Sailing from Wales to the Med!!

[Limey2000]

I have got it into my head that Next year (Aug 2009) i will sail from the Welsh coast down to the med and maybe beyond (im going to take a year or so off work).
I am now in the early planning stages and would like any help/suggestions that anybody can offer, as of yet i don't have a boat (will be buying one in the next 6 months so any suggestions on what i might need will be great).
I am also looking at the route to the med, it has been suggested that i could possibly travel through France on the canals to save going around france/spain/portugal, has anybody done this?
My plan is to stay close to the coast and set anchor each evening, is this possible?
Would i have to get permits to travel or can i sail anywhere i like so long as i don't land?

Would appreciate any tips/hints and advice that people have got to offer.

[Hud3]

Hello, Limey!

Welcome to the Forum!

Sounds like an adventure in the making! There've been a few discussions here on your topic Try searching with keywords in our handy search engine -- Cruisers & Sailing Forum

There are some nice river and canal maps here:
Canal and River Maps

Good luck!

[swagman]

Hi Limey,
I've not used the canals myself but think you'll need to draw less than 1.5 metres and have an air height of less than 3.5 plus a width no greater than ??? to get through yourself. Get a book on the subject and check actual needs yourtself.
Yes you'll need paperwork sorted. If you use inland French waterways you need an ICC (get one via RYA in UK) plus a carnet to use the canal network (get one as you enter waterway system in France).
Neither is neeeded if you go around the coast although an ICC might be a sensible qualification to get before you head off.
If you chose to coast hop around Biscay I would not put my faith in an ability to day sail and be assured of a safe anchorage each night - but checking out a pilot book will allow you to judge this for yourself once you know what kind of yacht you're on and how far you feel comfortable to sail in daylight hours.
If you go straight across from UK to N Spain then expect to set aside 3 - 5 days and aim to depart in safest offshore months for Biscay - May or June.
Sounds like you've still got lots to learn so go enjoy soaking it all up and one day getting out there.
Cheers
JOHN

[sailor0646]

Hi Limey,

sailing along the French atlantic coast might be nice, but be aware that arriving in say Biarritz you would have to go most of the time from there more or less against prevailing winds all along the Spanish northern coast.

Why not buy a boat which is already within the med as opposed to buy in Wales and take it there through "rough" waters?

Crossing French canals with a larger sailboat ist generally not a good idea because of the deep keels these type of boats usually have.

[JimB]

Hi Limey,

My web site compares most of the cruise areas of Europe. You may find it useful in planning your trip - it should give you a good idea of places to spend time in, and places to skip quickly past. Google 'jimb sail' to find the site . . .

And Sailor, I thought the north Spain coast winds were about 50/50 east/west, with perhaps slightly longer sessions of easterly wind? Certainly, the average currents are east to west, excepting after a long session of westerly winds.

JimB

[sailor0646]

Hi Jim,

I took you comment seriously and checked again here:

Wind & weather statistic / Wind & Wetter Statistik Playa Sardinero/Santander for Kitesurfing, Windsurfing, Surfing and Sailing

It looks like my assumption about a mostly westerly current was not right.

[freetime]

JimB's sail Europe

[JimB]

Sailor,

What an excellent site for weather stats. I've been using the UK Admiralty pilots when searching for long term stats, but it takes a long time to trawl through all the written data. The graphics on the windstats site are superb, really easy to interpret.

If you have a look at the stats for Methoni, in SW Greece, you can see why I've bought a house there - good windsurfing country!

Oh, and freetime, thanks for posting that link.

JimB

[Jolly Roger]

I’ve done the trip from Falmouth to Gib’ twice. You need to wait for a Northerly to set in, and we boomed across Biscay in four nights, (42 foot ketch). This was in the days before GPS and we dead reckoned it, taking sights and confirming our position by hailing ships as they passed. It was awesome to see the loom of Finistare within an hour of our predictions.
Once, at twilight I was on watch and suddenly heard a great whooshing noise like an Avon deflating. I looked behind to see a school of porpoises leaping out of the big following seas not twenty feet away. Some of them were fifteen feet long with youngsters as well, and as they leapt out of the crests they seemed to fly the length of the boat. To this day I swear one of them turned and winked at me. Our two daughters who were six and seven at the time still talk about it.
Your first stop should be Vego for a bit of a rest, then there are some superb stop-overs on the Portuguese and Spanish coasts, especially if you like Port and Sherry.
Forget day sailing round Biscay; it’s 1500 miles straight line to Gib’, so goodness knows how far it is round the circumference and you will frequently be on a very dangerous lee shore. You can’t really day sail/anchor down the Atlantic coast either, because it is very rocky and steep to and notorious for fog. Anyway, by the time you’ve made Falmouth down the Irish Sea and round Land’s End, then crossed Biscay, you won’t even want to day hop. Hot foot it to Gib’ and beyond as fast as you can, (not forgetting the port and sherry stops) for some warm water under your keel and sun on your back. You sure as heck won’t get any in England! But beware! Ours was also meant to be a two year sabbatical, but we finished up staying seven! So don’t make too many firm plans.
From what I have heard of the French canals it can be very pretty, but a problem in a small sailboat, because your one engine might be a bit pushed sometimes, but I’ve never done it myself.

[JimB]

Wow! Jolly roger, you're a galloper, or a voyager!

Personally, I love pottering down the French coast - to as far as La Rochelle, then doing an overnight to the French/Spanish border (or whatever safe port the weather allows one to enter in the conditions). The trip from port to port westwards along the N Spanish coast is then delightfully empty of cruising yachts. This is one of the great un-spoilt cruising grounds, though you do have to select your weather for some legs - just as in the British Channel.

And then the Rias, a wonderful cruising ground, well sheltered, each ria a mini cruise in its own right. I rarely spend less than six weeks getting down to Vigo, usually dropping into at least 20 ports/anchorages en route. But then, I am retired, with no job to rush back to . . .

You'll find a fairly thorough description of the Atlantic Spain cruising grounds on my web site - go to the N Spain detail pages under the Sailing tab. Then you'll see the delights you're missing on your vigourous gallop south!

JimB, Google 'jimb sail' to find the site . . .

[Jolly Roger]

Well I don't disagree with that option, if you have time and fair winds, but I've also been stuck in La Coruna for a week (not a pretty site), with a Northerly, the very wind we needed to get south, but daren't risk getting round the corner. I'd much sooner have been stuck in Oporto or Santa Maria, where there is something interesting to do, if you know what I mean? It's surely a question of what you want to achieve in a given time, and if our friend only has two years it could take him six months to make Gib'.

[swagman]

We've done UK / Portugual across Biscay twice in May each time - good runs - and much enjoyed the Portuguese Atlantic coastal stopovers once we were over there. My suggestion is not to slide down that coast direct to Gib - theres such a lot of good stuff and as a sailor it would be a shame to miss out visiting places steeped in navigational history.

I too get tempted to do longer runs especially with the winds just right, but know we've missed out on lots by galloping through some regions simply to keep to timetables - and on reflection think we missed out when we've one so.

Most other cruisers we've met who did stop off in the Spanish Rias say we were silly to bypass them on both our voyages.

Hence our probable plans to go down there next summer revisiting Brittany on the way, and then sliding down the French coast to see what they were all raving about.

JOHN