Brit winds / Med

[Guest]

After my first season on the south coast based in Brighton, I begin to wonder wether the winds in the
channel would ever favour cruising for more than a day at a time. If fact one of my worse days was in
early August, middle of so called british summer, when I got caught out in a force 6-7 (met said 3-4)
westerly round Beachy Head horrendous.
Apart from that day my log confirms that during short cruises taking family and friends out in Jun/ July
the wind was rarely less than 3-4 often S SW,which does not exactly encourage family & friends
(who are not used to the sea), to repeat the experience, which is not pleasureable in those conditions.
Put my wife off completely. Managed to get a couple of days of nice F2 winds but that was about it.

I am tempted to go see what the med is like. I wonder if anybody has tried a season in the Med and
then said "sod this I'm off back to the good old channel" No I don't suppose anyone wants to return to
British winds. Any comments.

cneighbour

 

[hlb]

Hmm. Force 3 is excelent F4 good F5 Ok 6 bit iffy and after that it depends where you are. But best to stay in. It nearly never gets less than f3 apart from one or two days maybe.

No expert on the Med, thats Mats domain, but as far as I know and from my limited experience, its f6 every afternoon.

Are you sure you didn't get caught in the overfalls off beachy head. ( No charts here so cant confirm.) But overfalls normal on head lands if you catch the tide wrong.
What sort of boat have you got, theres nothing wrong with the weather you describe

Haydn

 

[billskip]

Now you know y raggies can be out enjoying being on the sea and the motorboaties have to go home..we love the wind...

 

[hlb]

Yes but a f3/4 is no good to you and anyway I dont belive you. I've never seen weather or overfalls that got me down to yacht speeds, except reverse of course.

Haydn

 

[DavidJ]

We spend a month or so in the Med every year and generally we have found that the day has a cycle. Calm up to about midday then it blows f3/4 for 4 hours then calm again. On top of this there are seasonal winds like the mistral which can blow for a couple of weeks and be quite stong. The locals will tell you an exact date that the mistral is due but they are always wrong because it's always in the middle of my holiday whenever I take it (Aug - Sept)
But at least the waters warm
David

 

[Guest]

Re: HLB yes but

Went wider than planned course off Beachy Head to avoid outfalls, 1-1.5 mls did'nt get any better,
we were punching the tide I know, but if you sale east or west for a jolly, then return chances are you'll
be punching it one way. Med of course no tide probs so makes a difference I Imagine.
My boat is a Broom 37 Crown semi dis 10 tons, large keel etc. I know the med has winds
like the mistral. YES BUT can you answer may question, do you know anyone who has been
a season cruising the med and says "sod this I'm off back to the channel"

cneighbour

 

[hlb]

Sorry to say it but. Either you dont like the sea. Or your boat is complete crap. Even my wife, "Tuts" Hates rough seas. But she would call F3/4 perfect. Just stick the boot down and plough through it. It feels much better than walowing in it.
Dont know what your doing wrong with that size of boat.
I find that overfalls go way outside there charted positions. Like try five miles further out. I usualy just take the middle line and Ok its a bit bumpy, but close all the hatches, windows, portholes and just wadlle through it for half an hour, it's less bother than trying to find the good bit round, and Ok your only doing 8 knots for a bit but unless it gets really bad, the boats quite happy. You surprise me, I thought you must have a 16ft speed boat or some thing, or are these crown things some thing especialy crap!

Haydn

 

[DepSol]

I did a passage from Alderney to Guernsey in mine see pic in a 5-6 had to leave an hour earlier than usual as we were down to 12-16knts and fully loaded and had to take the swinge at near enough high tide scared the draws off all my passengers who had thought that they had seen enough rough from Gsy to Dielette and Dielette to Braye. Took an hour and a half till I got in the lea of Gsy and back up to 30knts. Made it over the marina sill with an inch to spare with leg in the air. Worst trip we done so far.

 

[Guest]

Re: HLB / CN

The Crown generally is a good sea keeping boat albeit a bit wet when punching the tide. With sea up stern
front end wanders a bit but does'nt broach. She normally cruises at about 14-15 knts, but on this day
~like you say ~ we had to slow down to about 8-9 knts but the boat was not ~happy~ as you say
for the following reasons.

We could not keep the 290 brg as the cresting waves were on our beam at that brg, so we had to
turn three quarter onto waves (270 deg) to reduce roll, and then slow down as the bows of this
10 ton boat were going into the wave (very wet water right over the upper helm), coming out the other side
often with the sound of the props out the water as she dropped into the trough.

Every now and then we would pick the moment to come round to 360 deg, then back i.e. zig zag.
This continued relentlessly and showed no signs of improving, when we dropped the port engine,and
made for Newhaven.

It was not the boat or the helmsman it was the god damn channel conditions. When we got into Newhaven
the coastguard agreed that it was 6-7's and that the met office said 3-4's.

Byron had an Ocean 37 for years, same hull, and he rated their sea keeping.

cneighbour

 

[hlb]

Re: HLB / CN

Ha so.
Sorry, a bit rough was it. It's the crap days that makes the good ones feel so much better. Quite exiting when the sea comes over the fly bridge isn't it. It's the bit where the water goes down your neck that pisses me off. Must admit my P35 is very good in rough seas and overfalls, just pull it back to 8 Knots and leave on auto pilot if at all possible. It seems to sit right down in the water then, a bit like being in a submarine at periscope deapth, you cant see anything so like I say, leave on auto and let the boat find the way home. I was more looking at the F3-4 thing, and wanting F1-2. Weather forcasts often wrong. But your not going to get it any better, either here or Med. Have you tried the Norfolk Broads.

Haydn

 

[tcm]

Re: go south, young man

General guides to the UK S coast classifty the place as SW F4 in summer. Add to that the massive reach of the winds, and you'll see why it's good for sailyboatyer, the brits rules the waves, and how even an old tub cd sail the trade routes down to africa, across to carbee, and then back across the north atlantic.

I went to med (initally) for just a few months, After the first afternoon I canceledd the trip back, and the rest of the year's uk berthing, even tho we got no money back. S of France is powerboat land, fairly useless for sailing as the winds are all over the placem, and (as h says) primarily sea breezes - altho with the land heating a lot, the sea breeze can indeed be f6, though with smal reach and not prevaling, it is flat calm every night and not big gallumping waves, just a short chop. Flat calm as is "glassy" at night and every morning, specially in summer, and classed a Vrb 1-2. Not a hope of wife coming back to uk with boat, cept sailing.

 

[Guest]

Re: bless you TCM

At last a positive reponse to my thread clearly from one who knows. The main point of my thread was
to find someone to comment who has experienced the med, and prefers it to the channels sea conditions.
Thats it then I'm off to the med. By the way my thread re mileage to the med was about an upcoming
delivery trip of a new 50ft cruiser to Greece. Looks like its on come April/May, so should be an exciting
trip. I will be completing my coastal certificate, and clocking up hours for YM as well.
By the way added to you observations I take it the lack of servere tides helps with the conditions wind force
force for wind force.

cneighbour

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Thats the trouble with Brighton innit. Nowhere to go (unless you count Newhaven as somewhere and I dont) and you cant go anywhere unless its flat calm. I know everyone rubbishes the Solent but at least you can go somewhere whatever the weather

 

[tcm]

Re: sun over wind over no tide at all

the sea is certainly much more straightforward and "readable" in most parts of the med, though obviously soem care needed around the headlands. With BarryD's boat in a f3-4 (mebbe 5 eventually) the Dover straits was all over the place, whereas going with a f7+ish eastwards on the riviera was quite planable, 30 knots and essentially calm in the cockpit. Bit of a bugger in the marina, tho, so just chucked all the fenders on one side, and let it push to the nearest empty bit of wall.

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Re: bless you TCM

If your stinkpot does not like going out in f4-5 how the hell are you going to get to the Med ? on the back of a lorry!Think the best idea, stay tied up in marina drinking G+T leave the Sailing to the Men cheers Bob t

Bob T

 

[Guest]

Re: Dear arrogant bob

I did not say I was gonna take my boat to the med did I now. I'll buy one out there.
The question I was asking was do people who have sailed the med, think that the overall conditions
are better and more conducive to pleasureable cruising there, than in the channel. The idea being to
get an opinion, not attempts at ridicule. This I believe I have established, thanks to TCM etc

cneighbour <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by cneighbour on Sun Feb 3 23:17:55 2002 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[hlb]

Re: Dear arrogant bob

And the point I was making, was. Of course its better in the med yer daft bugger. But if yer not happy with F3-4. Then yer not going to be happy anywhere.

Haydn

 

[byron]

This is why I favour Ramsgate and Dover, one has a whole host of continental ports only a couple of hours away and plenty of UK ports within striking range. The rates are around half of the Solent too.

ô¿ô

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Re: Dear arrogant bob

Look ive spent 5 years sailing the Med .for some reason ill informed people think it like a lake because of no tide, But remember the winds are very strong in all areas . short sharp seas, if you do not like sailing in f3-4 you should stay away. I sail in the Aegean cost are low. Winds high, in the Cyclades f6-8 June July Aug
Best regards Arrogant Bob t

Bob T