Cardiff to the Med, Help!!

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Jozz

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Hello

I am a newbie so please be gentle............

We are taking our boat down to the Med for a year or so to do some extended cruising. Never crossed the channel, planning to coast hug rather than Bay of Biscay.

Any help, advice, suggestions, free anchorages, places to visit, placed to avoid, or general tips, will be gratefully received.

Looking forward to hearing from you all.

Thanks
 
Don't know why no one has come back with suggestions, there are a lot of people here who have done this trip. I have sailed in the Med and I kept my boat in Cardiff, but I have not done the trip. I hope my response will put your thread on top again.
 
Jozz said:
Hello

I am a newbie so please be gentle............

We are taking our boat down to the Med for a year or so to do some extended cruising. Never crossed the channel, planning to coast hug rather than Bay of Biscay.

Any help, advice, suggestions, free anchorages, places to visit, placed to avoid, or general tips, will be gratefully received.

Looking forward to hearing from you all.

Thanks
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Size/type of boat and strength of crew would be useful.

I left from Milford Haven with little experience on a 38 ft ketch. I had worked out that the most dangerous part of the trip was getting to Camaret in France. I got an experienced skipper to help us out with that bit. We relied on his experiemce rounding Lands End at night , negotiating the Chenal de Four and dealing with a very scary bit of buoy to buoy navigation in thick fog.

We waited in Camaret for a good forecast and did the straight shot to La Coruna across Biscay. This was a pleasant sail and I got to use my own Nav skills for the first time. Not that I needed them we stayed inside the shipping lanes and almost always had some in sight as guides.

We then daysailed coast hopping round to Lisbon when we left for the Canaries.

I would do the same again but would try to spend at least a season if not more cruising the rias from Bayona round to the Algarve. We rushed that part.
 
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We did that trip in 2011 (well from Falmouth rather than Cardiff) so you'd get an idea of the places we went from our blog - http://www.sailblogs.com/member/syspringdawn/

The hardish part is deciding how to get from La Rochelle'ish to Bilbao'ish - not many ports along the way and the one that is looks very shallow + its half way down a missile test range. The main objective was to round St Vincent by October 31st, so we did that on the 30th. Be careful on the Portuguese coast, particularly further north, as some ports will close with swell of 2-3 metres plus - this is not infrequent in autumn.

Oh, and welcome!
 
Jozz said:
Hello

I am a newbie so please be gentle............

We are taking our boat down to the Med for a year or so to do some extended cruising. Never crossed the channel, planning to coast hug rather than Bay of Biscay.

Any help, advice, suggestions, free anchorages, places to visit, placed to avoid, or general tips, will be gratefully received.

Looking forward to hearing from you all.

Thanks
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Have you got your ICC?
The ICC - International Certificate of Competence or your "boat license" is an important certificate to obtain before you go to European Mainland. As the skipper of a vessel, you must ensure that you are aware of any requirement for qualifications before venturing into another country's jurisdiction. In very general terms an ICC (International Certificate of Competence) is required for the inland waterways of Europe and for inland and coastal waters of Mediterranean countries. You will not be allowed to operate your vessel in other European countries without one.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Certificate_of_Competence
Is it a requirement in the Mediterranean?
 
Jozz,

welcome; have you considered the French canals and rivers to the Med', if your boats draft can stand it ( max 1.7 m ) not forgetting the air draft under bridges.

I lived out on a barge there for a while, it was simply lovely with fantastic countryside and towns - I've vowed to return in my boat.

If going that way have plenty of ventilation fans, it gets really hot !
 
My home port is Bristol , if it were me and looking to coast hop to the sun, id consider the canals from bordeaux into the med , take a look on sail blogs.com look up tarian , they have just done it from scratch, never sailed before , did a weeks training, then took the plunge, now soaking up the sun !

Cardiff to falmouth is ok in settled weather, stopping off in maybe Padstow on the way, most other places dry out, once in Falmouth look at getting acrossto may be roscoff or straight round into Biscay and camaret or brest, then you can day sail most of the way to Arachon , as said elsewhere its into missile testing ranges so you need to research whether they are active or not.

Take a look at jimb sailing site , plenty of info there , although his link to the firing ranges wasnt working last time i looked or down load navionics onto an ipad if you have one , its pretty good for gaining basic ideas of where to go and basic passage planning.

Safe journey
 
At the local end. Could do Cardiff, Swansea, Padstowe, Falmouth or if its good Cardiff, Lundy, Padstowe, Falmouth. It depends on what leg length you want and how much of a hurry you are in.
 
We actually started from Holland, not Cardiff, but have sailed across from Cornwall to Brittany several times. We coasted down the French Atlantic, then to Bordeaux and Canal du Midi. There are many anchorages and marinas down this coast, far too many to list, but the Trieux river was memorable, all the offshore islands well worth seeing, Rochefort very nice but a bit of a detour if you do not intend to stay for a while. All will be very busy in August but outside that month berthing should not be a problem.

Edit - I should have said the Odet river, the Trieux is also very pleasant but not on your route!
 
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Jozz said:
Hello

I am a newbie so please be gentle............

We are taking our boat down to the Med for a year or so to do some extended cruising. Never crossed the channel, planning to coast hug rather than Bay of Biscay.

Any help, advice, suggestions, free anchorages, places to visit, placed to avoid, or general tips, will be gratefully received.

Looking forward to hearing from you all.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Having done both ways several times I prefer to go straight across to or from La Corunha - it isn't as much hassle.
 
We have done both a direct passage to la coruna and around the coast before a single overnight from sable d'olone to Santander. It depends if you want to enjoy the French and northern Spanish coasts or if your primary objective is to get to the med. it took a surprising amount of time and expense to go around the coast.

For what it worth (and I know I will get flamed here) I think the real star of that trip was once we got to the rias and we would have been better just going directly from Swansea to la coruna

Also, be aware that if you are just starting a live aboard life the first year (for us anyway) was very expensive as it took a long time to switch for being on holiday to actually living on board and the French coast proved to have too many opportunities to squander precious cash!
 
Jozz said:
Hello

I am a newbie so please be gentle............

We are taking our boat down to the Med for a year or so to do some extended cruising. Never crossed the channel, planning to coast hug rather than Bay of Biscay.

Any help, advice, suggestions, free anchorages, places to visit, placed to avoid, or general tips, will be gratefully received.

Looking forward to hearing from you all.

Thanks
Click to expand...

If you're a member of the Cruising Association, post this question on its 'BiscayNet' forum. You'll get lots of 'been there, done that' info on French, Portuguese and Spanish Atlantic ports.

If you're not going this year there'll be a Biscay weekend at CA House (London) probably in late January 2014. These 'planning' events are brilliant for information gathering and are open to non-members.
 
Twister_Ken said:
If you're a member of the Cruising Association, post this question on its 'BiscayNet' forum. You'll get lots of 'been there, done that' info on French, Portuguese and Spanish Atlantic ports.

If you're not going this year there'll be a Biscay weekend at CA House (London) probably in late January 2014. These 'planning' events are brilliant for information gathering and are open to non-members.
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You'll also find that an excellent planning book for the whole trip is the Cruising Association Almanac, which is published annually. This gives pilotage information and descriptions of facilities for all the key ports en route, as well as tidal streams and heights. The members who contribute to the France, Biscay, Spain and Portugal pages of that publication will be at the Biscay weekend which Ken mentions. My web site gives a sort of "what not to miss" guide to the area as well.

Give plenty of thought to preparing your boat for extended cruising. You'll need a holding tank, and a robust electrical system to handle the demands a fridge will make. Also, I don't know whether reading about rules and regulations which may affect you will cause you to grey prematurely, or whether they'll save your bacon. But you'll find all of this stuff at http://jimbsail.info/going-foreign/
 
A1Sailor said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Certificate_of_Competence
Is it a requirement in the Mediterranean?
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Rather than rely on secondary sources, go on the RYA site and read up on the ICC that they issue. That wikipedia entry is only partially correct as I guess whoever wrote it can't deal with complexity! And, no, it is not compulsory, but can be required in certain situations, for example when chartering a locally flagged boat. Other certificates may also be acceptable.
 
done the trip via the Bay a number of times over the years, but hesitated to respond as I wasn't sure if the post was a wind-up when I first saw it! Sorry if you are really serious!
I just don't feel that it's healthy to sail down to the Med if you've never so much as crossed the channel in the past!
How about starting with a few weekend trips to Cherbourg first and once you've got done that a few times, try traipsing around the Channel Islands a few times to stretch your navigation and general seamanship skills a bit more.... then you MAY be ready to begin to think about sailing down to the Med!
Even if you 'coast hug' as you say, the trip can be quite treacherous. In fact, a straight offshore trip across the Bay can be considerably safer if you time it right!
It really isn't as straightforward for an offshore newbie as you seem to think it is!
 
Seajet said:
Jozz,

welcome; have you considered the French canals and rivers to the Med', if your boats draft can stand it ( max 1.7 m ) not forgetting the air draft under bridges.

I lived out on a barge there for a while, it was simply lovely with fantastic countryside and towns - I've vowed to return in my boat.

If going that way have plenty of ventilation fans, it gets really hot !
Click to expand...

an interesting read on the canal trip is 'vin rouge,fiestas and a small boat' by eugenie c smith (free kindle download)
 
Agree with Seaman Stanes...
We have just done exactly the same has him...

You don't have to go throuh the Chanel de Four at the end of a long passage.. you can stop ink at L,Aberwrach.. Well maked entrance and good shelter.. Though I would not try it in fog without agood chart plotter, nor would I go near in bad weather..

Coast hoping down the French and Spanish coast is very expensive... French marinas are plentyful and slightly cheaper... but food is more expensive.. Spanish marinas are more expensive.. a lot. but food is slightly cheaper it seems to work out aboutnthe same..

It is a vy long slog from Santander (v expensive) to Gijon (v expensive) and the is little to take shelter.. Also be wary of a local hot wind that can rise in the afternoon... The food in Spain is very basic... grilled fish with oily chips and never a salad.. They have no idea about presentation.

If you are heading fo north west spain forget Coruna.. go to Sada instead.. it is a little further inland and much quieter... and cheaper and Carmen speaks excelent english.. The are a lot of resturants and a Carefour just about next tomthe marina..

Be wary of the Portugese coast.. there are few places to call in and often ports are closed because of the swell on the bar.. Last year a ffew boate were wrecked when tired skippers tried to run the waves and broached.. two people were killed at Figuera de Foz..

You can save money by slinging the hook... but it rains for a hobby in N Spain... how long do you eant to be cooped up in the boat with rain soaking everything..


Good luck...
 
I would share the concern of other posters. This a serious trip! I know a lot of people with limited sailing experience how have thought its easier and safer to "go round the inside". I personally wouldn't particularly fancy the trip unless I had months to spare and good weather routing. I have crossed Biscay when it has been fairly rough although not horrific. Being offshore in deep water is a safe place to be. I apoligise if I am teaching you to suck eggs but the bay shelves deeply from several thousand meters deep to not very much. Imagine a beach with a big surf... getting into any of the harbours in heavy weather is going to be challenging if not totally dangerous.

That said crossing Biscay is an ocean passage as it is the Atlantic Ocean. My advice would be to get some experience - maybe do some courses and then make sure you have a good crew, perhaps ask an experienced friend to go over the boat with you to ensure it is suitable for an extended passage with sufficient safety equipment and spares. Or even hire someone to assist you for the crossing. Believe me, everything is easy when you are sailing in familiar waters in the UK. You have to be a lot more resourceful out in the ocean when its blowing 35 knots, you have waves breaking over the boat, it's dark and something fails.

I don't want to scare you - but I am speaking from experience! I have done quite a few transats now and love ocean sailing as part of my career.
 
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