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

Direct from Cameret to Coruna with a good forecast is the easy way, it,s a long way round, for very little benifit. I have crossed both ways from Bayona and Coruna to Cameret and Ireland at various times including Nov and Feb with no probs but close attention to the weather.
 
I would second anyone here saying go west. Going inshore in Biscay in autumn storm season just means exposing yourself to a lot of rocks and tide and you are going the wrong way. If you have a good seaworthy boat, getting away from the dangers of a Biscay lee shore and the continental shelf is a very good idea.

I would go way, way out west and then head for Bayona south of Finisterre. At worst, you might get a beating some of the way (nothing like you would get in the east or middle of Biscay though) and once you arrive you are past all dangers in the Biscay once and for all.
 
It's all well and good to suggest going to 10degrees, but consider that my boat is very slow. If I do that, I could be out at sea for 6-7 days at least, which is well out of range for any decent forecast. Even motoring I would be lucky to average 4.5kts.

Plowing through the channel island charts I was thinking of breaking my trip from Cherbourg to Brest via one of the Islands - But really, they look like a pain. So, it's looking like I have two good days on Thurs & Fri to sail direct to Brest. Does anyone have any comments on the passage from Cherbourg to Brest? I will still get my tides right, but at least I don't have go navigate through the Channel Islands and heave through the Race of Alderney. Coming around Barfleur I was doing a steady 9.2kts, so I can imagine the Race must be even quicker!

From Brest I could do Gijon or Coruna even. I looked at Commandersweather, and contacted them - For free they'll give me a departure window based on average speed and course, and during the passage, I can call on satphone (for a cost) to get exact reports based on current position.

The other option is using the satphone to call Marinecall and listening to the recorded forecast. Wish I had a Marinecall subscription...

As for insurance - I only have 3rd party, and they do cover for singlehanding and 200nm offshore. But as I've said before, the other boat in a mid-Biscay collision is not going to be the worse off...

nick.
 
In some ways you have to plan for being out that long any how, you might have other issues that cause you to heave to for a couple of nights, so planning on a 6-7 day passage isn't a bad idea. When you arrive in 3-4 days you'll feel like it was a quick trip!

Until you've been there you have no idea of the difference between the ocean type of bad weather and the shelf weather. The deep water bad weather is much nicer, and easier on the boat.

From Brest you should clear the edge of the shelf in just over 24 hrs, even at 4.5 knots. Then you can head more South, the shelf here is only 7 degrees west so not that far out to sea really.

Watch out when closing the Spanish coast, as the lighthouses are high up (cabo prior) they often disappear into low cloud...which can be confusing.

Again have a good trip it can be lovely in Biscay even at this time of year.
 
Pick your weather. One of my best Biscay crossings was December ('95 or '96) with a broad reach F4 until within sight of the Spanish Coast. My worst was July ('98) as we were racing and had no say in the departure date (although we could of course have taken the decision to delay ourselves). I think you will find that there are weather windows throughout the year if you have the flexibility to wait for them, it's just that they're most frequent in early summer.
 
Sorry, Cameret does appear easier and more useful than Brest for my purposes - There have been several suggestions for it which I've overlooked, apologies - Camaret it is. I'll write again on arrival and see how Biscay is looking.

nick
 
Nick, if you're going from Cherbourg to Camaret, more or less the straight line is through the Channel Isles. You need to work the tides, but Cherbourg to Guernsey is do-able on one tide. Take a quick break, then take the next tide towards the corner. I hate to say this, but if you're worried about being at sea for 6/7 days then you really need to think about this whole trip. You seem to be in a hurry to get to Lisbon.....well, trust me the way to get really bogged down is to go inshore around the Biscay. If the weather turns you could be stuck for weeks. I'm afraid I've read too many magazine article entitled something like 'My terrible Biscay experience' that start off with the author crossing the bay at a statistically unsuitable time of year. At 4.5kts, you're looking at about 72 hours to cross the Bay (from Camaret to La Corunna). Wait for a good 3 day coupled with a reasonable 5 day forcast and go. Trying to sneak around the inside will take longer with the likeliehood of bad weather setting in.
 
Troutbridge, I'll look into Guernsey again, but it just seems like a minefield...

As for being at sea for 6-7 days, it's not that I'm particularly concerned about being at sea for that long, it's that at the minute, forecasting is not reliable for that period, and I would rather avoid being part of another article about 'my terrible trip across biscay'.

My rationalisation is that if I can reduce it to a 72 hour trip, then all the better because with any luck I'll know what's going on with the weather. If I start venturing out 10degrees west, already I have some 250-300miles to get out that far before I actually make any real southward progress.

nick.
 
The 10 degrees west is a bit misleading as this is only needed if you stay North or are kept North by the prevailing SW, and head out of the channel dues West.

From Camaret the shelf finishes around 6 degrees west, so you'll be over it easily in a day and can then happily head South in really deep water.
 
A Contessa 26 isn,t a slow boat Nick, no need to go to 10W from Cameret, just head W of Finisterre from the Raz if you finish up East so what, you are over the Bay bit. Just look for a nice 5 day window, good wifi in Cameret for the forecast.
 
Ok, a Contessa isn't slow slow boat, but it's no trimaran! Imagine... Biscay done in a couple of days, no sweat.

Working out the best route to Camaret as we speak. Looking at a break in L'Aber Wrach'h - Appears to have a bouyed entrance, and non-drying marina.

Unfortunately I only have Imray chart C18 at the moment which may not be sufficient detail for the navigation I need right now - I think I need C10 (if I remember correctly) but these French shops only have their French charts... Bummer.

nick.
 
Yes, they're probably great, but, you know, I just have a thing for Imray charts. I can't think of a witty analogy on such short notice, but I just like them a lot, and they should be for sale in every store. Including non-sailing stores, like the supermarket - So you can read them and dream at the checkout.

As for value, I found the Imrays at 15pound, or roughly 22-23euros were pretty cheap. i'm not sure if the ones I saw in the chandlery were SHOM or not, but they were 25euros.
 
Nick, let me just strongly second what has been said above: go west and get away from the continental shelf as soon as you can. Don't get too wrapped up about weather forecasts; they might be wrong anyway at this time of the year. You have a reasonable chance of meeting bad weather on this route, better to do that in ocean conditions than inshore. Believe me, it is a huge difference and will be the difference between you becoming another 'Biscay horror' and an interesting experience that you can entertain us with.
 
To be honest I'm a little wary of Imray after finding they had a lighthouse on the wrong headland when I did this crossing in 2002.
Now I don't take any chart as gospel but will check it with another chart or make sure other landmarks/lkights agree.

Charts are sometimes wrong, if I'd blindly believed the chart I'd have lost the boat. Narrow bay rocks and big swell. Light is actually on th eleft of the entrance Imray had it on the right!

They did send me a replacement, and said it was human error as they are transposed from admiralty charts!

Good luck and be careful.
 
Hi Nick,
hope the trip's going well so far.
You seem to be getting much the same advice I did before my first Biscay crossing...many advocating a shorter, shallower, route, others going for the more traditional 'go deep' approach, some pretty dogmatically. Truth is, there simply is no perfect option, except the easy ones with 20:20 hindsight.
The point's well made that you can expect fair accuracy for a 2 or 3-day forecast, but anything more is a lottery, especially at this time of year. Equally, your being single-handed is a major issue. Five or six days at sea could see you less than ready to deal with a blow, but you'll be the best judge of your endurance, and your boat's.
I'd suggest -- no more -- that a shorter crossing would offer the least of all possible ills. Sauzon (Belle Ile), apart from being a lovely place, is around 250 miles from Gijon. La Rochelle to the Santander area, shorter still (and a popular place to winter if you never get the forecast you need). Granted both incur the loss of westing, and many harbours on that coast are dangerous to enter in an onshore blow. An almanac or Brittany pilot would be a sound investment.
Good luck and fair winds, whatever you decide.
 
Disappointing to hear that about Imray, but, with the amount of data a hydrography service has to deal with, there are probably a lot of errors hidden amongst all charts. Ones to make you shudder no less!

Macd, appreciate the advice. Right at this second it's a lot of information to deal with, so I will reassess everything in Camaret and make a decision from there. The problem with Biscay singlehanded is its relative short distance. I think the 2-5 day passages are probably more difficult than longer ones, because it's difficult to create a routine, and fatigue is a constant issue. Generating a polyphasic sleep pattern on such short notice is difficult. For example, the trip from Cherbourg to the Morlaix area is some 140nm, possibly a 48hr non-stop, almost no sleep passage.

I'm leaving -4hrs before the Race starts it's favourable tide tomorrow from Cherbourg - I might break that possible 48hr passage in Guernsey if I can get the tides right as someone has already suggested. I need to look again, but all marinas appear to be drying on the island, but maybe I can anchor for 5hours and move on again.

nick
 
Personally, given your agenda, I definitely stop over at St Peter Port. It isn't a minefield at all - just be sure to be on top of your pilotage down the Little Russel, and in particular, get all the tides right.

L'Aberwrac'h is also a typical stopover point, and for good reason - as previously noted, the Brest peninsula has a distinct tendancy to get a big fat fog. And in fact, this often includes L'Aberwrac'h as well, so you want to scope out a bolt hole prior to that to sit it out - assuming you don't have Radar.

Doing that coast in fog with Radar, including entry into L'Aber, is possible, but I wouldn't recommend it if you have delicate nerves - particularly single handed. Don't even consider it in fog without Radar...

Brest is ok, but a long way up the Rade if you are only using it as a short stop over. Camaret is probably better placed as a jump-off for Biscay.

As previously said - wait for the right weather window, then go for it. If the weather is right, then you should be able to take pretty much the rhumb-line across, as you should be off the shelf by the time uncertainty arrives - but wait for the right weather window.

I also concur with the view that taking the coastal route is a great way to get really snarled up, and if you do end up going La Rochelle to La Coruna (for example), you can still get hammered, and with a fairly unhelpful landfall to your South...

So head straight from Camaret to La Coruna, and if conditions hold out for you, then carry on past Finisterra to Baiona, as the Spanish Finistera is similar in nature to the French one...

Once past that, the predominant weather is Northerly (although they are far less reliable than in the Summer). Once offshore of Portugal, there are fewer bolt-holes, so just work out which ones will work for you.
 
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