Considering Sailing Europe (Not sure where)

[turtleofdart]

How about the baltic danish Isles?
There are no tides and plenty of anchorages, excellent charts. Ok the landscape is pretty flat and possibly a bit boring but there are no catabatic winds and in two weeks you want some decent sailing in sheltered waters and safe anchorages rather than stunning landscape difficult winds and sparse anchorages... Europe is HUGE! not as much in size as in variety. also the inland waters of the netherlands offer excellent cruising.

If you don't mind tides you might like the south coast of devon and cornwall where you can put into some of the finest natural harbours in the world. Falmouth Plymouth and Dartmouth offer excellent shelter in all weathers.

[MoCan]

Originally Posted by GTom

Are you sure ?

I support Pete 7's recommendation of Scotland. Other than the water being "coolish" the anchorages and history offered along the west coast including the Outer Hebrides, and if you really want an adventure visit St Kilda, and then, hey you're just two days from the Faroes. As an apologetic unilinguist from the American mid-west it is difficult enough, but certainly entertaining, to manage the Scottish brogue.

[Rob Y NZ]

Hi We have a had a boat in The Med now for 3 seasons. We’ve done Croatia twice and this season did Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Greece (Corfu to Ithaca). For the type of holiday I think you are after l’d recommend Greece.
Lefkada is a sailing holiday hub and easy sailing north to the beautiful islands of Paxos, Antipaxos, Corfu plus some amazing anchorages on the mainland or you can go through the Lefkada canal to Meganise, Ithaca etc.
You have the option of Marinas in small villages or many good anchorages along the coast line. Most destinations are only 5 to 20 nm apart so an easy sail. The conditions there tends to be calm in the morning, wind from mid/day to 5pm and then calm all night. Not having to worry about tidal range also makes the Med very user friendly.
We found the Greeks to be very helpful and friend, more so than the Croatians. And the water is Greece is AMAZING!

We used the pilot book Harbour Guide which is super easy to use or they have an app. Happy Planning. https://www.harbourguide.com/en/news/new-harbour-guide-for-western-greece/

[Bill_Giles]

Avoid late September around N France and the Uk. We recently had two weeks of no wind followed by lots of strong winds. Also remember every Frenchman with a boat goes sailing in August so many places are crowded. The French are fine and we love to visit France. However I don’t think that there is a word for ‘queue’ in French!

[Rickit]

This is a big question! Countless places!
Weather patterns have become more extreme in recent years so I think that there is a potential for adverse conditions but in most areas mentioned you can find safe places to stay for a while.
Further south is obviously likely to be warmer but that also means areas will tend to be more crowded. As a few others have mentioned the Baltic Sea is worth considering if you want to avoid tides and don't mind just slightly warm rather than hot! By the end of August the Danes are winding down, the Swedes earlier than that, so plenty of space. Also some great coastlines and places to visit. Most of the people speak English too. Scottish islands are also attractive.

If you prefer warm I agree with those suggesting the Ionian.
Good luck and enjoy.

[DeValency]

Originally Posted by saltyjournals

Hi, my partner and I are thinking about embarking on a small sailing adventure for a week or two next August/September. I'm going to be doing my yachmasters in the coming weeks and will be sailing weekends on the run up.

1) Any ideal passages/trips for the first timers in Europe?
2) Any hire companies we should be looking out for? Any you would recommend using?
3) Also welcoming tips!

By all means, the best area to cruise/charter a boat is the Adriatic Sea from Croatia. Hundreds of islands, very well sheltered, beautiful views and excellent services everywhere.

I would avoid August for many reasons but if you must - book in advance and inquire from many of the charter operators there.

[SMBSF]

IONIAN!!
Easy...protected... great ports... Lots of facilities
available... Just do it!!!

[Briggers]

I have jus spent 10 weeks on the east side of the Adriatic, Croatia. Without doubt it has the best coastal scenery in Europe.
I came here in November 2007 to buy a boat, with the specific intention of sailing her back to the UK, until I arrived that is. I was blown away with the beautiful coastline and have sailed here two or three times a year since then.
You can sail for as long as you want, whenever you decide to stop there will always be an anchorage or marina. I am on my way home now but it was two weeks on the hook before I felt the need to moor her up for the winter.
There are charter companies throughout Croatia,, I have no idea of cost as I sail my own boat and over night fees in marinas vary enormously, probably ITRO $75/night
For my penny worth, start at Dubrovnik - after having a quick look round and dump the boat at Split. That’s about 100nm and you can island hop all the way.
Places to see on this voyage; Pomena on the island of Mljet, Porto Roso on the island of Lastovo, Korcula town on the island of Korcula, Hvar on the island of Hvar, Milna on Brac - Brac is where the stone for your White House comes from, Trogir on the mainland - nearest town to Split Airport and of course Split.

[Fidsplice]

I, too, support Pete7s suggestion of Scotland. I found it enchanting in the Hebrides. Suggest Skye or Stornoway as a charter point. If you want to test your new RYA skills, you could even go to Iceland! But realistically, basically day sailing from one enchanting port to another. Only downside is the cuisine. Settle on fish and chips. Most other dishes are a work in progress, with a fair bit of work still to do.

Add it to your list. I thoroughly recommend it. (And no crowding!)

[boatman61]

Do the Ballearics.. Mallorca, Minorca and Ibiza.. A variety of anchorages and marinas..
Folks rave about Greece but while I found it pleasant its nothing special.

[gsuescum]

My advice to you....

TAKE IT EASY on your first charter, especially if it’s one week. Don’t plan too ambitious a trip, otherwise at the end, you’ll find you and your crew are exhausted and never had a chance to explore a spot or to relax. Too large of a distance to travel in a week (or two) and the entire trip you’ll be thinking “we’ve got to leave NOW if we are going to make it to X tonight because we have to be at Y tomorrow if we ever want to make it to the charter base in time.” You will always be in a rush and will never chill.

If you’re really into sailing and your partner is not committed yet, an ambitious trip will almost guarantee your partner won’t want to go chartering again and you’ll find yourself traveling solo in the future. I can’t stress this enough! I have soooo many friends who bought boats and did this with their wives and now only sail by themselves, even just for the day on the weekends. They always moan about how they wish their wife liked sailing when they see me and my wife pulling away from the dock.

Also, don’t do overnight passages on your first charter (it takes a full day to recover) and try to charter in a place that has a circular route (I.e. Greece, BVI) so that if you stop somewhere you really like, you can still make it back to the charter base without having to turn your vacation into an arduous journey.

It’s supposed to be fun!



————


I’ve made the ambitious-trip mistake twice. The first was the second time we chartered and I was excited about “covering some distance.” 9 days from St. Lucia to Grenada. Remember to subtract 2 days from any charter. My 9 day charter was really more of a 7-day charter. Usually before you leave, you have to provision, get the boat checked-out (inspected/serviced), and you have to sit through a charter briefing (this can take almost 24hrs in some places). Last day is the same thing and since you have to be off the boat by midday one usually anchors up the night before very close to the base.

On the St. Lucia to Grenada trip we logged about 210nm. Early in the trip we arrived at Mustique in the late afternoon, had dinner and went to bed. The next day we spent exploring so we stayed the next night with an early departure planned in the morning. Because of a one day stop and my overly ambitious sailing plan, we spent the rest of the trip rushing from island to island to get back to Grenada in time to return the boat and catch our flights. We are all committed sailors but even so, the mood on board became tense and not restful. We ended it exhausted and felt like we missed out on a lot. I felt unsatisfied.

If that trip had been my first attempt to get my wife excited/interested in the sailing/cruising life and doing future charters, we probably would have never gone on another one or bought a boat.


The breakdown of that trip:
210nm/9 days = 23nm/day was “easy” in my head but it was really 210/7 day = 30nm or 5hrs sailing/day, but if you stop for a day it suddenly becomes 35nm/day or 6 hrs per day sailing not including the 1-2 hrs spent prepping to make sail, finding a good anchoring spot and anchoring, etc. That doesn’t include making breakfast, lunch, dinner, either. Suddenly what was supposed to be a nice fun relaxing Caribbean vacation with lovely sails and afternoons in idyllic lagoons turned into a series of full day sails, arriving in the mid to late afternoon in a harbor, a quick swim, dinner, going to sleep, repeat until in Grenada. There’s a reason cruisers spend 90% of their time at anchor.

[fschaefer4]

Following. My 50th bday is coming up and something along these lines is EXACTLY what I’m considering. I have a lot of learning to do first. May not be appropriate for my level of experience. Thanks for all the info even though it’s not my thread.

[gsuescum]

Originally Posted by fschaefer4

Following. My 50th bday is coming up and something along these lines is EXACTLY what I’m considering. I have a lot of learning to do first. May not be appropriate for my level of experience. Thanks for all the info even though it’s not my thread.

Go the easy and gentle charter for your first. There will be enough challenges to give you some excitement. My first charter boat trip was so much fun because we took it easy. “Easy” was still very challenging if only because it was the first to be handling what I thought at the time to be an enormous boat. By the endof the week, I felt like a pro. ;-)

Enjoy and always accept local advice and offers of help. :-)

[Yellow bird]

Originally Posted by saltyjournals

Hi, my partner and I are thinking about embarking on a small sailing adventure for a week or two next August/September. I'm going to be doing my yachmasters in the coming weeks and will be sailing weekends on the run up.

1) Any ideal passages/trips for the first timers in Europe?
2) Any hire companies we should be looking out for? Any you would recommend using?
3) Also welcoming tips!

If you'll decide for one week sailing, regardless of the area you will choose, for almost all the areas that have been suggested to you, you'd better to choose the "one way" option; a little more expensive, but definitely better.

[Dirk01]

Croatia is a must have.
Make a one way from Zagreb to Marina Veruda or Pula (current sets north in the Adria east coast). Make an Isle-hopping. Don't use marinas. Especially avoid ACI marinas. They are expensive. Use City harbours or bouy fields.
Avoid Velebit Channel. Nothing really beautiful and VERY dangerous during Bora (a local wind up to 30 knots and 45 in Velebit Channel + up to 20 knots gusts).
Don't miss to visit Krk falls. Mali Losinj is beautiful.
To swim naked or take the shower naked is a normals thing. In Limski channels (Istria part) you'll find the onlý nudist marina in the world I know.
In northern parts German language is well known, the more south the more English.
Hopefully that helps a bit making your decision more difficult
Cheers


And DON'T FORGET to make yourselve familiar with Bora winds to handle them.