Rent a sailboat in the South of France, 75 euros/day

Author: Mark

Mark is always on the water. He teaches SUP, is out with friends wingfoiling, windsurfing and wakeboarding. Or he's doing quality tests in the factories.

In mid-October 2023, I rented a Bavaria 36, about 11 metres long, without a skipper, in Hyeres. Here is the summary.

It is such a blessing to get out of the city life and return to the water sports life. Run the boat as a family as team.

The area is no more complicated than other areas for sailing. There is almost no low tide/ high tide. The harbour control speaks French, English and many speak German. The most difficult thing I found was manoeuvring in the harbour. Next level and family ambition: anchoring.

Booking

So I first found the boat on a website called clickanboat.com. Here you can filter where you want to rent which boat and at what price. However, such a boat costs 250 euros/day in the high season. However, on the website the prices are preset for the month and October is part of the winter season, hence the low price of 75 euros/day. As October was such a warm month this year, we actually got a bargain. You book and pay for the boat rental online. And you leave your credit card details as insurance for the damage you do. In our case, no damage, but the contract provided a maximum of 2000 euros for yourself in case you cause damage. Contact with the host is possible before booking via a chat on this website. This works great as you receive an email when someone has replied. On the website you will also find reviews pro boat and owner. So what did we get? Being familiar with the area of Hyeres and the surrounding area, I chose this area. Especially the island "Porquerolles" which is not far away, great places to hide in bad weather and "only" a 9-hour drive from Switzerland. I took the Bavaria 36 as it is big enough for 2 adults + 2 teenagers and small enough for me to manage either on my own or even better with the help of the family crew. Mind you, my wife, I have sailed a lot in the past and have owned various sailboats, the teenagers have not. I kind of like monohulls better than multihulls, so the Bavaria was a good choice. I also chose a boat without a skipper and don't need an official licence as I don't have one. Although 35 years of experience. Last but not least, 75 euros/day is amazing for me, it's less than booking a hotel room for the family, even if you book accommodation in Port, and especially if you choose to anchor. If you are interested, here is the boat. Link

Day 1 and 2

Before the first day on the sailboat, we drove from Switzerland to France and slept in a hotel in Hyeres. Therefore, we agreed with the owner to meet in the harbour of Hyeres the next morning for the handover. We had his mobile phone and he was in a bit of a hurry. So I filmed the explanations on my mobile. Among other things we got the engine, anchor, galley, navigation and all the instruments, safety waistcoats for life rafts etc, sails (The boat had a furling genoa). Dingy and other toys. Also, like renting a car, a short list of scratches, damage, etc. The videos made helped in exploring the boat during the day. The first night we decided to stay in Port. 2 teenagers who had never been on such a big boat needed some warming up. I study the whole boat and did some navigation planning. I talked to neighbouring boats about the reality of my plans, the weather and the weather forecast. It was just great to be in the harbour in great weather, eating and sleeping on board. So great that we even spend another day in the harbour. A harbour is just very interesting. We fished with the locals. Tip: Hook a chicken fillet and catch sea bream. What we did on the second day was an exercise. We motored out of the harbour and practised: the boat stands head-on in the wind, one person hoists the sails, turns off the engine and sails for an hour. In addition, of course, I had to practise rolling everything up and then driving back to the harbour. Especially steering in the harbour with xx million euro yachts requires some practice. Especially with strong mistral winds that started that evening and swept through the harbour. In the end, we managed to bring the boat stern to land, just like the yachts next to us. The French then decided in the evening that we had to move to another place and here we parked with the stern to land, which is much easier.

Day 3

Wind direction north about 5-10 knots, perfect to sail slowly to the island of Porquerolles. We made it in about 3 hours. All in life jackets. In the meantime I did some fishing. Just great for the teenagers to operate the big steering wheel. It's a great feeling that my wife and I are steering the boat together like we used to when we sailed a lot. Porquerolles is a dream island. Turquoise water like in a film. October is low season, so no problem for a place in the harbour (29 euros/night).

Day 4

I was in Porquerolles and rented an electric mountain bike to discover the island.

Day 5

The wind had actually changed direction, there was no westerly wind, so we were straight back to Hyeres. Wind max 19 knots. With 2 reefs in the mainsail and the genoa fully open, we flew back and made it in an hour. Now that was sailing. We heeled quite a bit and the wind should have been stronger or we would have had to furl the genoa. Safely back in the port of Hyeres, we filled her up with diesel (only 25 euros as we were sailing most of the time). And handed the boat back to its owner. All in all, no damage, no problems.