Biscay (I know... again...)

Thanks Alan - You read my mind. I've just made a passage plan exactly as you have described. I reviewed the Guernsey option, and St Peter Port is good - Even has a waiting pontoon I can hang out on. It also means I can tank red diesel.

By my calculations, if I leave Dover hw-4 from Cherbourg, get to the Race in about 3-4hrs, I then will have about 20nm to Little Russel, and given the tide speed and motor sailing if I have to, I should make it through Little Russel before it turns, and then into St Peter Port. Overall it's roughly 38nm.

I can stay there overnight, and then it's almost a direct passage to L'Aber Wrac'h, and then around to Camaret the next day.

That's the plan, so thanks everybody for the great suggestions and assistance. Talk again over the next week about Biscay, once again.

nick

P.S No radar, praying for lack of fog.
 
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The other option is using the satphone to call Marinecall and listening to the recorded forecast. Wish I had a Marinecall subscription...


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If you have a satphone get online with a laptop and download GRIB files (3 min a day for a 6 day forecast). Remarkably accurate once you are away from the coast and very cheap.

We did this coming back from Spain to Ireland in August and by slowing down for 24 hours (based on the GRIBs) we missed some very unpleasant stuff.
 
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P.S No radar, praying for lack of fog.

[/ QUOTE ] We were scared sh**tless both going down the Portuguese coast in September last year and again coming back across Biscay in August this year.

We wouldn't consider doing it again without an AIS - now available for around £200 and worth every penny IMO

- Nick
 
Hi Nick, if you're reading this in St peter Port you'll probably have found out about the incredibly cheap diesel prices, and it's not red fuel so no worries!. regarding single-handing and sleep, get into a watch-keeping pattern quickly, otherwise if you try and go 48 hours without sleep you'll be useless at decision making. I personally found that 15 minute cat naps worked for me, but the main thing to avoid is waking yourself up from a deep sleep. The cycle from REM (light) sleep to deep sleep and back up to REM is about 90 minutes, so either get a 90 minute 'kip' ( possibly not advisable across the bay due to fishing boats, and not advisable at all going along the coast for obvious reasons) or take short cat-naps, waking before you go into deep sleep. I kept that pattern up for about 5 days once (Lisbon to Porto santo) but it does get tiring, I must admit to getting a couple of hours during the day once clear of the shipping lanes. Somehow I felt that watchkeeping on ships would actually be better during the day, but I wouldn't put money on it. The most dangerous thing is to get over-tired, particularly when coasting in. The good news is once you're through the Raz and going across the Bay you can pretty much forget about tidal calculations.
 
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Can anyone tell me more about this large area below La Rochelle which is a firing or testing range? When is it active?

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It is a missile proving range, not a gunnery practice area, so is mostly inactive -- only being used on specific days and for limited time periods. As others have advised, ask in the Capitanerias in La Rochelle, Royan or wherever you are.

As for all-weather ports on the north coast of Spain:
Pasajes (just east of San Sebastian)
Bilbao
Santander, except in extreme conditions with wave trains from a very northerly/north-easterly direction
Gijón

I am not familiar with ports further west than Gijón, but understand there are several -- check the South Biscay Pilot.
 
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I seem to recall that the actual off-limit area is out at sea.

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There is a narrow coastal passage (about 2M wide) that is not in the firing range, except at two places where the range extends in to the coast:

A) between Pointe d'Arcachon (44N 31) to Mimizan les Bains (44N 13). The missile firing area and associated radars, etc seem to be at 44N 17.

B) Between Hourtin Plage (45N 14) and Phare de Hourtin (45N 09).

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In which case you can use Arcachon as a harbour between Ile d'Oleron and Spain.

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Serious warning: Only to be entered in calm conditions, by day, and following the indications given in the pilot books. On the ebb or when a serious swell is running, this entrance is extremely dangerous. For some years now the southern entrance close to Pointe d'Arcachon has been closed (silted) so the entrance is now the northern one, passing Banc du Toulinguet to port.
 
Hi all,

I've made it down to L'Aber Wrac'h. I had some difficulties along the way. In the form of a broken alternator, and a broken GPS, while entering a Britanny port in fog, at night. F*cking hell, that's all I can say, sorry.

Anyway, after days of sitting at the helm by myself, thinking way too much, you guys have spooked the hell out of me. I don't know what to do about Biscay now. I was all gung-ho about it some weeks ago, but the closer I am to departure, the more freaked out I get. I also have serious money issues after the GPS and alternator escapade, and not sure if going across Biscay will solve those issues either. Maybe I should just go back to Guernsey and sell out to a suit and tie job for the winter. I'm going to hang out here for a few days and think.

Brittany is beautiful.

nick.
 
You could come round by the coastal route -- the longest single stage is then just about 40 hours, from Royan or La Rochelle to the North coast of Spain (anywhere between the French border and Santander). I've done La Rochelle to Hendaya in 36 hours, Royan to Bilbao in 42 hours in very acceptable conditions -- Patricia weather as we call it!!!

The big high pressure area over Biscay at the moment will give several days of northerly airflow down the French coast, with more NE and ENE winds along the Spanish coast. Winds will be moderate to light, swell almost unnoticeable. Under these conditions, Biscay is benign, and excellent for sailing. It would be a pity to sit up around the corner and miss the oppurtunity to make La Corunna before the weather breaks.

Earlier posts refer to the need to watch the weather carefully, as some ports along this coast, such as Ribadesella, San Vicente de la Barquera and so on cannot be entered when the weather is kicking up. However, the major fishing and commercial ports are all deepwater -- Gijon, Bilbao, Bermeo, Pasajes, Cudillero, etc etc and so easy to enter even in extreme conditions, conditions in which you will not be caught out if you are careful and do the trip in short coastal hops when the weather permits.
 
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