Winter Liveaboard Life on a Catamaran: Marseille → La Grande-Motte

Winter Liveaboard Life on a Catamaran: Marseille → La Grande-Motte

We got a much nicer day on the water today. You can see where the color changes. Okay, we are entering the marina. [MUSIC] I’m Michelle, and this is Chris, and that’s Mr. Gidget. We traded our 9-5 and hometown comforts for a life of adventure and spontaneity. This is not just our journey, it’s yours too. Let’s explore together. Be sure to subscribe and turn on your notifications so that you never miss an episode. [MUSIC] I just realized that we’re leaving France in a few weeks, and we’re going to be missing out on all these pastries. You haven’t had enough pastries. We have to eat French pastries while we can. All right. Would you like some coffee? What are we doing? Oh my goodness. We are heading to Montpellier. Yeah. And we have a 69 nautical mile travel. So we’re going to do day one of that 69 nautical miles today. Yeah. So we’re up early. The sun just rose here in Marseille, and we’re off to Anchorage halfway between here and Montpellier. Right. And we pulled into Marseille here, and it was a big couple days of travel. How many nautical miles did we do? And the winds were like crazy high. Like we’re getting like 30, 40 knots of wind out there, and we were not like, oh, that was just beyond like what we were expecting. Yeah. It was forecasted to like 25 max, and we were hitting 40. So it’s one of those things that forecasts you just have to kind of, they’re not perfect. So we pulled into Marseille here, and we were just like one hot mess. And thankfully, we’ve had a little bit of time to recharge now, but we pulled in and it was like our flag was like barely hanging on. It was like, we had these like plastic, like big plastic ties. Yeah. And one of them had broken off. Our main sail had ripped up like the clip that had attached this. I’m going to replace this here in Montpellier when we get there. So this piece has completely gone, and the main sail is not operational right now. Right. So like we had, this was attaching the main sail to our halyard, and it was not only screwed on, but we had a big plastic tie around it to fasten it in place. And the wind was so strong, it broke the tie, and then it unscrewed. And now the halyard’s not connected to the main sail. It’s like caught up. Yeah, it’s up in the shrouds right now. Yeah. So we’ve got to fix that when we’re in Montpellier. And yeah, so we were, Chris is correct, we were a hot mess coming into Marseille. And we’re very excited to spend two days here and get recharged. And we’re looking forward to hopefully some smooth sailing into Montpellier. And if not, we have two weeks of rest there. Yeah, we had such a great time in Marseille. We did a little walk around the city. We didn’t go too far, but we caught a couple of the highlights around the harbor here. Yeah, we checked out the main church. I joked with Chris that it’s like the Duomo in Florence because it’s got the same color pattern, but of course it’s not the same. I’ll have to look up what it was called later. Yeah. It was so pretty. I got some great shots inside and I really liked the audio of the church. There was most like oming, I guess is the right way to say it. I don’t know. Yeah. They were like chanting in the church. It was very beautiful. I think chanting is the right word. Yeah. And the bells went off while we were there, which was really special. Yeah. So we had a great little walk around and… Yeah, it was a very beautiful church. It was. Yeah. So anyways, on to Montpellier. We’re going to be spending a couple of weeks there. I’ve got some desk work I’m going to try to get cut off on. Michelle has a broken washing machine or there’s a plumbing problem of some kind. It might be clogged. I have a halyard to fix. Yep. I have some random boat maintenance to do while we’re here and while we’re in Montpellier. And of course I have some work as well. So that’s what’s going on. That’s what’s happening in France this week. So [Music] From the water, Marseille feels grand, historic, and alive. It’s moments like these that remind us why we chose the saline lifestyle. Two days in the city gave us a chance to recharge and explore the harbor and its stunning old cathedral before heading back to sea. Our next passage was calmer but no less memorable. The highlight was crossing where the Rhone River pours into the Mediterranean. You can actually see where the water changes color. An unreal moment on the water. We got a much nicer day on the water today. Holy cow. Yeah, it’s so calm. Nice and warm. Yeah, so we’ve got just the one sail up because our halyards still wrapped around the shrouds up there. So we got the four sail going and we only got like four knots of wind. But we’re combining the four sail with the engines and we’re doing over seven knots here on the water, which is pretty cool. And it’s a long sail today. I think we’re planning 45 nautical miles. So it’ll take us all day to get there. But really cool. We’re going to go by the Rhone today. La Rhone. La Rhone. Yeah, so where the River Rhone. River Rhone meets the Mediterranean. We’re going to see the entrance here in a little bit. So that’s pretty chill. Yeah. And this is the river network that feeds all of our favorite vineyards. That’s right. The Rhone Valley. We’re getting excited. Yes. That’s right. We should just put a cup in the river and see what it tastes like. You can see where the color changes. That’s where the Rhone is entering the Mediterranean. Because I think the Rhone’s a dirty river. Yeah, I think it’s like brownish. You can you can literally look. We’re about to cross it. This is so cool. There we go. This is this is roll water. Get your cup ready. That is just the coolest thing. It’s like it’s so so obvious. Where where the Rhone meets the Med. We’ve learned on these longer passages that it’s a lot more comfortable if we pre-prepare our meals. And so Shell has like made us pasta and we got like stir fry and rice. It’s like all ready to go. So we can just like reheat while we’re underway. And if we get rough waters because I think one of the bigger problems we’ve had is we get in these like rough waters and we’re hungry and you just don’t want to come down here because like like it’s just it’s just not comfortable when you’re in rough seas. So we’re we pre-prepared our meals for our our bigger passage here. So pretty cool. And I should clarify when I say we’ve prepared our meals. What I really mean is Michelle pre-prepared our meals because nobody wants to eat my cooking. Not even me. Next stop, Le Grand Mott. After so many passages it felt good to slow down and take a breath. Tell me about the this morning when I turned the heater on our cabin was second degrees. Celsius. That’s really cold. I’m like unable to spread my Nutella and we’re like so excited because we got like giant like industrial jar of Nutella right out in France the way they do but I can’t spread it. It’s the same consistency of when we stored it in the refrigerator. So we we did our our day one of our passage yesterday to Montpellier. So we did our 45 nautical miles. Got a really cozy little it’s actually it’s a different kind of anchorage. It’s like wide open and we can anchor anyone and there’s not a soul in sight. And it’s yeah it’s a it’s a different kind of a place to anchor today. And so we got a we got a quicker sale today probably five or six hours. Get us out to Montpellier. We’re actually going to Grand Mott which is outside of Montpellier. And we’re gonna spend a couple weeks there in the marina. We’re gonna get caught up on some office work that we have and some life things. And so we’re on run day two of our passage before we get some some downtime in Montpellier. It’s funny how you can go like two days without seeing a single boat. And as soon as you pull into a city there’s like all the little sailboats are out for their day sale. Grand Mott Grand Mott this is Gidget. Gidget Gidget like why don’t they give us the VHF if nobody’s ever on it. Grand Mott Grand Mott this is Gidget Grand Mott this is Gidget. We are just approaching the marina we’re outside Grand Mott. Speaking to me in French. We’re just outside of the marina. Okay we we um um you you come with uh I don’t understand we come to the marina. Yes that’s right this is Gidget. Yeah we have a we have a slipped reserved where we’re you are expecting us. I don’t understand. We are entering the marina. Okay no problem. What do you have there babies? I have an astrochar for Gigi. So Gigi has a proper bathroom right in Grand Mott. Outside the house. He likes to pee on the deck like a proper human he wants to be in solitude. Well he wants to use it now. We’re gonna be in Grand Mott for two weeks and we got a bunch of stuff to do. We’re gonna get this halyard down off the thing. Fixed. Yeah. That was unsuccessful. That’s okay Chris will put on real shoes and we’ll try it again in a few hours. That’s right and we’ll um we’ll hoist one of us up there if we have to to get it down. That’s right. So we can actually use it this week or when we’re done. That’s right yeah because we finally had wind and we had a broken halyard. That’s right. So we’ve got yeah so we have our friends coming on board for the first time. We have our first house guests. Yeah. So we got to get the boat ready for them. We’re gonna get linens and we’re gonna get the boat cleaned and. Yeah and some welcome food and welcome drinks. Snacks. Welcome drinks. Yeah get all the house prepared get all the action lists done. I’ve got a few repairs to do some boat things as well as some halyard. I’ve got a wash machine that’s not draining. Right. I’ve got to get caught up on laundry. Few like housekeeping stuff and then prepare for guests which is very exciting. Very exciting and I have desk work. That’s true. So while Michelle’s busy around the boat I will be busy on front of the computer. Oh yeah that’s right I have bookkeeping. I have bookkeeping so Chris can do real work. Right bookkeeping’s work. And Mr. Gidget has resting so he’s happy when the guests come. He’s gonna have mandatory walks and mandatory naps. Yeah like right now he’s ready for a mandatory nap because he’s a little spicy. Are you spicy? Yeah. Yeah. So we still got our halyard problem going on up there. We want to get it fixed before we leave the harbor here. So we’re getting ready to go up there and and get her off of the the rigging. So Michelle and I have a bit of a deal going on and the deal is that whenever there’s underwater activity it’s Michelle’s up. And whenever there’s going up the mast activity that’s my job. Chris is up. Yeah. We use the time to catch up on boat work and by we I mean Chris had to go up the mast and fix the halyard. This is not my favorite job to watch. 50 feet up swaying in the wind. That’s catamaran living. Sometimes exhilarating sometimes terrifying but always necessary. Fixing the halyard meant we were ready for the next leg. Okay Michelle you’ll lift me just a little bit hey. Yeah I want to see how it feels. Yeah make sure make sure I’m sitting and make sure I’m comfortable. Okay I’m still good. It’s a bit scarier up here than I remember when we got it done. Yeah I’m feeling good. This is a comfortable pace. All right. I’m good. I made it. Yeah. We’re going to have two of the nettles. Sorry this one. Yeah. You’re teasing him. Big day. Michelle’s got a new toaster and other basic appliances. Very big day. Michelle’s been baking our toast for like two months now. Yeah it’s not the right thing. So this is this is a big day on the gidget and we will have real toast. I’m very excited because it comes with its own protective bag that’s branded. Spank. Okay do the unveiling. Wow this is like the world’s fanciest toaster. So I am so happy today. I have fixed the washing machine. It had an error code and we were in there going to use it for the last week. Maybe a little bit more. I had some time today so I sat down to tackle the project. I got into this hold here where we have this chump tackles the shower, the sink and the dishwasher, the washing machine. And I was able to get into it and clean it out really good. What was the problem? We had fiber like lint backed up in the pipe. We don’t have a lint trap. And how did you fix it? I pulled the lint out with some tools. What did the plumber say? The plumbers had no idea what I was talking about. No plumber is a marine plumber. Marine plumbers never deal with washing machines because this is a very luxurious item on a sailboat. So much fun. Chris asked I said I will make you french toast for lunch today. And Chris said what appliance are you using? And I said the plancha and he was surprised I had an answer. Yeah which fancy boat appliance are you going to use today? Yeah we’re going to have Sunday brunch. That’s right. That’s right Pooh bear. That’s right. Oh yeah is that good? You like my sweater? So I’ve been super surprised. We’re down in Loughran Mottsdale. I’ve been super surprised at the reduction in pricing down here. We just came out of the Cote d’Azur the French Riviera. And it was crazy expensive. Marinas were expensive. Restaurants were expensive. It was like 40 euro got you a hamburger in the Cote d’Azur. And here like 40 euro gets you like a three course proper dinner. Which is like quite the treat. Same thing with wines. Things that are 40 euro menu price. 25 for a bottle. Yeah we were just stocking up the groceries on the boat. And it was like 65 euro and we had like so many groceries that it took two of us to barely walk back to the boat. And for an extra 40 euro we got a whole case of Bordeaux which was really cool. Yeah really exciting. Nice Bordeaux case like a wood case. And I was like back home for like back home in Canada it was like a hundred dollars barely gets you like a bag of groceries. You get like nothing for that. You get like a bag of peanuts. It’s silly. And I’m like I’m going to get my haircut now. Min’s haircut here in La Grande Matte is 20 euro. Just like just remarkable the price difference. Yeah and I’m going to book my haircut today and we’ll see. Yeah. But the prices as advised look really reasonable. Next month Michelle and I are looking forward to getting our teeth cleaned in Spain. Yeah so we’ll let you know how that goes. Yeah but again same standards as Canada. I looked into it because I was nervous and like 40 euro for a cleaning. Wow. Yeah. Just crazy. And then like x-rays and like if there’s an issue it’s just completely inexpensive. Like they just have a different level of pricing over here for sure. Yeah. Mr G. Hey buddy. Can you see me? You see me here? You ready for your walk? Digit. Keep it cool buddy. Keep it cool. Just been plotting out our course for the next few months. We have some pretty ambitious travel plans. We’ve got lots of friends and family coming out to see us. So we’re just marking off where we’re gonna go and all our sailing adventures here. We’re still up in France. We’re just outside of Montpellier right now. And we’re gonna sail down. We’re going to pick up our friends Laura and Phil in Port Vondre here in a few days. So that’ll be really great. And together we’re gonna cross into Spain. Make our way down to Barcelona where my parents are gonna come and join us. They’re gonna come join us on the boat. And we’re gonna do the sail with them from Barcelona to Valencia. So that’ll be really amazing. We got some time where we’re just gonna be exploring the Spanish coast. Probably just Michelle and I. We might slip into Gibraltar for a little bit. We’ll see. We’ll see how we’re feeling. And then we’re going back to Barcelona. We got some friends come to join us. And we’re going to sail with them over to the Beliéric. We’re going to Palma. We’re going to Ibiza. And we’re gonna have an awesome time out there before making the big trip over to Italy to visit our family. So like wow that’s gonna be a whirlwind. We’re gonna have some big sail days. We’re gonna see a ton of stuff. And we’re gonna have some really cool adventures with some of our friends and family here coming up. So that’s gonna be great. Bye. (upbeat music) First of all, it’s my birthday today. Happy birthday, Chris. So happy birthday to me. And second of all, secondly, we are about to go on our biggest sail yet. That’s right. We’re planning an 80 nautical mile journey. We will be leaving at 3 a.m. or we’ll be getting up at 3. I think that means we’ll be actually have to sail at about 4 a.m. And so I’m not gonna be doing anything too crazy for my birthday today. Actually, we’re gonna have a really nice dinner out. I’ll have a drink or two, I’m sure, but we will not be getting carried away because we will need to cherish our limited sleep so that we can get out there fresh and as rested as possible for our big trip. We’re getting close. We’re working our way towards the Spanish border and our friends, Laura and Phil, are flying into town. So we’re getting ready to go pick them up so that we can have some friends on board for a change. As much as I enjoy Michelle and her company, it’ll be nice to chat with somebody else for a few days. Yeah, Gidget’s not the big conversationalist, so it’ll be nice to have another person to talk to. That’s right. (Gidget whimpers) Good. Hey, this is us taking it easy before our big sail. (Gidget squeals) Did you have a good meal? It was so good. Yes, and now? We are in the rain. It’s gross outside. Yeah, it went raining really bad. Yeah. Yeah. But it’s supposed to stop raining soon and hopefully very soon because we’re supposed to get the boat out and– And it’s raining really hard, so we’ll see. But the plan is for it to not rain when we leave. That’s the plan. The weather is, it says it’s not so rainy. We looked at the weather. So it’s gotta stop. Seriously so gross outside. Can’t believe we’re gonna go sailing in this. Good morning. So the weather forecast has been changing a little bit out there as we are going through the night. It’s dying down right now, the rain. It’s about 3 a.m. The rain is still kind of trickling a little bit. About 10 minutes ago it was like pouring, which is bizarre. Yeah, and some weather forecasts are saying that, you know, we might get a patch of no rain and then a few more hours of some rain here in a bit and other forecasts are saying no rain. So I think regardless if we get a nice patch of rain, time to get off the dock, I think we’re gonna take advantage of it and get going. In the arena, yeah. And if we get a little bit of rain while we’re out there. Okay. (laughing) (dramatic music) Okay, we got off the dock safely. It’s raining a little bit. It’s nothing crazy. Shell’s working on the fenders. We’re underway, we’re making seven and a half knots. So that’s pretty decent. That means we should get to our destination by about sunset or so if we keep this pace up. So that’s good. So far, things are good and steady as she goes. (dramatic music) (dramatic music) Yeah, it’s very much raining out there. I’m kind of sleepy, but we’re like, we’re breaking eight knots now. I got both the sails up and so we’re making good time. And I’m warm enough. Just like to go back to bed. (dramatic music) Yeah, it’s still raining out. The water’s gotten pretty rough. Both Michelle and I got seasick. I did get in a little nap. So that was good, but mostly, I’m not having the best time today. (laughs) Which is not my favorite sail that we’ve done. But we’re consistently doing like seven, eight knots though. Actually, we hit quite a lot of nines and it even flashed 10 knots there for a little bit. So we’re making good speed. So it’s not gonna be quite as long of a sail as we had planned for, which I think is good. So just keep pushing through it. (dramatic music) (dramatic music) Okay, booboos. Tell me how you’re feeling. I feel gross. Feel gross. Yeah, but I’m happy we’re here in Port Vondra to pick up Laura and Phil a couple days early. Yeah. We are on a really cool boulevard next to the port. It’s under construction. Under construction, so can you apologize for tomorrow at 8 a.m.? Yep. But I’m looking forward to it. I think this is really great. Yeah, it sure feels great to be in Port Vondra. That was such an exhausting sail and I could use a nap and a bowl of pasta and a beer, but like it feels great to be here. Next week, we take on our toughest passage yet. (dramatic music) We’ll be meeting Laura to talk about financial independence at sea and we have a very special segment, “Fishing with Phil.” (dramatic music) As the sun sets on another episode, we wanna say a heartfelt thank you to our amazing patrons. Your support means the world to us. It helps keep us filming, upgrading our gear and sharing these stories from life aboard the Gidget. As a thank you, our patrons get access to behind the scenes updates, live streams, free merchandise and a few surprises we don’t share anywhere else. If you’d like to support the channel and be part of the crew, head over to patreon.com forward slash Sailing with Gidget. From all three of us, thank you for keeping this adventure going. (dramatic music) (upbeat music)

Extended, slower-paced cut (32 min) with full chapters—winter liveaboard life from Marseille → La Grande-Motte + Gulf of Lion crossing.

Winter liveaboard life on our catamaran in France—repairs, routines, and real boat living from Marseille to La Grande-Motte. We battle 40-knot Mistral winds, then cross the Gulf of Lion and make Gidget feel like home.

From pastries and passage planning to going up the mast for a halyard repair, meal prep for rough seas, and cost-of-living wins outside the Riviera—this is catamaran living in winter across the Western Mediterranean (Marseille • Rhône/Camargue • La Grande-Motte • Gulf of Lion).

What’s inside!

Liveaboard life • Catamaran sailing • Winter sailing • Mistral/Tramontane winds • Marseille sailing • Rhône river delta (Camargue) • La Grande-Motte marina • Meal prep for passages • Halyard repair (up the mast) • Boat maintenance • Budget sailing • Dog on a boat • Route planning: Spain, Balearics, Gibraltar, Italy.
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✨ Key Highlights

00:00 Intro
01:02 French pastries & plan to sail toward Montpellier
02:05 40-knot winds to Marseille: mainsail damage + French flag almost gone
03:38 Visiting Marseille & the cathedral
04:26 What’s next: boat work, desk work, repairs
04:53 Stunning departure shots leaving Marseille
05:44 Crossing the Rhône into the Med (Camargue) — much calmer seas
07:55 Life onboard: meal prep for rough passages
09:04 Winter cold onboard (Nutella won’t spread!)
09:35 Day 2 of the passage
10:37 Arriving in La Grande-Motte
12:27 Mr. Gidget’s new foredeck “bathroom” (astroturf pad)
12:45 Halyard fix attempt #1
13:25 Getting Gidget ready for guests
14:30 Halyard fix attempt #2 — up the mast
16:30 New fancy toaster (!)
17:14 Michelle fixes the washing machine (grey-water/pump clean-out)
18:32 French toast on the plancha
19:13 Cost of living: La Grande-Motte vs French Riviera (+ cheap Bordeaux & haircut)
20:59 Hanging with Mr. Gidget
21:29 Plotting our course: Spain ➜ Barcelona ➜ Valencia ➜ Balearics ➜ Italy
21:51 Upcoming travel plans: Spain, Gibraltar & the Balearics
22:57 Life in La Grande-Motte: pretty shots, fresh toast, waxing the boat
24:42 Chris’s final birthday dinner before a dangerous crossing
26:33 Rough seas & storms: crossing the Gulf of Lion
30:19 Landfall at Port-Vendres
31:14 Next episode preview: crossing into Spain, financial independence at sea (Laura), and “Phishing with Phil”
31:34 Thanks to our Patrons
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💬 Join the Conversation

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🛠️ Gear We Use on Gidget (and How You Can Support Us)

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🎞️ Video Editing

Special thanks to Sheraz K for editing this episode.

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