Sailing from La Rochelle to Med

[Peet Verreynne]

hi guys.

brand new to this forum.. looking forward to sharing some information with you guys.

I will be leaving La Rochelle in and around the 10th of June.
making our way down to the Med for season.

I have decided not to cross the Bay of Biscay in one shot, rather going to hop a few ports.

has anyone sailed this coastline before? any ports that are a MUST see?

[MarkJ]

I havent done that trip yet, but from what I hear all the ports offer something for a great cruise!

Get to the Canaries early. Weather is better

[SFH]

We did the tour from the Med (Marina Badalona in Barcelona) to La Rochelle between 5 May and last week and my boat "Dance of the Spirits" is right now in La Rochelle.

We initially planned to go directly from Cape Finisterre to south of UK but changed our mind due to a low coming down the Irish Sea and a high coming in from the southwest on short notice.

Instead we crossed directly from Gijon to La Rochelle. My passage plan indicated approx. 32 hours to do the crossing but it took only 27 hours due to good winds.

Rest our plan the plan (I have reversed it):

From Gijon I would go to Vigo, Porto, Figueira da Foz, Lisbon, Cabo de Sines and round Cabo de San Vincente. We had to wait three days in Lagos due to bad weather around San Vincente. From Lagos straight to Bahia, through the Gibraltar. We refueled in Algeciras where I also took a courtesey flag and some spare parts onboard. I called the chandlery two days in advance and they were extremely helpful literally standing at the quay with everything packed and just handed it over. I dont know were you intend to go after Gibraltar but if I can be of any help please let me know

/Steen

[multihullsailor6]

Peet,

I have done the trip up and down twice. Have a look at the relevant pilot books for more info. If you can, take your time as the areas offer a lot to see.
The Rias in Northern and Western Spain are interesting.
Portosin is cute.
Cascais close to Lisbon is secure but expensive.
2M east of Lagos is the lagoon of Alvor, a must especially in a cat. Good restaurant on the hill overlooking the anchorage.
Cadiz is a very interesting town.

As always, watch the weather closely.

Have a good trip