with the builders of the yacht for warranty and specialized work.
From a crew standpoint, Barcelona is by far the preferred stop, the city is great, there’s beach, sports, and the airport is close and connections to other airports are good.
See the related article on Marseille in issue 132 of The Superyacht Report.
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