What to do with a season in the Med...

[Kelpie]

Due to a later than expected departure from the UK, a massive backlog of boat jobs, and finally an unexpected haulout and flight home for a family emjergency, we have now shelved our plans to get to the Caribbean this winter. The boat is ashore at Xufre, Ria Arousa.

The plan now is to re-launch the boat by mid October and get south. Being relatively cheapskate types we would like to spend most of our time at anchor and the Guadiana certainly appeals for many reasons. I am toying with the idea of spending a few weeks there before heading to a marina for perhaps three months (Almerimar is a bit of a hike but sounds promising).

We'll then have to figure out what to do with ourselves all through next summer, finishing up in the Canaries around this time next year. I think that realistically the furthest we would get would be Corsica and Sardinia.

So based on these constraints, where would the forum recommend we try to visit?

 

[PlanB]

First thing to say is plan your trip down the Portuguese coast with a close eye on the weather. It can get very rough in October if a storm has crossed the Atlantic and bolt holes are a fair bit apart.
Porto is worth a visit - there's a small marina in the estuary a bus ride away.
Gib, or La Linea, for interest.
We didn't like the marina in Cadiz and it's a long way from town.
Malaga's a nice city if you can get in there.

 

[sailaboutvic]

There a problem with your plain ,?

 

[Kelpie]

There a problem with your plain ,?

Well, I hope not. But I need to read up about sailing the Med, it was never our intention. And as we aren't on an unlimited budget I don't want to inadvertently sail into an area where the only safe refuge is an extremely expensive marina. Or into somewhere that is simply not worth exploring. I also have a lot to learn about the sailing conditions and prevailing winds.
So as a rough idea, we'd be leaving Almerimar around April, to take in the Balearics, Corsica, Sardinia, and then retracing our steps to get to the Canaries by October.

 

[Clancy Moped]

Make sure you take in Elba, don't waste to much time on the east coast of Corsica the west side is stunning.

 

[sailaboutvic]

The plain on paper is sound but here where the problem lies .

Once you pass what I call the worst part of the Med Gib to Calpe , the real Med opens up the Balearice are wonderful , you could easily spend a season cruising,

Sardinia one of our Favour Western Med Island with its sandy beaches and good shelter anchorage around the NE corner thats not to say then south part is less inviting,

only a short sail to the Maddenlina island and Corsica , then there the south of France, some will tell you there expensive with no good anchor totally untrue ,
Not to forget the Italian West coast and Islands like Eblia ,Glgilo Paniso and caprai ,
before you even get to the jewels of the crown, Greece Turkey and Croatia,

I hope you got a strong will as the Med has got a way of swollening plain up and once in its grips it takes some to break free .

Forget what some write here of Mill pond seas and no winds , the Med is every bit exciting as any thing you may find ocean sailing only different is land fall is mostly never more then 36 hours away.

Reading some of your posting over the year your budget is tight , and with so many free anchorage there no need to spend your dosh ,

If as you say you do not wish to spend time in winter marinas some where like Greece or Turkey where the weather is mild in the winter and plenty of shelter bays would be ideal.
That's not to say you won't get storms , plenty of them around especially after Dec .

But I have to say the longer your are cruising , the time will come when I few months in a marina becomes a joy, not only to have a base to do repairs or the leave the boat while flying back to see family , but also to make new friends get real life info on next year cruising and let the other half enjoy other people company .
I have had over 30 years in and out of the Med and only seen very little of it and other then Israel I've cruised every country more then once .
It's really a BIG place..

 

[Mistroma]

Well, I hope not. But I need to read up about sailing the Med, it was never our intention. And as we aren't on an unlimited budget I don't want to inadvertently sail into an area where the only safe refuge is an extremely expensive marina. Or into somewhere that is simply not worth exploring. I also have a lot to learn about the sailing conditions and prevailing winds.
So as a rough idea, we'd be leaving Almerimar around April, to take in the Balearics, Corsica, Sardinia, and then retracing our steps to get to the Canaries by October.

We looked at Almerimar years ago and went to Aguadulce instead. It was much nicer than Almerimar and worked out cheaper because of a large discount with water and electricity included. Friends went to Almerimar and did enjoy it but paid a huge amount for electricity. They intended to use it infrequently but it was a long walk to the office to collect or return the special adapter and ended up paying for it each day for the entire stay.

Pro:
Proper town with everything you would want (hardware, restaurants, super-markets)
Easy access to Almeria town and airport by bus (much easier than Almerimar)
We found very cheap car hire outside peak times (I think 56 euro for a week but following week was 50% of that)
Much less windy than Almerimar (our friends would get fierce gusts and we'd have nothing, locals said that was normal)

Con:
Very quiet in marina or yard over winter, very few liveaboards
Everything is uphill (but you do get to free wheel most of the way back to the boat when cycling back from the super-market )

This information dates back to 2014/2015 when we spent 2 winters there but left our boat ashore and returned home. I think only 5-6 people lived there afloat. Cruise 2014 for Jeanneau 42DS Mistroma of Gair



Guadiana is a glue-pot, you won't get out without an effort. We went for a week and left 5-6 weeks later.

 

[Kelpie]

Thanks Mistroma, good to know. We are keen to meet up with other cruising families and that's what first nudged us towards Almerimar.

 

[sailaboutvic]

We looked at Almerimar years ago and went to Aguadulce instead. It was much nicer than Almerimar and worked out cheaper because of a large discount with water and electricity included. Friends went to Almerimar and did enjoy it but paid a huge amount for electricity. They intended to use it infrequently but it was a long walk to the office to collect or return the special adapter and ended up paying for it each day for the entire stay.

Pro:
Proper town with everything you would want (hardware, restaurants, super-markets)
Easy access to Almeria town and airport by bus (much easier than Almerimar)
We found very cheap car hire outside peak times (I think 56 euro for a week but following week was 50% of that)
Much less windy than Almerimar (our friends would get fierce gusts and we'd have nothing, locals said that was normal)

Con:
Very quiet in marina or yard over winter, very few liveaboards
Everything is uphill (but you do get to free wheel most of the way back to the boat when cycling back from the super-market )

This information dates back to 2014/2015 when we spent 2 winters there but left our boat ashore and returned home. I think only 5-6 people lived there afloat. Cruise 2014 for Jeanneau 42DS Mistroma of Gair



Guadiana is a glue-pot, you won't get out without an effort. We went for a week and left 5-6 weeks later.

Mike when we was there many moons ago electricity was free but to get it you needed a special lead at €3 a day , yes 3 .
Now I understand itsmij the marina fee,
We also enjoyed are stay there in Almerimar

 

[Kelpie]

We will have 950w of solar installed, I'm not sure what winter in Almerimar is going to be like but we might be OK without shore power.

 

[sailaboutvic]

We will have 950w of solar installed, I'm not sure what winter in Almerimar is going to be like but we might be OK without shore power.

That depend where they moor you , darsea 2 where we was moored had building all around so sun was limited , the year we was there , there was one heck of a storm , we could hear all this banging but couldn't work out what it was ,
We walked from where we was moor and as we left the build up area , no joking there was wheeler bins taken off , tiles where dropping of the roofs and where was there was hardly any wind .
But as I said , I heard that power was now include, one thing to check is , again only what I heard there two prices , one for leaving the boat and one for living on board , probably to do with charging for electrica .
There a guy called Fou a Japanese guy in the office , real nice guy I think he still there , also Chris who been living on his boat there for tons of years ,
And our Dutch sailing friends we known for years Leo and Annie , they now live their in there apartment , normally at weekend they drive people to the mountains for walk .
A good British chandler's run by Spencer real nice guy .
Reges from S Africa run the stainless work shop but not sure if he still there .
God 11 years gone by in a flash , reading this Jordanbasset.
Remember Chrissy and I sailing all the way to Gib every so often to buy your pork pies .

 

[Mistroma]

We will have 950w of solar installed, I'm not sure what winter in Almerimar is going to be like but we might be OK without shore power.

Yes, 950W will give a lot in that area, even in winter.

Potential daily figures with panels at 35 deg. in optimum direction
Month___Ah/day
Nov._____226
Dec.____ 216
Jan. _____227
Feb._____252

More likely output with panels left lying flat
Month___Ah/day
Nov._____142
Dec.____ 121
Jan. _____132
Feb._____171

Even that would be OK as fridge/freezer won't exactly be running flat out. Problem is that the buildings severely limit sunlight in many berths as Vic has already pointed out.

It would be good if they do include electricity now but I bet the price will be quite high. The old system involved daily hire of a connector for about 3 euro as Vic said. Our friends started off with good intentions but soon gave up with the long trip to fetch or hand back the connector and just kept it all winter. I think their electricity cost about 600 euro by the time they left and that pushed their price well past our fee at Aguadulce. I did spot a couple of boats with no shore power but a rather discrete wire running between windows on adjacent boats.

I also mentioned the wind and our friends regularly commented on it and we had not noticed anything much just a few miles along the coast.

 

[Graham376]

Plenty of places to anchor on the way down the Portuguese coast if the weather is settled but, as mentioned above if the swell is high many ports are closed so you'll have to watch forecasts. For visiting Porto, Leixoes is a better bet than the Douro marina, the marina is far cheaper or you can anchor in the harbour. If you make it down to the Algarve, many anchor at Alvor or in the Ria Formosa or there are sometimes cheap(ish) moorings available. Guadiana certainly worth visiting but colder than the coast in winter and hotter in summer, hard to leave once there, pontoons €10/night incl. lecky last time we were there. From Algarve down to Gib, plenty of places to anchor, no need to pay for marinas.

 

[Ningaloo]

My plan for this year covered the western med to Sardinia where I will lift out for the winter.
I agree that the stretch from Gib to Calpe can be frustrating - very variable winds and mostly very tacky tourist resorts. Don't miss Carthagena and Altea - both stunning with great yacht club marinas.
Balearic marinas are VERY expensive, but it won't affect you as they are already full of charter boats so you'll find it hard to get a reservation. The Charter marina in Palma is an exception as long as you don't try Friday or Saturday nights.
The side effect of lack of marina berths is that at least one or twice you'll find the anchorage that was perfectly sheltered as you retire to bed will become untenable in the early hours when the wind/swell changes!
However my mooring costs (for a boat 3m longer than last year) are about 50% what I spent in 2019. I have become much more confident in my anchoring abilities and love my Epsilon. Of course you will often be anchoring in clear water over sand which helps!
I think your plans not to go into the eastern med are sensible. I have sometimes felt rushed trying to get from UK to Italy in the 90 days I get with Schengen.

 

[Kelpie]

We are quite confident anchoring- have a 25kg Rocna on a 39ft boat, and trust it. So long as we can get decent holding and not too much swell we'll be fine, I think.

 

[Sailfree]

First thing to say is plan your trip down the Portuguese coast with a close eye on the weather. It can get very rough in October if a storm has crossed the Atlantic and bolt holes are a fair bit apart.
Porto is worth a visit - there's a small marina in the estuary a bus ride away.
Gib, or La Linea, for interest.
We didn't like the marina in Cadiz and it's a long way from town.
Malaga's a nice city if you can get in there.

Few ports on the Atlantic Coast are 24/7. Many suffer from swells after storms in Atlantic even when weather is nice locally.

Hence why we picked Nazare as our home Port. Have been stuck in Porto for 1 week when swell closed port. Not a bad place to be stuck though.

Porto and possibly others offer a discount on berthing fees to RYA members. May be worth checking what discounts are available for members of RYA or CA.

 

[Kelpie]

Thanks, we are CA members so will bear that in mind.
Hopefully it will only be a few days to get down that coast but obviously we need to be prepared for the possibility of getting stuck.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Thanks, we are CA members so will bear that in mind.
Hopefully it will only be a few days to get down that coast but obviously we need to be prepared for the possibility of getting stuck.

How far are u ?
Portuguese coast is only about 500 nm till you hit Gib so not too much of a Deal if you do a few over night .
It's only Oct and even if you have to stop a bit till the next weather window ,
you could easily be in Gib well before mid Oct .

You can sail till Christmas in the Med without too many problems,
Up to a couple of years ago we never hit our winter marina till a week before Christmas .
At times you have to wait a few days .
But the Med can be like UK summer weather till the end of the year.
Good luck with your plain .

 

[Kelpie]

Boat is ashore in Ria Arousa. We're not back at the boat until the 8th, and I've asked to launch on the 11th, so realistically by the time we've recommissioned the boat (canvas is stripped, we have no food, etc), it will definitely be mid October before we even reach Portugal.

But as you say it's not a huge distance down the Portuguese coast, and we'll need some serious bad luck to prevent us rounding the corner by the of the month.

 

[sailaboutvic]

I know you was thinking about Almerimar but if you not booked I would hand on ,
Pop in and see if you like it ,
It's been years since Almerimar use to fully booked so I very much doubt you have a problem getting Berth ,
If You might find it's not to your taste or you may feel like having a short break then carry on for a bit more and head for Cartagena,
Which is another liveaboard marina only roughly another 100 miles and if by that time you still don't fancy Velcro your self to a pontoon an half day,sail and you can be in Mar Menor .
So lots of options .