singlehand in the med.

[bodan]

I getting a 40 footer ketch and I want to sail her to Israel from belgium in the coming month say December on my own, ,can it be done ,how is the sea in the winter, anyone has done it??

[Tellus]

From Belgium to Med in December, singlehanded??
Did you ever sail Sydney-Hobart singlehanded? Could be similar..but longer.
North Sea, Biscay, Atlantic from End of September till April can be Hell.
Wait for spring.
Few days ago North Sea:

Tokio II 20+ knots North Sea 12102013 - YouTube

[atoll]

Originally Posted by bodan

I getting a 40 footer ketch and I want to sail her to Israel from belgium in the coming month say December on my own, ,can it be done ,how is the sea in the winter, anyone has done it??

if you are having to ask this question i really dont think you are capable!

it can be done but would not reccomend doing it solo due to the high amount of shipping and adverse conditions.

otherwise the nauticat is a great boat,but due to the prevailing sw winds you can count on doing a lot of motor sailing to windward if you want to make any headway at all,using the infrequent weather windows at that time of year.

[boatman61]

It can be done... but if your inexperienced the Biscay/Galician and Portuguese coast can give you a really bad time.. have done the Biscay in Dec and suffered F8-10 sustained gales with just 12hrs between each successive one and sea's up to 10 metres... Galicia's coast is the Costa del Morte for good reason with predominant N'ly gales making escape into the Ria's and La Coruna difficult and dangerous... the Portuguese coast will offer little shelter for you to run into as the heavy swell closes the river ports for weeks at a time...
If you decide to do it head well out and stay offshore all the way down till you can hang a left to the Algarve...
The Med is easier... kinda

[AndytheSailor]

If you can take your masts down and don't draw more than 1.8 mts why not take the inland route to the Med. I know some French canals close for the winter but you can make large inroads before then.
I did it the other way round and it took 5 weeks. Given the weather you are likely to meet in both Biscay and the Med (it can cut up really rough in winter) this would be my preferred option.

Andy

[AndytheSailor]

I would only partially agree. I have seen it really cut up rough and with the its comparative shallowness it is like the North Sea, short and steep.

[Oliver L.]

The Med??? Shallow???? Average depth more than 1,400 m as far as I remember.

As for weather, I second the opinions - I wouldn't do it. Especially the Med is shitty in Winter - Golfe du Lion for example has 13% stormy days in Winter, 2% in Summer.

If I absolutely had to do it I would consider coast hugging - look for marinas or sheltered anchorages no more than 40 miles apart, and wait out the blows there.

Oliver

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by bodan

I getting a 40 footer ketch and I want to sail her to Israel from belgium in the coming month say December on my own, ,can it be done ,how is the sea in the winter, anyone has done it??

I'd have to agree with Atoll, if you're asking - you aren't capable of doing it! Nauticats are infamous for being poor sailors going upwind. With the prevailing southwesters, you'll end up tacking and getting nowhere.

The Biscay is not an area to be toyed with at that time of year. Force 8 and 9 are common, everyday kind of stuff - and then it gets worse.

If you're completley set on doing it - go way out, beyond the continental shelf and then turn south. You might make it then - but the chances are you won't

[gabilo]

I guess the OP did not want to postpone his trip .... And has already left

[barnakiel]

It should be easy to the Med via the channels BUT the part in the Med I think could be pretty rough in the winter.

b.

[AndytheSailor]

I know the Med is very deep in places but exactly as you offer, the coastal strips aren't. I have been tossed all over the place en-route from Valras to Sete which is only some 15-20 miles. Likewise off Barcelona.

[boatman61]

You could always hire a totally 'Shot Away' delivery skipper...

[goboatingnow]

In my experience , a storm in the med generates short sharp , boat breaking seas , give me a big offshore Atlantic storm anytime. More people come to grief in the med then is obvious. It's no millpond

Dave

[Oliver L.]

Dave,

same experience here - I still fondly remember crossing from Port Camargue to Corsica and getting caught by a Mistral. The short spacing, however, is due to the lack of "fetch", i.e. you have locally very strong winds and they create waves, but these waves don't travel long enough to separate themselves through dispersion.

Aside from chartering experience in the Caribbean, I just had my first Atlantic experience on this side last month sailing to Tenerife. And I absolutely agree with you: These 2.5 m waves were gently rocking the boat, not slamming it. I am sure there are other experiences waiting for us, but the big advantage of the Atlantic is that it is not nearly as much governed by the surrounding land - because there is very little compared to the Med.

Let's see what kind of weather we get in December for our crossing...

Oliver

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Oliver L.

Dave,

same experience here - I still fondly remember crossing from Port Camargue to Corsica and getting caught by a Mistral. The short spacing, however, is due to the lack of "fetch", i.e. you have locally very strong winds and they create waves, but these waves don't travel long enough to separate themselves through dispersion.

Aside from chartering experience in the Caribbean, I just had my first Atlantic experience on this side last month sailing to Tenerife. And I absolutely agree with you: These 2.5 m waves were gently rocking the boat, not slamming it. I am sure there are other experiences waiting for us, but the big advantage of the Atlantic is that it is not nearly as much governed by the surrounding land - because there is very little compared to the Med.

Let's see what kind of weather we get in December for our crossing...

Oliver

Bludi Catamarans.... get a Mono... hardly ever slam..