Biscay Crossing

Just do it, we did with limited experience but just stay way off shore (we went 400nm off at one point), the trawlers are a nightmare on radar during nightwatch but the rest is just fine.
 
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We have heard good things about Almerimar, well apart from the shower block! Is it worth a visit?

Darren

[/ QUOTE ]we bought our boat from there last winter and made six weekend visits - met Lemain several times in the process.

Almerimar as a harbour town is fine - reasonable supermarket, a few restaurants and bars, and a small chandlery run by Spencer who will order in anything if you need it.

The shower block isnt great, but still usable - or at least it was.

The harbour entrance is quite shallow and certainly not somewhere I would want to enter for the first time in poor conditions, the breaking waves would spoil you day quite seriously.

Away from the town, the surrounding area is grim mainly because it is covered in polythene for growing vegetables for Europe.

Final point is its quite cheap - 8Euros per night for a 44footer during the winter.

So to answer your question, yes definitely worth a visit as long you are not after too much excitement ashore. /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
Second the 'take some extra crew if you can'. I did a delivery run across the Biscay in August last. We were four crew, all RYA Yachtmasters. You would think that was 'OTT' but one immidiately was badly stricken with 'mal de mer' and was out for most of the trip. So we were down to three, which I believe is the optimum anyway. Goes to show what my preconceptions were worth.
 
The fishermen in Spain do not go out in the weekend. I crossed Biscay and entered LC on monday-morning and saw the fleet leaving the harbours around midnight sunday. If possible take advantage of this.
 
If your not in any hurry to get to the Med, then why not work your way down the Brittany coastline and experience some fantastic sailing, good food and interesting places. We spent years on that coastline and then took the La Rochelle - Gijon route but finished up in Bilboa due to bad weather. That mean't only two nights at sea which was just as well as the weather did not perform to forecast. The North West Coast of Spain is largely neglected as most people head straight for Corunna, but there some great places to visit. When you get past La Corunna, spend more than a little time in The Spanish Rias. Very good sailing in protected waters right the way down to Bayonne and easy flights back to UK should you require. PM me if you want more info. Definately consider additional and experienced crew for the crossing.
 
experiance is something that is gained while making mistakes. this might sound silly but in the 55 years that i have been sailing i have made plenty of mistakes. the point is to learn from them. doing a yachtmasters or anyother certificate is good sence because you are learning from people that have the experience. the best experience is to go sailing and ALWAYS CHECK CHECK CHECK everything on the boat so that if the S*&%$ flies you know how to fix it and where it is even in the dark. i have crossed the bay 19 times and only once have i been caught out by a freak storm but even that was learning experience. i would suggest that you sail down to Camaret then set of with a good weather window ( june to the end of july) for Viveiro on the north coast of spain it is 294 miles from Camaret. The worst part will be as you drop off the continental shelf and on the spanish coast climb it again the seas become higher and the swell bigger near the coasts. noone is ever realy ready for the big one but if you wait till you think you are ready you will never go. I spoke to two young people who had been sailing for 6 months and with advice i had given them made a good crossing with no big scares so good luck and enjoy the adventure.
 
Nick
Statistically July & August are the best times to cross Biscay. If you are continuing south you will also benefit from the Portuguese trades which will blow you south and provide a following current. These tend to be reasonably reliable until mid September.
Good advice above, especially about experience of long passages. I've been across 6 times 5 of these with experienced folks aboard on deliveries so we took the long route from Falmouth to La Coruna. In 2006 we sailed our own boat to the Algarve with only two on board so decided to do it in shorter hops which provided bolt holes if required. Hamble to Guernsey, to Camaret, to Les Sables d'Olone, then to La Coruna. The last leg was 2 1/2 days which is a duration where you will get a pretty accurate forecast. Going further south than Les Sables is not a good idea as you will bring the prevailing wind further ahead and you'll be sailing along a lee shore.
Fair winds
Colin
 
Only did this once - so far- sailed down to Spain on our honeymoon in 2004 which was not known as a good year for sailing!

We went the inshore route as we found we enjoyed visiting places and intended meeting up with the wifes friend in Bayonne. Due to family illness ended up sailing back on my own.

Reading this thread though I feel like the relative newcomer that I am though. What a wealth of experience and advice given so freely.

Its threads like these that make this Forum the best IMHO.

I hope to do it again though some time.
 
What time of year are you thinking of crossing? We are leaving Ibiza at the beginning of May and will be crossing direct from La Coruna to Plymouth, we will make sure we have a good clear weather window before embarking on the big journey. I have done lots of research on crossing Biscay and the best times for good weather is in June and July. As I say you just have to wait for a few good days weather and go for it, there are just the three of us on our colvic 50, I do think you need at least 3 people otherwise lack of sleep becomes a problem. Good luck with your journey.
 
Hi Nomad,
we are heading to the Azores late june.. if you are in LC before then, look us up, just ask the office for 'Ruddles' - Joe n Jayne.. would be nice to hook up.. Bill, KBT will possibly be still here then too..
Maybe a pot luck and a few vino collapso's...

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HI there, will certainly look you up when we get there. We are leaving here early May, but arn't in a big rush, we are hoping to cross the Bay sometime in early part June, want to get the best weather window we can. We will be stopping for a few days in Gib too to stock up on provisions and water.
 
We will be stopping in La Coruna, which is the best website for a 5 day weather forcast to look at before we cross the bay?
 
If you look at my post earlier in this thread on routes you will see I mention Frank Singleton.Click on that link and you can navigate to his weather site-which IMHO- is comprehensive.
 
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