Moving Day: Shipping Stuff to Our Boat
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Last Updated on December 3, 2020 by Amy
As part of the process for buying our cruising boat, we had to divide up moving aboard the boat into two stages: “self-delivery” and “live-aboard”.
Our new boat had to somehow get from the factory in La Rochelle, France, to the US. There are three options: ship your boat, hire a delivery crew, or captain it yourself. For the first two options, the boat doesn’t need a lot of gear, it can be pretty bare-bones, depending on your crews’ requirements.
However, we wanted to sail Starry Horizons back to the states ourselves. Starry Horizons was launched in October 2014 and we arrived in Palmetto, Florida, where most of our outfitting was to take place plus the final move aboard, in March of 2015. That’s five months and a lot of miles covered.
Thus, we had to break things down into our “self-delivery” pile and “live-aboard” pile. With the luggage limits on airplanes, we needed another way to ship supplies over.
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How We Got Part of a Shipping Container
We asked Uchimata, the contractor we were using in La Rochelle, about shipping parts. Down the rabbit hole, we settled on Interconex to handle the packaging and shipping overseas and Renault-Delage to handle the domestic shipping in France.
Interconex came to our home to discuss the shipping options. Based on how much we had, we ended up paying for one liftvan – basically a crate.
What We Packed into the Container
Once we got that news and received the dimensions of the liftvan container that was used to store our shipment, we set out to go through all our stuff, setting aside those things we had that we wanted to ship and buying lots of stuff that we wanted but didn’t have. This is where having Amazon Prime came in quite handy. We had boxes arriving almost daily! Included in these shipments were some electronics that our contractor in France would have had difficulty sourcing.
We packed:
- Dinghy Outboard
- Mantus Anchor
- CruiseRO Watermaker
- Fiorentino Para-Anchor
- Asymmetric Spinnaker
- Screecher
- Folding Bikes
- Electronics
- Spinlock PFDs
- Foul Weather Gear
- Safety Gear
- Tools
- Fishing Gear (including Rods and Reels)
- Galley Equipment
- Reference Guides/Manuals
- Games/Entertainment
- Workout gear
- Printer
- Comforter and Sheets
- Blankets
- Regular Clothes
- Towels
I was amazed at how much stuff we were able to include and truth be told, this was one of the first tangible things we’ve done that really hit me that we’re going to France and picking up a boat. Buying our one-way plane ticket is one thing, but seeing all the stuff you’ve accumulated for the trip be packed up and shipped off is quite a feeling.
Moving Day with Interconex
Our shipper arranged to have a moving company come by and pack up all the stuff we had identified that we wanted to ship to France. We had done an initial job of separating things into boxes, but they came in and wrapped things up to make them more secure for shipment. They brought their own boxes that were designed to fit perfectly into the space we had allotted.
From there, our stuff was shipped via ocean freight to Le Havre in France. Our agent in France arranged transportation via truck to the final destination in La Rochelle, which was Uchimata’s shop at Minimes. The shipment could not be delivered until the boat was exported, so the liftvan stayed in a yard somewhere, I assume. This whole process took about 5-7 weeks, including clearing customs in France, and since the day we packed up was still 9 weeks away from our departure date, we had plenty of time.
Tracking Our Shipment
There are sometimes where technology is pretty amazing. Tracking ships is definitely one of those times. We received word that our shipment of stuff to France has been loaded on the cargo ship MV Centaurus and was on its way to Le Havre. It arrived around September 14th and just like a shipment with UPS, we had a tracking number and everything.
But the coolest part? Thanks to the wonders of AIS, we could actually track the ship in real-time!
For those who are curious, the website we used to track the ship via AIS is Vessel Finder.
Delivery into La Rochelle
The ship successfully delivered our liftvan to Le Havre, where our agent filed a T1, which means that the shipment could be transported to La Rochelle without going through customs in Le Havre.
Our liftvan was stored by Renault-Delage.
Costs to Ship
Volume: 201 cubic feet
New Weight: 1,599
Interconex: $2,212.63
Renault-Delage: €2,372
Taxes and Immediate Export
The really good news is that since we immediately exported our boat out of France and the EU, we were allowed to ship our goods marked for immediate export and they arrived into France duty-free. Renault-Delage arranged all the paperwork for us.
Moving Aboard in Minimes
On November 6th, we did the handover of Starry Horizons.
The next day, Fountaine Pajot processed our paperwork to export Starry Horizons, and we were given the green flag to accept our shipment. The liftvan arrived at Uchimata.
It took us the better part of the day to move out of our AirBnb and unpack the luggage we’d brought with us. Then we decided we needed to rent a van to move everything from Uchimata to the boat (Minimes is HUGE). We didn’t get around to cracking the liftvan open until after sunset(!), but it only took a few trips to get everything to the boat. We stayed our first night aboard.
Everything Else
When we arrived in Palmetto to outfit the boat, we flew back home to get our car and pack up the rest of our stuff. Since we were in Palmetto for three months, having a car was very handy, and we just sold it when we were ready to untie the docklines!
This is perfect!
I’ve spent months considering all these alternatives and came up with the same plan as you guys! (Just flying to a different continent).
Bill
Sounds like it will be a fantastic adventure. My wife and I are following it closely from our 72′ Schooner in Nova Scotia.
Amy and David what an exciting time for you two. As you said a life changing event. I wish you good luck and full sails. I’ll be watching and adventuring with you.
Love,
Aunt Tammy
Thanks Tammy! We are so glad you will be following us!
Hi guys have a great time picking up your new boat, be a little prepared for some frustration as tomorrow in France doesn’t mean the next day!!! But it’s all part of the fun.
Pitty your not coming into the Med as we could have caught up for a beer or two
All the best
Jeff & Sandra
Onboard Nawii
Hi Jeff and Sandra!
Amy and I have been eagerly following along with your adventures aboard Nawii. We can’t wait until we’re out on the water ourselves. Thanks for the advice about patience Bering needed in France. We’re already trying to prepare ourselves for it, but I’m sure there will be some frustrations regardless.
And while we may not meet up in the Med, it sounds like we may end up headed in the same general direction so hopefully we’ll run into you guys someday and we can get those drinks!
Fair winds,
David
Hey guys,
Have followed your adventure right from the start.
Just got back from 2 weeks in the BVI and are about ready to order a Helia — have you gotten your “order” issues resolved? Did you figure out the cause?
Dave
Hi Dave, we loved the time we spent in the BVIs and can’t wait to be back on our boat. We have come to an agreement with our dealer on how to resolve the issues with our order. The boat will end up with the same functionality that we wanted, but it won’t be set up the way we had originally intended. As for the cause, I still haven’t been told an official reason.
David and Amy,
Your post are so very helpful and will be even more helpful for us in the future. The details of items to ship, the pros and cons of different products considered, and the research sources are immensely helpful.
Please keep it coming. We are following your journey very closely and want to hear about anything you will take the time to write about. Safe travels and fair winds.
Frank and Mary Grace
Thanks Frank and Mary Grace. We’re certainly happy to have someone who can benefit from our experiences. And we’re still looking forward to anchoring next to Let It Be some day!