In the MED with a 40 foot Cat...

[Rapanui]

You don't say what your plow is, if its a CQR then I would reconsider. We have a 16kg so about 35 lb Kobra 2 which works well although I wish we had gone for the 20kg. The chain sounds fine, you wil rarely have to anchor in more than 12m. People have reported that Delta's don't do very well here, the bottoms are often fairly firm sand and anchors with more weight in the tip tend to set quicker particularly with grass/weed. I tend to power back and then inspect with snorkel to check set.
Regarding lift out, there are lots of big cats here so liftout is not a problem.

[alphabravo2]

My Plow anchor is a SUNCOR, very nose heavy... So far, I had no issues in either sand or grass... We usually dive the anchor...

Thanks

[Two Drifters]

[QUOTE=The chain sounds fine, you wil rarely have to anchor in more than 12m. [/QUOTE]

Lifting in the med no issue, but I would get more than 70m of chain. Or at least a system where you can easily add rope rode.

We carry 110m of chain and it is often not enough, a lot of the med is volcanic so you anchor in the abyss from time to time. The Aeolian Islands, a lot of the Greek islands like Symi, Kalamos etc anchoring in 30 meters or more is normal. Plus if you are dropping in 20 plus and planning on long lining to the shore then 70 meters is going to be a bit tight.

We know a lot of boats that carry only 70 meters of chain and then are often saying they wish they had more.

We also carry 100 meters of leaded line and whilst we have never joined the two we have the bower with 100 meters and the kedge with 100 meters in a storm.

Just my view but would rather have to much than to little

[Barra]

Hi AB

We have cruised west to eastern med for the past 3 summers in a 42 foot cat. There are places particularly near charter hubs where you will stuggle to find a double berth unless you book ahead (and even then certain days will be a block out) so you do have to be a bit more forward planning than monos at times especially in the areas where all weather anchorages are rare eg mainland coasts of gulf de lyon.

The flip side of course is a rolly anchorage is less of a concern on a cat.

Yes there are quite a few places where lee winds can behave oddly (another one is the straight of messina) and you will hear plenty of stories from other cruisers but it wont take long to learn to reef early in such parts.

We were a bit disenchanted with the mooring aspects in the western med in a cat due to harder to find berths, less all weather anchorages (combined with dodgey weather forecasts) and truly crazy prices once they are doubled in the high season but dont let that put you off - as you travel east it gets better and better.

Greece has plenty of cat friendly yards with Preveza a standout for us. I would look at that as your winter option if you are leaving the boat midpoint. Turkey has brilliant facilities but you are back to double charging for cats at times, even on land.

A good primary anchor is indeed essential and there are quite a few places where we have had to anchor in 20m plus meters but not too often. (often its with a long line ashore and a steeply sloping ground so even 2 1/2 to 1 is ok) Our 60m of chain has been sufficient and honestly 100 seems overkill to me but we dont have a high windage cat. Yet to use the kedge in 3 years here as you will usually opt for the long long line.

Yes its a bit harder and more expensive to do parts of the med in a cat vs a mono but its still completely doable and the difficulty is more than made up for by the unique cruising that is the med so dont let it put you off at all.

[Factor]

Still waiting for names of at least 3 of the cruising cats that have flipped in the med recently.

[DtM]

I am not sure Med realises your request is directed at him.


I suspect he is just a Cat basher and should be ignored.


Not sure why he thinks that a Cat would have capsized at Cabo Greus but suspect it has its origins in a view that anyone sailing a Cat is not a real or experienced sailor.


I will just ignore him.

[DtM]

On further thought maybe his Cabo Greus view is based on the fact he is not competent to sail a Cat.

[Factor]

Originally Posted by DtM

I am not sure Med realises your request is directed at him.I suspect he is just a Cat basher and should be ignored.Not sure why he thinks that a Cat would have capsized at Cabo Greus but suspect it has its origins in a view that anyone sailing a Cat is not a real or experienced sailor.I will just ignore him.

Yes I realise he is a troll but I refuse to let these stupid outrageous statements go unchallenged. I really like this comment

with 13 tons of lead in the keel holding us up

Perhaps the laws of physics and gravity are altered in his universe, last time I checked 13 tonnes of anything holds you down not up. Perhaps we should make aircraft from his lead if it holds things up. And 13 tonnes is 13 tonnes whether its lead or feathers.

[monte]

Well there was a capsize near Gibraltar 2 years ago with 4 dead, as well as a Catania caught in a mistral off France a few years ago. That was an amazing story of survival. The poor skipper was almost killed by the French hospital that he was taken to after the rescue. There's been a few others but it's far from common in the Med..

[downunder]

I think also a Gemini flipped at anchor somewhere in the med a few years ago also.

[alphabravo2]

Dear fellow cruisers, I want to sincerely thank you all for your toughts, suggestions and coaching! I have no idea on how to close this post, but I consider having enough information to confirm our decision to sail across the <pond> next spring and spend a few cruising seasons in the MED!
Thanks!

[mark_morwood]

It's silly to pretend that cruising cats never flip. It happens rarely but it does happen. Same as cruising boats in general sink, run into reefs, lose rigs, lose keels, and have all sorts of other disasters. The best documented cruising catamaran capsize one I am aware of us was a Catana in the Gulf of Lyon maybe 20 years ago: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...med-40329.html, but there have been others including a Chris White boat in the Great Lakes maybe 10 or so years ago.

There are many risks with sailing boats of all different types. The trick is to allocate reasonable probabilities and consequences to them to decide how you want to deal with them. For us, based on the low level of incidents, and our experience and sailing areas, flipping is not high on our list of concerns. Others may decide otherwise.

I do think it is reasonable to consider the sudden high winds in the Gulf of Lyon when sailing in that area. Not just because of the increased (but very remote) risk of capsize for the average cruising catamaran, but all the other bad effects sudden nasty weather can have on any cruising boat.

Mark.

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by alphabravo2

I have no idea on how to close this post, but I consider having enough information to confirm our decision to sail across the <pond> next spring and spend a few cruising seasons in the MED!
Thanks!

You can't. If you don't want to follow it anymore hit the unsubscribe option in your next e-mail or under your user CP

[Ostinato]

I have to ask - why winter in the Canary Islands

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Ostinato

I have to ask - why winter in the Canary Islands

it is warmer than the mainland during the winter,and fairly easy to sail back to the med for the summer.

it is also cheaper for some things,has cheap flights to most cities in Europe.

also EU citizens can work legally there,and are covered by free health care etc