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

[Kelpie]

Dredging this question back up again.

We did make it down the coast and the boat is now in Portimao. We're planning to stay there for the rest of the month finishing some jobs off.

We're trying to get enthusiastic about the Western Med. But we maybe need some encouragement.

An alternative plan is starting to sound quite interesting- returning to Galicia. We absolutely loved our time there, but had to rush through and missed big chunks entirely. As our eventual plan is to head to Madeira and the Canaries, it's not as big of a detour as it first sounds: after Galicia we would jump off from Lisbon (which we also missed last year) which is almost the same distance from Madeira as Faro is.

Someone please tell me this is a silly idea...

 

[billskip]

Dredging this question back up again.

We did make it down the coast and the boat is now in Portimao. We're planning to stay there for the rest of the month finishing some jobs off.

We're trying to get enthusiastic about the Western Med. But we maybe need some encouragement.

An alternative plan is starting to sound quite interesting- returning to Galicia. We absolutely loved our time there, but had to rush through and missed big chunks entirely. As our eventual plan is to head to Madeira and the Canaries, it's not as big of a detour as it first sounds: after Galicia we would jump off from Lisbon (which we also missed last year) which is almost the same distance from Madeira as Faro is.

Someone please tell me this is a silly idea...

I sailed from Liabon to Maderia then down to Tenerife about err a good few yrs back, throughly enjoyed it, Canaries is a great place for sailing....

 

[Mistroma]

Dredging this question back up again.

We did make it down the coast and the boat is now in Portimao. We're planning to stay there for the rest of the month finishing some jobs off.

We're trying to get enthusiastic about the Western Med. But we maybe need some encouragement.

An alternative plan is starting to sound quite interesting- returning to Galicia. We absolutely loved our time there, but had to rush through and missed big chunks entirely. As our eventual plan is to head to Madeira and the Canaries, it's not as big of a detour as it first sounds: after Galicia we would jump off from Lisbon (which we also missed last year) which is almost the same distance from Madeira as Faro is.

Someone please tell me this is a silly idea...

We loved our time in Galicia, half of 2012, all 2013 and part of 2014. Pretty much back and forth between Viviero to Porto with majority of our time in the Rias. A few nights in marinas but mostly at anchor. Pretty cheap and I still remember mid-morning walk to shop with beer and tapas for early lunch on way back to the boat.

I was always surprised to meet people further South and hear they'd either sailed past Galicia or only spent a few days in the area.

Visits to towns were usually interesting and you could have a huge number of Fiestas if you timed visits correctly.

 

[Ningaloo]

I sailed from UK to Sardinia last year. With Brexit limits I didn't spend as much time as I would have liked in Galicia however I was previously based in Porto for two years so know the area well.
I understand your hesitation about the western Med. The Algarve and Costa del Sol don't have much to offer other than tacky tourist resorts. It starts to get more interesting at the Balearics.
There are a few towns that stand out: Cadiz, Gibraltar, Cartagena, Altea. Other than these we treated Lisbon to Ibiza as a delivery trip. Morocco might have been of interest but the ports were closed last year due to Covid.

If you don't want to spend a season in the Med or push further east, and are not too worried about the cooler temperatures (air and water) in north Spain (still better than UK), then a season exploring Galicia, Porto and Lisbon could be very relaxing.
If you do this, make sure you get the (free) permit to sail through the national park surrounding the Cies islands. Once you have this you can them book to anchor there too (also free but numbers restricted). Google for NP details - they will want copies of passport and boat registration.

 

[Graham376]

Before heading back to Galicia, you could chill out a bit anchored in Ria Formosa, then Guadiana up to Alcoutim. Cadiz only a long day sail from Guadiana and worth visiting, then maybe Gib to stop the clock and/or Morocco if open. We only did western Med as far as Fuengirola and decided we didn't like crowded tourist resorts and all day breakfasts.

 

[Yngmar]

Not much in the western Med until the Baleares, where we did have a great summer anchoring around (Menorca is quieter in the peak of summer, seek the murky green waters of Cala Addaia for a cruiser hideout safe from most tourists and charter skippers). The Costa del Sol is utterly skippable, has virtually no anchorages and the marinas are all in mass tourism hellholes. Worthwhile stops are Almerimar if you need any boat stuff or resupply, Cartagena, Alicante (stomp in flip flops and torn shorts through the yacht club and visit the castle and VOR museum) and the Mar Menor if you dare to go in.

Going back west we plan to sail past most of it if the weather permits. The only place we found worth visiting in the western most part were the Cuevas de Nerja (massive caves a bus trip inland from one of the marinas - can't remember which one it was). On the way you can see the living and working conditions (basically slavery) for the African migrant workers harvesting Europe's veggies. Apparently the Spanish coast gets a bit more interesting North of Denia, but we didn't go that way.

Oh, the Spanish enclave of Ceuta was an interesting stop (with fuel prices like Gibraltar, but in EUR). Melilla is apparently also nice. Outside the Med, the Rio Guadiana was one of our all-time favorites. We loved anchoring in a quiet river bend away from anyone in absolute peace (okay, once a day a tourist boat goes up and down the river, one time with a wedding on board). Alcoutim/Sanlucar are a popular cruiser hangout/retiring spot.

Ria Formosa is a great stop to hang out and kill some time, but apart from exploring Culatra there isn't much going on there. Since you're wintering in Portimao, Faro is best visited by bus instead.

We spend considerable time exploring the Rias bajas and altas and absolutely loved it there. If you can get up there before the northerly winds set in, you can easily spend the whole summer and never get bored. Lasting memories from the crazy Fiesta del Agua where everyone gathers in the streets for a huge party and gets buckets and firehoses of water poured on them (waterproof cameras only). Muxia was the highlight for us, but apparently we're weird and others preferred Baiona, which we found too poncy. If the choice is between the Baleares and the Rias, I'd choose the Rias - quieter, fewer boats, not so hot (but the water is a bit chillier too for swims).

 

[Kelpie]

Thanks all. My RCC Islas Baleares arrived today, I'm doing my best to get enthusiastic about it but the book makes it sound like July/August will be so busy as to be almost impossible to enjoy cruising there. Perhaps they're over stating the case.

Quiet is good for us. We hardly ever eat out, mainly because we have a 5yr old aboard. Beaches/walking/cycling are a much higher priority than bars and restaurants. We generally spend every morning doing school, and afternoons are a mixture of boat jobs and some time ashore. So we are easily entertained.

The only thing that would make me reluctant to return to Galicia is that it seems like a bit of a cop out to retrace our steps. But the Balearics would mean doubling back anyway, and commits us to more mileage.

We don't have to make any decisions yet but it's fascinating to hear from people who have cruised both areas

 

[geem]

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.

We sailed Falmouth to Baiona. Bayona to Cascais. Cascais to Algarve. You can get down the Portuguese coast in a couple of days easily. It's no big deal to pick a weather window. Don't miss out Culatra. In my opinion the nicest anchorage on the Algarve. We know people who winter there at anchor. You can flit between there and the Guadiana if you want a change of scenery. Only 30nm apart.

 

[Kelpie]

We sailed Falmouth to Baiona. Bayona to Cascais. Cascais to Algarve. You can get down the Portuguese coast in a couple of days easily. It's no big deal to pick a weather window. Don't miss out Culatra. In my opinion the nicest anchorage on the Algarve. We know people who winter there at anchor. You can flit between there and the Guadiana if you want a change of scenery. Only 30nm apart.

We already did it. Had a week in Povoa waiting out northerlies, then went Leixoes, Fd Foz, Nazare, Peniche, Cascais, Sines, Balleira, Lagos. Managed to almost completely avoid night sailing and all legs manageable.
What we're wondering now is how hard it will be to go the other way...

 

[Graham376]

We already did it. Had a week in Povoa waiting out northerlies, then went Leixoes, Fd Foz, Nazare, Peniche, Cascais, Sines, Balleira, Lagos. Managed to almost completely avoid night sailing and all legs manageable.
What we're wondering now is how hard it will be to go the other way...

If you head back north and it's settled weather, suggest you miss Peniche and anchor in 15m off the Berlenga Isles - berlengas images - Bing

 

[Yngmar]

Supposedly it's possible to go north along the Portuguese coast before the Nortada sets in, which it typically did in June. But typical weather patterns don't seem too reliable anymore these days. Those that tried recently reported it was all motoring and often there was some northerly anyways so they were motoring into waves and current, which is unpleasant and wears minds and materials. The sailor's route is to go via the Azores (possibly including Madeira). More miles, equal risk of motoring (Azores high = no wind), but you get to explore a whole new pilot book ;-)

 

[Graham376]

A few years ago we had a cruise (IIRC mid-May to August) up to Porto and back. F8 Levant from Cape St Vincent then further north down to zero and motoring for about 4 hours to Sines. From there northwards, mixture of variable light winds or motor sailing. Would be slow going for a delivery trip but fine for a cruise.