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" I'm selling because I hate ZMELs "A yachtsman wrote, summing up a shared weariness. For several years now, Light Ecological Mooring Zones have been springing up all along the Mediterranean coast, in a bid to preserve the Posidonia meadows. However, not everyone is happy with their introduction. For some, they are seen as an additional obstacle to freedom of navigation.
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Added to this is an economic reality: spectacular increases in berth prices, privatized concessions, docks reallocated to industrial storage... and endless waiting lists for year-round berths. Not to mention the regular increases imposed by the harbor master's offices.
Only for the rich?
This feeling of suffocation is reinforced by a yachting industry that, according to some, has become increasingly elitist. " The sea is no longer for everyone "A pensioner from Toulon, strangled by the sharp increase imposed by a new port manager, laments. At the other end of the scale, others point out that personal choices also play a role: " A ?1,000 smartphone, a ?45,000 sedan, and we complain about the price of a lifebuoy? ". Especially as some MELAs are very welcoming, such as Antibes, where the first night is free (subsequent nights are not).
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But it's not all doom and gloom. Some yachtsmen are adapting: transportable yachts, off-season sailing, alternative anchorages or changes of sailing basin. Some even see this as an opportunity to return to a more modest, nomadic style of boating, more in touch with nature. " Small boats, small problems "we say. And this trend seems to be gaining ground.
A good gesture for the ecology
Finally, it's hard to ignore the initial objective of the MELZs: to protect fragile ecosystems. Several testimonials point to tangible results: the return of marine life in certain Spanish calas, greater safety at anchor, an end to stressful nights. " It's not the end of boating, but a transformation "says another lucid yachtsman.
Changing to navigate?
The question may not be: should you sell your boat because of the MELZ? but how do you continue to sail in a changing world? Between legitimate frustrations and ecological demands, yachting is reinventing itself, whether forced or voluntary. And what if the sea were no longer the ultimate freedom, but a luxury that you have to learn to deserve?
