Bay of Biscay crossing times

[truantagain]

Does anyone have any advice on the best times to cross Bay of Biscay? We are hoping to spend 6 months cruising the Med (this would include leaving the UK and returning). I have read that the best times to cross are June/July - but that would mean at least 11 months which is not feasible at this stage, or alternatively leaving the boat in the Med and then returning later for the return passage (definitely not our first option). Any advice on a suitable 6 month period would be most appreciated. Thanks a million!

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[ccscott49]

You cann leave to cross biscay, as soon as the weather moderates, in may or there abouts, just study the weather patterns.


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[AndrewB]

As CCScott49 says, these days the weather forecasts are sufficiently reliable to give you 5 days notice of anything really nasty brewing. So you can just sit at either end and wait for your window, at any time of year.

The whole area is regarded as 'stormy' throughout the winter months from October through March. I would guess October is probably the worst month for sudden gales.

As the prevailing and most dangerous winds for a gale are in the SW -> NW quadrant, returning is a little easier than going, since you are on a reach. This suggests leaving at a reasonably safe time of year and taking your chance on your return.

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[chrisb]

look at frank singleton weg site/ home page. he has a paper on biscay weather.basically out may when the weather moderates and hopefully northerlies set in -home before september. expect to beat home along the portugeese coast

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[Anchorite]

One of the windows is going to be closed over a 6 month period: why not do one of the legs through the canal du Midi (you won't regret it).

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[truantagain]

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice - much appreciated! I'll definitely brush up on my weather forecasting. Canal du Midi sounds a good option, my only concern would be that our boat has a draft of 1.6m - I will investigate further.
Thanks once again for the advice - I have only recently moved here from South Africa and still need to get to grips with the local weather.

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[Richard_Woods]

I have crossed Biscay 3 times in catamarans. Once in February, once in November and once in July. The roughest trip was the July one! On my last crossing (the Nov one) we stopped in S Brittanny. Then to N Spain. With a good 5 day forcast you will get across before the bad weather hits. You really need a weather fax for the crossing

Remember in the N hemisphere lows and highs spin opposite ways. I found it very confusing when I was navigator on a boat doing the 2000 Cape to Rio race

<hr width=100% size=1>Richard Woods of Woods Designs for quality sailing catamaran designs
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[Sea Devil]

I have crossed biscay 6 times or so - once in October and once in May. I think the weather systems vary each year so it is hard to predict the perfect months -

As Richard says the trick is to get to Falmouth or Scillies area and wait for a weather window of 5 good days with northly winds - should be easy from there.

Check my web site for the canal du midi - I think you may have problems and by the time you get to Royan you are only a day or so a way from Finisterre.

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[Anonymous]

>>the trick is to get to Falmouth or Scillies area and wait for a weather window of 5 good days with northly winds - should be easy from there.<<

I've read that it's best (under sail) to sail west until the track to Corunna is due south, then follow the longitude. Is that how you did it? I've often wondered how much of that was due to ease of navigation and how much to statistically better prevailing conditions.

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[AndrewB]

Your route sounds as if it is devised to gain as much searoom as possible, which makes a lot of sense in principle since both prevailing winds and currents tend to drive the yacht back into Biscay, the more so the closer in one gets.

However, with a prevailing westerly or south-westerly on leaving England, the direction in which one starts is rather at the mercy of the winds.

I've crossed Biscay several times and cannot recall experiencing the persistant northerly wind that Bambola mentions, and such as one gets south of Finnesterre ("Portuguese Trades"). The prevailing wind seems to be SW to W in the north, NW in the south. This is why standing well out is advantageous, and coast-hopping not so good. If you end up only half way along the north Spanish coast, it's then a long battle against both wind and current to round Cape Ortegal - worse even than the flog down the English Channel. Moreover, further out you avoid the nastiness that can be associated with the edge of the Continental Shelf well within the Bay.

Like Richard_Woods, the only time I've experienced a full gale on a crossing was in summer, but that was when long-range forecasts weren't so reliable. That was westerly, and we were very glad indeed to have a lot of searoom.

 

[dart]

As other posters have said with modern forecasts and a little patience you can cross any time of year. Make sure you are insured however! If you are going down Portugal out of season be careful which ports you go to. Most harbours are not well protected from winter swell. Sugget La Coruna, Viana, Alcantara, Lagos.

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[Sea Devil]

I headed out a bit the first couple of times after that just went inside shipping lanes at Ushant and headed for a point inside shipping lanes off Finnesterre. You can watch all the big boys off to starboard. Stops you being amongst them which is good...

You can still make Coruna or a French port if you do get pushed into the bay - so far that has never happened to me.....

I think you can expect predominently northly sector winds after Ushant - I think due north is a bit much to hope for - Andrew is right. I should have said anything with no South in it so you can lay Finnisterre in one tack!

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[davidbains]

Six months to the Med and back is rather ambitious and won't leave you much time to explore the Western med let alone the East. It's easy to find somewhere in The Ionian ports of Greece to leave the boat for a winter. Then more leisurely return the second year, if indeed you do not decide to keep your boat in the Med, as I have since '89. As someone else said do not underestimate sailing north up the coast of Portugal. Many boats run out of time in Porto, Bayonna or La Corunna, and end up hiring delivery skippers.

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[paulrossall]

You can easily get to the Med in 3 weeks going/coming back through the canal from Calais. Nice trip and no weather problems. This will give you maximum time to enjoy the Med. You will not have a depth problem. Paul

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[Marsupial]

Paul

What is the minimum depth in the canal system? I draw 2 mtrs and need to move the boat to the med next year. We had planned to cross Biscay well offshore but I know that the rest of the crew would prefer to not to.

Cheers


David

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[tcm]

It would indeed have to be one heck of a bash with no uh-oh problems that forced a stay for more than a few days. The time to sail to or from med is between beginning of april and end/mid august at latest, which only gives 5 months of generalluy more reliable weather rather than generally less reliable weather.

However, it should be possible to run a rapid-ish circuit gib, spain, mebbe balearix, barcelona, mebbe french riviera then go up the canals from end august. No retracing steps and that southern spanish coast is a bit manky cruising grounds at slow speed, really, generally more for powerboats in summer too ie not much wind.

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[Sea Devil]

1.8mtrs is the charted depth between Le Harvre and the Med... Most ot the time there is a little more as the bottom of those canals is mud and you can push through it but if you go in high summer when the system is lower then you might have problems..

All the alternatives with timings are at michaelbriant.com/sailing and click on UK to Med or Canals. Got the depths - timings - canals and direct routes by sea etc

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[ChrisE]

From memory, the canal system has a guarenteed least dpeth of 1.5m in the southern sections. Some have got down with 1.7m, a Rival38 did and published his adventure in YM some years ago, but they ploughed a fair furrow through and possbily hit a few rocky bits. I beleive that you need to time your trip to coincide with high water levels, like at the beginning of spring. But by the sounds of it 2m would be just too much draught.

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[temptress]

When can you cross Biscay or when is the best time?

When delivering boats I've crossed biscay at all times of year in both directions. You need a 3 day weather window to cross in say a 36 footer and these can hapen at anytime of the year.

Just to prove apoint right NOW is a good time to go across if you are going south- although last Wednesday was the best time to have left. Although once this high moves next week you don't know what will happen.

Generally if you are going south for six months it the return time that is most important. You can afford to wait a few weeks for a crossing time on the way out but if you have a deadline to return to then you need to make sure that you are comming back with the best chance of fair weather. This is generally June/July/August although September/May are usually OK. At any time of year you will have to watch the weather and wait for a big enough window.

I 1989 I spent most of October laying to 3 anchors in La Corouna waiting for a break to go North as record storm after record storm came across. Yet in 1992 we had to motor nearly all the way accross in flat calm in Jan. I remember one August (not sure which year) being knocked down in a 90ft ketch on Passage from Santander to Brighton.

So you can cross biscay at any time of the year but it is much more pleasant in the summer.

<hr width=100% size=1>Temptress of Down
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[temptress]

"Many boats run out of time in Porto, Bayonna or La Corunna, and end up hiring delivery skippers."

Long may that continue...............

<hr width=100% size=1>Temptress of Down
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