Winter Storage in France - Update

Created by val. Last modified on 2010-05-17 09:49:27
Contributors:
Countries: France

Received from John Dinsmoor on 16th May 2010

The previous posting on Noonsite regarding the service at Nautiland in Gruissan, France was an understatement.

We hauled out here last October and stored on the hard until May, when we returned from USA to re-launch. There are many good things about this location for those considering where to store their boat for the winter. The travel lift is new and big (50ton). The Nautiland yard uses only top grade stands/cradles--not the individual tri-pods used elsewhere. The boats are stored next to the Nautiland chandlery which is well stocked. There is inside storage also available. The haul/store/launch fees are very affordable and in fact some of the lowest we have found ( about 2500E for 6 months for 15m LOA yacht).

There is a modest hotel 200 yards from the boats and chandlery. Rooms are about 65E per night, they have free internet, a small bar and restaurant. Continental Breakfast is available for 8E per day. This hotel was very convenient for transitioning on or off the boat and gave us a place to stay while we painted and prepped the boat for re-launch. Nautiland allows DIY boat maintenance. Nautiland will set you up with a temporary berth until you are ready to shove off. There are also half a dozen nautical service companies in the same complex. The immediate area has several good size supermarkets and many cafes and restaurants, all walking distance from the yard.

There is a bus service to Narbonne that runs about every hour from Gruissan and costs one euro each way. Narbonne is a larger city with more shopping, including a very large Carrefour and a really good " Home Depot" type store next door. The bus will take you by the Carrefour and ultimately right to the main rail station that has train service to the rest of Europe. Across from the rail station are several car rental company's including Hertz and Europcar. We were able to book a car online, take the bus to town and pick-up the car in less than an hour.

Best part of this location (for those lacking in their foreign language skills) are the owners of Nautiland: Pierre & Maryvonne Six. Maryvonne speaks English very well and has over 30 years experience in the chandlery business and also 6-7 years worldwide cruising experience. She and Pierre really know their business and are very helpful with anything you ask. They are able to coordinate just about any repair, service, or procurement of replacement parts you could imagine.

Worst part of this location: it can get very windy due to the “Tramontana” wind.

I am very glad I read and followed the recommendation made by the original post on noonsite in June of 2009.

John Dinsmoor
S/V Jay Sea Dee
Island Packet 485
USA

This report was received 16th June 2009

For any English speaking boats looking for a place for winter hardstand storage along the south coast of France we would like to make known and recommend the Nautiland yard at Gruissan.
www.nautiland.fr
email:nautiland11@wanadoo.fr
phone/fax: 04.68.43.15.81

Pierre and Maryvonne Six have circumnavigated in their yacht and now run a chandlery and hard stand storage facility in the Gruissan "Zone Technique".

They are very friendly and helpful to cruisers passing through and certainly made our wintering experience this year the best we have had in the Med. (Wintered in Turkey, Malta, N. Italy & Gruissan.) Maryvonne speaks English fluently, as well as some German and Spanish we believe.

The Gruissan area is very nice and very friendly. There is good bus service to Narbonne, which has excellent provisioning, is an interesting town to visit, and is on the main train line to anywhere in France. The airport at Carcasonne is a 30 min train ride from Narbonne.

Dave & Joanne George
SV Mintaka II
Australia