Bay of Biscay advice

[simonpickard]

Hello all,

So I'm picking our boat up in Germany March time (Hanse 385, 1.95m draft), having a delivery skipper bring her down to the UK and then take ownership in Guernsey.

We expect to leave Guernsey some time in April and will try to get into the Med as quickly as possible, depending on weather of course.

This means crossing, or hopping, around the Bay of Biscay.

After reading up on this area I understand that it needs to be given a lot of respect. I'm trying to gather as much information as I can so any experts on this area would be great to hear from.

Just wondering what the best pilots / guides are for this stretch? if I'm a madman for taking this on (there will be 2 of us on the boat with limited coastal experience), etc.

We don't mind hopping around it, which would be easier to handle weather wise as we could plan to only sail on good days. Any ports / marinas along the way that are good to stay in would be welcomed as well.

Thanks so much in advance. We're not trying to be hero's here so if it comes down to hiring a more experienced crew we will do. Just looking to get some honest advice.

Best regards,
Simon