Yacht Delivery Les Sables-d’Olonne – France
Les Sables-d’Olonne together with La Rochelle in France facing the Atlantic Ocean on the Bay of Biscay are probably the most common starting point of yacht delivery jobs here in Europe. The main destination for these jobs on the way across the Atlantic in either the USA or The Caribbean.
Lagoon Catamarans, Beneteau, Jeanneau, Catana Catamarans and many other boat builders in France deliver their finished yachts in Les Sables-d’Olonne ready for collection by Owner/Brokers from all over the world.
This region is also well known in the world of yachting for the many prestigious regattas. Vendee Globe, Le Figarò and others.
Delivery Captain has collected many Atlantic Crossing to the Caribbean and the United States to date and built a good reputation over the years.
A delivery to St. Lucia where a large Moorings Brokerage is based is just one of the many examples I could bring to you.
On this particular crossing we stopped in La Coruna – Spain, then in Las Palmas – Canary Islands and finally in St. Lucia. The delivery took about 6 weeks.
France is very expensive so I tend to buy the essential to get me and my crew only as far as La Coruna where food and fuel and all other necessary items for the crossing are much cheaper. The Bay of Biscay is a very challenging crossing and crew tends to eat very little and can easily fall sick. At the start, some people naturally need time to assess with the going at sea.
Once in La Coruna, we need to stock food and fuel for about 12 days, even though sometimes we managed to get to Las Palmas (the next port of call) in 10 days. As we round Spain heading south, winds usually drops dramatically and make our way down very slow, therefore the use of engine comes in. Winds can be light or absent and motor sail is the only way to reach Las Palmas. However, with a bit of luck winds can comeback after Portugal, but only just. Soon after the Strait of Gibraltar line then we find a touch of trade winds and travel to destination.
Las Palmas is a very nice stop, here we stay one extra day to rest. Food, Fuel, Water and any essential items are stocked once again and the boat will be ready to depart at any time. In this stop, we usually use the extra day not only to rest, but also to give a good clean up at the vessel inside out, and make it tip-top ready.
To Cross the Atlantic, we need about 18/20 days depending on the yacht performances, and obviously the crew skills. We tend to play safe at all times so the boat is never pushed to the limit. Hence the job is to go fast but safe and take no risks. Extra reefing at night and sail up good during the day. We will always take out the best out of the yacht avoiding all possible wearing and breakages. Reliable – Safe – Fast.
Water and Fuel is a good concern at all times, but in the previous part of the journey, we have all learned how to use them. Water is always only for drinking and we need at least two litres per day each crew. We usually start taking showers when is hot enough and then simply rinse off the salt with a little bottle of fresh water. Till then, no water can be used rather than cooking and drinking. Fuel is instead a different matter and needs a bit of calculation. Depending on the engine fuel consumption, we need to allocate enough fuel for at least half of the nautical miles to cover from start to finish. So over 2.000nm to cover, we need at least 1.000 lt of fuel. The remaining fuel will stay with the boat in any case.
The following two days are used to clean the yacht to perfection, restore anything that may eventually need so, pack up and then meet and greet the Owner or the broker.
Once arrived in St. Lucia we follow up all the checking in procedure. Boat handover paperwork and procedure.
Reliable – Fast – Safe – Yacht Delivery Service Worldwide – Very competitive price!
