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Old 27-12-2017, 03:56   #16
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Re: Wintering on the hook

The Med. today, and it's potentially getting worse. Fingers crossed for all of these at anchor.



Tomorrow I'm expecting gusts of over 40knts here in the marina.
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Old 27-12-2017, 05:07   #17
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pirate Re: Wintering on the hook

Shoulda gone to Syracuse.. looks pretty pleasant tomorrow and Friday..
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Old 27-12-2017, 14:02   #18
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Re: Wintering on the hook

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Originally Posted by mikedefieslife View Post
The Med. today, and it's potentially getting worse. Fingers crossed for all of these at anchor.



Tomorrow I'm expecting gusts of over 40knts here in the marina.
Looks like all southerly winds in the Ionian where you are. If I was anchoring or on a town quay exposed to southerly winds I would consider it the perfect time to visit Vathi on Meganissi, I would have a few drinks in the kafenion on the quay to help me sleep during the night which could be rather noisy.
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Old 28-12-2017, 15:58   #19
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Re: Wintering on the hook

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Shoulda gone to Syracuse.. looks pretty pleasant tomorrow and Friday..
Boatman,
What weather charts is that?
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Old 28-12-2017, 17:23   #20
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pirate Re: Wintering on the hook

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Boatman,
What weather charts is that?
Sailing Weather - Marine Weather Forecasts for Sailors and Adventurers - PassageWeather

But be aware.. conditions can often change quickly in the Med in winter.. there's a lot of factors that can alter things quicker than forecasters can predict.. lots of mountains and high rocky islands so always be ready for the worst.. a 20kt forecast can easily be 40kts+ in a very short time.
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Old 28-12-2017, 18:07   #21
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Re: Wintering on the hook

For anchoring in the Ionian there is Nydri and Vlycho bay. But weather isn't nice there, winter is very very wet, but not extremely windy. However everything shoreside is completely shut down and closed. Nobody really lives there so its very boring. And there is lots of fouling.


Syracuse / Sicilly is also nice spot, a nice town, something to see. Holding is mud, and the anchor may jus slide over it when you are trying to set it in a blow. Once set the holding is excellent.
We had a fair share of bad weather there with thunderstorms blowing 35+kn every other day. That was Oct / Nov two years ago.


I'd prefer a cheap marina in Spain, west of Alicante for good and stable weather. Not many anchorages there, and I don't know any that is fully protected. Except the Mar Menor.
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Old 28-12-2017, 23:50   #22
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Re: Wintering on the hook

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Boatman,
What weather charts is that?
Windy.com usually pretty decent. You can ignore the general wind forcast completely and just go by the gusts because they are usually spot on all the time.

We're on our 4th day of rain in a row here, but thankfully not much wind (yet).

Even Siracusa harbour on Tuesday and Wednesday is expected to have up to 39knt gusts. The harbour is large and open so doesn't offer much protection. But as other have said the holding is excellent.

I agree on a cheap Spanish marina for the winter. Especially ones that are in Cities so there is actually something to do. As someone said smaller Greek towns tend to shut down for a part, where as cities like Cartagena exist in their own right and you get a ton of stuff done.


Anyway, all this brings me to a question that is probably not normally asked. Where is the least windy place (by the sea) in Europe?
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Old 29-12-2017, 00:38   #23
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Re: Wintering on the hook

I have been winter anchoring in the Med for the last 18 years.


Favourite wintering spot now is Poros Saronic. A lot less rain than the Ionian. For all I know I am the last “ die-hard “ In this region of the Med.
This winter brought some new faces to Poros for winter but they are most of the time on the town quay. Security (? ) and power to heat.


Wintered on the hook in Turkey for ten years. Was great but changing mentality chased us away.


Was half a winter in Siracusa, weather was so good I decided to go cruising again end of December. That was a big mistake.


I think the reason for our good liveaboard boat is that it is small, made of solid 2” wood ( and fibreglass on the outside of the hull ) and that we have a wood burning stove. We also have a Refleks diesel heater but used that one in the Netherlands ( Ten winters in Netherlands )
heating and cooking on the wood stove means No condensation. Condensation is the main problem with modern liveaboard yachts.


Winter anchoring in the Med means staying on the move. Just this week I moved two times to find a weather shore. I need spots with wind but no waves.
Because I like sailing I do all moving around on the sails only and often use two or even three anchors. So do not think winter anchoring is boring.


The boat is my house, I use a lot of energy. Two big solar panels good for ¾ of the year, but not in winter. So we have two wind generators in winter. ( stowed in summer ) And as I said, you have to move the boat to find usable wind. Town quay wind makes the windgen turn, don´t generate power.
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Old 30-12-2017, 06:17   #24
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Re: Wintering on the hook

We have avoided wintering in marinas for 7 years.

The first we spent sailing between Nidri,Vliho, Meganisi and Lefkada. As previously mentioned it can be wet in this area. Many restaurants and all the tourist tat shops shut down but there are always enough bars and local shops open to keep you going.

We have spent four winters anchored in the lagoon at Spinalonga/Elounda on Crete. The weather is generally warmer and drier than other parts of the Med. The local town stays active and there is a busy town with all amenities a short bus ride away.

Two winters were spent continuing to sail from Crete through the Dodecanese and Cyclades islands to the Argo-Saronic Gulf.

Winter sailing/anchoring requires good access to weather forecasts and decent ground tackle. Our boat has an excellent Refleks heater, solar panels, a wind generator and large capacity tankage. We have no watermaker but have had no problems obtaining water from town quays out of season. A reliable dinghy and outboard make wintering the hook more comfortable.
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Old 31-12-2017, 00:36   #25
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Re: Wintering on the hook

This is very interesting thread. I'm heading down there in 2019 and was planning on spending winters on the hook also.

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Originally Posted by OldBawley View Post
I I think the reason for our good liveaboard boat is that it is small, made of solid 2” wood ( and fibreglass on the outside of the hull ) and that we have a wood burning stove. We also have a Refleks diesel heater but used that one in the Netherlands ( Ten winters in Netherlands )
heating and cooking on the wood stove means No condensation. Condensation is the main problem with modern liveaboard yachts.
I also have wood stove in my boat. It is cheap DIY build, but keeps the boat toasty even in the early Spring in Baltic. Here is a short video of it in action. It did cost under 200€ to built this stove including chimney and all the other stuff.

For fuel I have used charcoal briskets. Here in Finland brikets cost about 1€/kg and I use around 1 kg/ night. They are cheap, easy to store and burns 4-5 hours. So pretty much perfect fuel for wood stove.

What fuel do you use for your wood stove in the med? Driftwood? Brikets? Wood? Is it easy to find fuel down there? My boat is small and I can only store enough fuel for a month or so. I need to be able to replenish my fuel storage every now and then in the winter.

How much direct sunlight can you expect to have in the winter? For now I have 150w of solar and I will add another 100w. So I will have total of 250w of solar in my boat. I can move panels around, so that they are always alignment to make the best out of daylight. I should easily get 50-100ah/day out of them in the summer, which is all what I need. But how about winter? Do you think 250w would be enough? I can always turn of the fridge (if the first mate allows) and I would only need 20-30ah/day.
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Old 29-03-2019, 02:48   #26
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Re: Wintering on the hook

It's a good question, we had the same question before buying our boat. We have wintered in the Med and spent 2 months in a marina December/Jan before crossing the cyclades and heading to the Ionian and have been on the hook ever since.

We planned to initially anchor the whole time but my wife injured herself and needed medical so we decided to stay in the Kos marina. We were extremely glad we did as this winter we had some really bad weather in the Dodecanese. Winds between 40-50 knots were weekly and there was even a 65knot day.

We did still see a lot and had many places to ourselves which was fantastic in Feb and currently in March as the temperature improved in the Ionian. March the weather was fantastic. I will link a couple of our vids if you want to see our experience. Good luck with your adventures.

The Ionian march
Milos late Feb
Kos December/Jan
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Old 29-03-2019, 04:49   #27
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Re: Wintering on the hook

Excuse for the late answer, I must have missed your question.
Since see You are still planning a trip here my two cents of wood wisdom. ( Copied from a earlier forum answer )


I can not recommend the use of a wood burning stove. Using it, getting the wood, storing the wood is something a lot more difficult and time consuming then turning the thermostat. Even knowing which wood is good ( no smoke, few ash, no insects ) and where to get it without work is a science that took me years to perfect. In fact, your wintering spot depends on the availability of fuel wood.


In the French canals we burned fallen branches of the famous plane trees, In Reggio Calabria we burned transport pallets ( smoke, low caloric wood and often treated with chemicals ) and in Holland I burned beech ( had to buy ). In Turkey and Greece we burn wood from the most common shrub ( sorry, cant find the name ) The dog´s paw thick branches never have insects in it, burn when wet, are heavier than water and burn without smoke with a ferocity that can be dangerous. Collecting the wood is easy. We make a walk on a hillside just yards from the beach and collect the stuff. No sawing ( not possible except with a steel hacksaw ) I just hit a branch against a rock and stove ready pieces snap of. The stuff is harder than iron wood, breaks like glass. I have used the same wood to replace bronze bushing in machinery. ( Have a lathe on board )
If I want to produce smoke ( have my reasons ) I throw a piece of root from an other shrub into the fire. That wood produces a faint white smoke that smells heavenly.


Pine is bad. Smoke and soot. No good. Only good if you have a neighbour who has one of those webasopachers fuming up your cockpit and gassing you to death with the diesel smoke fumes.


We also have a Refleks diesel burning stove on board. No noise, uses no electricity, is extremely reliable and easy to operate. Turn the thermostat. Fool proof. We have not used the Reflex since year 2000. Reason : fuel has to be bought, wood is free.
It is a way of life. Even now we both receive a pension and the money is abundant.... we both like the way the wood burning stove regulates our lives. It is a slow way of living, just like sailing.


We winter in an area where can find wood easily. Once a year I have a friend over in January.
He is a chef and can only take free in winter. He stays in a hotel, we moor on the town quay. No wood to find there so while the Chef likes cooking three course meals on our wood stove ( and as a back up on the two burner gas hob ) I need lots of wood.
I carry two bags in the bowsprit net, and a big one in the cockpit. Is enough for two weeks extensive cooking and heating.


Your wood burning stove looks very good, really simple. Driftwood can be found everywhere but is not half as good as the shrub we use. Driftwood contains salt, can be very aggressive when burnt.
Our first flue was brass, burning salt in the driftwood burnt holes into the pipe. Something chemical.


As to your question about sun and solar. We have 170 watt panels. Even with orientating them the generated power is not enough during Nov. Dec and Jan. Few daylight hours, low standing sun blocked by surrounding hills. Clouds. So we have during our winter anchoring two wind generators out. One is a bought model standing on the second mast, the other one is a DIY low windage gen.
The last one delivers roughly 4 times the power of the Aerogen 4. And that with low wind speeds.
To generate that much power it has a 1, 75m two bladed prop. ( two blades for stowing )
It takes about 5 minutes to take the big generator away ( He lives on the starboard bow ) for sailing.
As soon as spring is there I take also the front gen mast away, takes half an hour.


We consume little power. A fridge ( 24 AH/ day ) and a big laptop ( 1AH ) and some led lights, water pump. Some phones.
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