Sailing in August in Europe!

[sarahbdx]

Hi all,

My family and I are looking to sail for a week mid-August (15-22nd approximately). We were interested in Croatia but are now under the impression the wind may not be so good in August?

Would Turkey be a better option? What is the best place to sail in your opinion mid-August?

Most of us are beginners and we will have a skipper on board. The goal is mostly to spend quality time together. I definitely want to improve my sailing thought!

Thanks in advance!!

Sarah

[yeloya]

Croatia and Turkey or even Greece are completely different propositions when it comes to costs, weather and winds..
Greece in general (depends a bit where) and Turkey definately will be warmer and would offer better options for sailing with their relatively reliable winds. (meltemi)
These two countries would also be cheaper in terms of food, mooring or chartering.
If yr priority is sailing, I don't think Croatia would be the best option, but yr call..


Cheers


Yeloya

[Dockhead]

The Aegean is hot as Hades in August, and in many parts of it you will have a very strong, hot wind -- the Meltemi -- which blows out of a clear sky, and can blow at 40 knots or more. Whether you will like that or not is a personal matter. I've had some good sailing in the Meltemi, but it can be intense.

The rest of the Mediterranean is crowded in August and usually very little wind. I would really avoid French and Italian Mediterranean coasts in August. I love Croatia, but August is not the best time to go.

If you want to avoid crowds and don't mind the heat and the Meltemi, Turkey is absolutely the best place to go this year in the Mediterranean -- it will be uncrowded and inexpensive and it is an absolutely fascinating place, with lots to do on land as well as while sailing. Besides fascinating things to see, the food is some of the best in Europe, and with the current exchange rates, it will be cheap. If you can budget a week or a couple of weeks outside of your charter period to see Istanbul, Ephesus, etc., you will be really glad you did.

Just don't try to "do" Istanbul in a few days -- this city is similar in scale and depth to Paris or Rome and you could spend a year there and hardly scratch the surface. You will be frustrated if you go there and spend less than a week or two. Bring extra shoes, because you will wear them out.

Greece is also nice, with similar pluses and minuses to Turkey.

You might also consider areas not in the Mediterranean -- any place on the French Atlantic coasts for example are absolutely wonderful, particularly North and South Brittany. The North Brittany coasts are wild and rocky, with excellent, challenging sailing. You could start in St. Malo, for example. Or South Brittany for something milder, with white sandy beaches. Brest or Glenans.

Or the Baltic -- the main vacation season up there is July, so like in Turkey, you will find it uncrowded. Best place would Sweden or Finland, and cruise the gorgeous archipelago.

It won't be warm, though, in the Baltic. Most people will not find the water warm enough for swimming. If you want warmer weather and don't mind the heat, then by all means, Turkey! Bodrum or Marmaris are good places to start.

[chuckr]

August in the Med is HOT HOT HOT -- and the farther south you get the hotter it gets - as above the issue is the winds - meltimis for novice cruisers are something you may not want to deal with - they can really screw up a short term vacation as you may have to sit and wait it out and that could be from a day to several days

(we are currently heading north in Lesbos and a meltimi is blowing and we have been waiting a few days - a boat on a tight schedule came in yesterday and wants to leave asap but can't without some high degree of risk as they are going due north directly into the teeth of the blow)

We were in Croatia in August a couple of years ago and would suggest you go there - the farther north you get the better and less heat (a bit less) and good warm waters to swim - but there are some morning winds in certain parts you need to avoid - but it can be great sailing and wonderful country

[yeloya]

Originally Posted by chuckr

- as above the issue is the winds - meltimis for novice cruisers are something you may not want to deal with - they can really screw up a short term vacation as you may have to sit and wait it out and that could be from a day to several days

Either I am leaving and sailing in another region or I have different understanding of "strong winds".

Between Bodrum and Göçek anything above 30 kts in August may happen once or twice and it may last one or one and half day, very rarely 2 days.
And this mostly between Bodrum and Datça. Further south, less and less but then the heat and humidity becomes a problem.
Meltemi starts midday, reaches its maximum strength between 3-5 PM and dies with the sunset. As an average, it blows around 15-20 kts.
Maybe you are confusing with Cyclades (Santorini, Mikanos, etc) where 30 kts is standard and often it can go up to 35-40 kts.

I have been four times to Croatia, 2-3 days each time, mostly by car, only once by boat. I haven't seen any single boat under sail. August was full of italian motor boats and I didn't like it. The people is not as warm as they are in Greece or in Turkey. Food is expensive and not good. Local wines are very good and reasonably priced.
The landscape and anchorages are awfull though..
As I said, simply a different proposition than Greece or Turkey, but Croatia is definately not for someone who wants to sail.

Cheers

Yeloya

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by yeloya

Either I am leaving and sailing in another region or I have different understanding of "strong winds".

Between Bodrum and Göçek anything above 30 kts in August may happen once or twice and it may last one or one and half day, very rarely 2 days.
And this mostly between Bodrum and Datça. Further south, less and less but then the heat and humidity becomes a problem.
Meltemi starts midday, reaches its maximum strength between 3-5 PM and dies with the sunset. As an average, it blows around 15-20 kts.
Maybe you are confusing with Cyclades (Santorini, Mikanos, etc) where 30 kts is standard and often it can go up to 35-40 kts.

I have been four times to Croatia, 2-3 days each time, mostly by car, only once by boat. I haven't seen any single boat under sail. August was full of italian motor boats and I didn't like it. The people is not as warm as they are in Greece or in Turkey. Food is expensive and not good. Local wines are very good and reasonably priced.
The landscape and anchorages are awfull though..
As I said, simply a different proposition than Greece or Turkey, but Croatia is definately not for someone who wants to sail.

Cheers

Yeloya

I must have been unlucky, but I have dealt with 40+ knot Meltemis a few times off the Turkish Aegean coasts, in places like between Kos and the Bodrum or Datcha peninsulas -- which might accelerate the wind. The Meltemi can really shriek in some of the deep bays in that area, too -- like in the Gokova Gulf, and between the islands.

I don't want to scare anyone off, though -- the sea state produced by such blows is nothing difficult at all. Just don't expect to get upwind anywhere, when it's blowing. As Yeloya says, it always pipes down towards evening.

Concerning Croatia:

I loved our sailing there, and would love to go back, but it's very crowded in August. It's true what Yeloya says about the people being much less open and accessible than those in the Aegean. And I even have a common language with the Croats! (Russian and S-C are more or less mutually intelligible). The Aegean culture is something very special. Any cruiser who is at all gregarious will make lots of friends and have lots of interesting experiences.

[yeloya]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I must have been unlucky, but I have dealt with 40+ knot Meltemis a few times off the Turkish Aegean coasts, in places like between Kos and the Bodrum or Datcha peninsulas -- which might accelerate the wind. The Meltemi can really shriek in some of the deep bays in that area, too -- like in the Gokova Gulf, and between the islands.

This is the worst place; the straight between the south of Kos, east of Nissiros and the Knidos peninsula. The meltemi descending from north, north west is squeezed there in this straight. It's very unpleasant particularly if you heading north. But this just 10-12 nm..
Maybe not 40+ always, but 30+ winds are common there. If we are heading north, we try to pass from there early morning or late in the night to avoid the worst of meltemi. There is also counter current of about 2 nm if you try to pass close to the lighthouse in the turkish coast.. ..

To me, the worst of all in this area is not the meltemi but the southerlies. They bring huge swells from the open sea, there are few anchorage sheltered from these winds and can reach 50 +.. Thanks God, they are very frequent in winter months and not in summer. You can have rarely southerlies in summer but they never exceed 20-25 kts on our coasts..

Cheers

Yeloya