Who is planning to cruise the Med?

[rivonia]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

Of course! Just spent 2 months in Croatia (did NOT like it) and spent 3 years Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. Still have seen no fishing coves. And the sailing in the Med sucks. We have 'sailed' a total of 4,932 NM thus far in the Med. We keep a spreadsheet tracking our fuel and engine hours and miles 'sailed.' Thus far, we have motored 82.6% of the time and actually sailed 17.4% of the time, averaging only 5.25 kts.

There are beautiful places in the Med, but the sailing sucks most of the time. Please do not tell me that one must wait for the good weather. Some of us have that silly 90-day limit to adhere to and distances must be covered whether the weather is good for sailing or we have to motor on.

Judy

Sorry matey,

but we anchored in some lovely coves in the Med. Agree about the wind there is either none or it is gale force. Like you we virtually motored everywhere.

[SwissMocha]

Originally Posted by rivonia

Sorry matey,

but we anchored in some lovely coves in the Med. Agree about the wind there is either none or it is gale force. Like you we virtually motored everywhere.

I'm just chartering several weeks per year, so far covered the Balears (4 weeks), Sardine (1 week), Ionian (2 weeks) and Aegean (2 weeks).

Beautiful waters, great landscapes, gorgeous places to anchor. As for the sailing, never under 40%!

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

Of course! Just spent 2 months in Croatia (did NOT like it) and spent 3 years Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. Still have seen no fishing coves. And the sailing in the Med sucks. We have 'sailed' a total of 4,932 NM thus far in the Med. We keep a spreadsheet tracking our fuel and engine hours and miles 'sailed.' Thus far, we have motored 82.6% of the time and actually sailed 17.4% of the time, averaging only 5.25 kts.

Judy

Don't feel alone with this

The thing that really stinks is that often there was wind, but always on the nose - always. And if you really want to get 40 miles that day, you can't sail it all.

That all changed in the Cyclades last year though - beautiful wind almost every day.

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by Palarran

Don't feel alone with this

The thing that really stinks is that often there was wind, but always on the nose - always. And if you really want to get 40 miles that day, you can't sail it all.

That all changed in the Cyclades last year though - beautiful wind almost every day.

Yes great winds in the Cyclades if your sailing east

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Yes great winds in the Cyclades if your sailing east

How about East, West, and South. North, not so much. But with the spacing of the islands it always worked for us.

[Barra]

My logs not super accurate due to some IT glitches after i let a french electrician near my delicate parts but we have averaged 64% motoring / 36% sailing which for a non trade wind area is probably not and better than I thought it was.

Yes its been frustrating at times but as times gone on and we have thrown away fixed itineraries and gotten access to better weather forecasts its become less so.

Still chuckle at the garbled french conversation we had on VHF with the local light house in the early days (no working internet). We thought he was saying 44 (double quatre) knots onshore. We bolted for the nearest marina only to sit dockside in 2 to 4 knots DOH!

[rivonia]

Originally Posted by Barra

My logs not super accurate due to some IT glitches after i let a french electrician near my delicate parts but we have averaged 64% motoring / 36% sailing which for a non trade wind area is probably not and better than I thought it was.

Yes its been frustrating at times but as times gone on and we have thrown away fixed itineraries and gotten access to better weather forecasts its become less so.

Still chuckle at the garbled french conversation we had on VHF with the local light house in the early days (no working internet). We thought he was saying 44 (double quatre) knots onshore. We bolted for the nearest marina only to sit dockside in 2 to 4 knots DOH!

Thats realy funny-happens to us all some time or other

Fair winds

[athene]

To return to your original question, take a look at the World Cruising and Sailing Wiki if you aren't already familiar with it. As a planning tool it'll save you laying out a lot of money on the pilot books until you need them and - in some areas of the Med at least - it's often more up to date than the pilot books.

As for your proposed itinerary, I guarantee that you won't make it. Unless, of course, you shut your eyes and ears to the beauties of the Med all the way to the Red Sea and back!

We've spent 15 years in the Med so far and there's still lots of places we haven't seen and still want to visit.

[Nostrodamus]

Originally Posted by athene

To return to your original question, take a look at the World Cruising and Sailing Wiki if you aren't already familiar with it. As a planning tool it'll save you laying out a lot of money on the pilot books until you need them and - in some areas of the Med at least - it's often more up to date than the pilot books.

As for your proposed itinerary, I guarantee that you won't make it. Unless, of course, you shut your eyes and ears to the beauties of the Med all the way to the Red Sea and back!

We've spent 15 years in the Med so far and there's still lots of places we haven't seen and still want to visit.

Totally agree with you. The Med is an amazing place to see some wonderful countries and history. There are plenty of good anchorages as well and it should not be rushed.

[robert sailor]

We will return to the Med sometime in the future as there are places we didn't see and other places we loved and would like to spend more time at but we will not do it on our boat. In our opinion what the Med has to offer is all about the land and after a couple of years there we know where we can find really cool and inexpensive places to stay and eat. We met very few long term cruisers there, mostly European's on holidays for a couple of months a year. The snorkeling was meh! The sailing was not great. It is without a doubt one of the coolest places on the planet but its really about the land,culture, food,architecture,art and other experiences that can be gotten easier on land travel than by sailboat.

[Nostrodamus]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

We will return to the Med sometime in the future as there are places we didn't see and other places we loved and would like to spend more time at but we will not do it on our boat. In our opinion what the Med has to offer is all about the land and after a couple of years there we know where we can find really cool and inexpensive places to stay and eat. We met very few long term cruisers there, mostly European's on holidays for a couple of months a year. The snorkeling was meh! The sailing was not great. It is without a doubt one of the coolest places on the planet but its really about the land,culture, food,architecture,art and other experiences that can be gotten easier on land travel than by sailboat.

Strange that. There are about 80 liveaboard cruisers of all nationalities staying in our marina in Sicily this winter.

[arsenelupiga]

once i was planning to sail med. Asked questions etc.

Someone said, take bus and see med for 1/10 of cost and 1/10 of stress.



now i skipped that step and looking into pacific where real sailing takes place.

I actually used ferries to see best places in med and was real good and cheap.

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by Nostrodamus

Strange that. There are about 80 liveaboard cruisers of all nationalities staying in our marina in Sicily this winter.

I know there are favorite hangouts for wintering in the Med but if you have 80 24/7 live a boards in one marina you must may have found the hotspot in the whole Med.

[Nostrodamus]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

I know there are favorite hangouts for wintering in the Med but if you have 80 24/7 live a boards in one marina you must may have found the hotspot in the whole Med.

There are various hang outs for winter but the problem is that it does get cold in the Med in winter and in general it is not a whole year cruising area. Those not from Europe have the problem of having to leave for a while which does put people off. There are wonderful places as there are everywhere and the history is second to none.
In another 10 years or so when we have visited far more places we may be able to give a better answer on the pro's and con's of the Med but until then we will continue to discover.
Trouble with me is that my glass is always empty. I drink the beer far too fast.

[rivonia]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

We will return to the Med sometime in the future as there are places we didn't see and other places we loved and would like to spend more time at but we will not do it on our boat. In our opinion what the Med has to offer is all about the land and after a couple of years there we know where we can find really cool and inexpensive places to stay and eat. We met very few long term cruisers there, mostly European's on holidays for a couple of months a year. The snorkeling was meh! The sailing was not great. It is without a doubt one of the coolest places on the planet but its really about the land,culture, food,architecture,art and other experiences that can be gotten easier on land travel than by sailboat.

Such a shame that you missed all the quite anchorages and did not meet all the nice people and did not snorkle in the lovely bays. There are THOUSANDS of liveaboards in the Med. In the winter the popular marinas fill quickly and the social life is great.

You really did miss a lot