Corfu back to UK

[Tranona]

As many of you regular visitors here know, I have been planning to bring my Bavaria back from Corfu to Poole this year through the Canal du Midi. We were down in th S of F last week casing the joint. Pretty scary looking into the deep lock at Beziers just before the bridge!, but really lovely picnicing alongside the canal at Colombiers.

Anyway, since we started planning my personal circumstances have changed rather dramatically and I have to go under the knife fairly soon so we have decided to get the boat back as quickly as possible.

Plan is to launch end of April and leave 1 May and sail straight back round the outside. Currently putting a crew together SWMBO not coming - fancied the canal but not the long distance sailing bit.

Has anybody done this type of trip? Would appreciate any advice. My current project is deciding on charting as I only have a little Navman and the C Map charts for the trip will cost about 3 times as much as the plotter! Current favourite (in addition to already purchased paper passage charts) is Imray electronic charts/software to run on a laptop. Does anybody have experience of these. Also advice on Pilot books would be useful.

No doubt more questions will come up over the next few weeks. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[highandry]

When I return from the Med in 2011 it will be my 4th such voyage. It probably won't help you much Tranona because I am always singlehanded so tactics are difficult to compare. Next time I will again steer about West by North from Cape St Vincent. Sometimes you can get a better slant and make more Northerly but taking the old fruit schooner route out towards the Azores has always been my method.

I don't have my old log book but I remember last time I was in about 21 degrees West before I found the South-Westerlies. I have never had to go as far as the Azores but have always found the wind about 300-400 miles off the Portugese coast. Having said all that, those voyages were made in my Gaff cutter which went to windward like an egg box This time in my pointy sail thing I will fly home into the wind..no doubt

 

[HinewaisMan]

We too are coming up through/around/outside Biscay this year - albeit starting from Turkey.

I think we'll be following this thread with interest.

A question - how many yachts do this trip during the summer? I ask because coming across the Indian Ocean and up Red Sea there are active HF skeds and I wonder if the same happens on this passage.

Peter

 

[highandry]

Peter, I always run into the anchorage in Portimao to buy stores and get a weather forecast each time I make the voyage. Last time there were two Dutch yachts with crews aboard planning the return North, but they like many others do were going to day sail between marinas up the Portugese/Spanish coast. As far as radio nets for the offshore passage are concerned I can't help you mate as I only have a VHF good for about 15 miles.( And that's only on Fridays in leap years when the wind is in the South..)

 

[Andy and Lyn]

Don't discount the canals entirely!

When we came down from bordeaux last year it only took about 3 failrly leisurely weeks to get to the med! Could easily do it in 2 and fun doing it.

happily provide more info if you need it!

 

[binch]

Greece - UK

The chief difficulty is that there is almost always a west wind in the Sicilian Straits, and very often off northern Sicily. It can be a long plug to Gib
Also you tend to get strongish northerlies up the coast of Portugal.
We have done this voyage 3 times and take a departure from Gib direct to the Azores, 8 or 9 days with mostly a close reach or a beam wind.
Pause in the Azores for a taste of cooked goose barnacles. Delicious.
Then head straight for Falmouth, passing 50 miles west of Ushant to avoid the big ships in the separation zone there.
A fact of life, but one can expect one gale in the Azores/Falmouth leg, but it will probably be from between South and West.
Do not go into the Bay of Biscay.
If you are in a hurry, it might pay to go up the canals to Le Havre or Calais. Fastest northbound trip that I know of was 27 days. You have to allow for dis- and re-masting unless you have a tabernacle.
This would be hard work but it would take less time than Sicily to the Channel the long way round.

 

[tcm]

corfu-uk

A visit to portimao wd help get the charts onwards, and forecasts. You'd be ok with charts and a handheld gps. The uk reeds is ok, runs all the way down to gibraltar. You have to be okay about "making it up as you go along" on these longer trips rather than planning the actual route and exactly which ports you will visit etc. Satphone forecasts are good to give an indication of "oncoming freight train" type of weather. Generally i wd have no prob about going in may. In the med, total lack of wind is not uncommon and for a long trip may as well make a start aiming vaguely messina, sardinia perhaps, balearics, gib, portimao, try get an angle out west and then on towards falmouth. Gib to falmouth is only 1100m direct but likely near 1800 sailing. I would perhaps try time things to cross portuguese shipping lanes in daylight.

 

[mike_bryon]

I once crewed for a very experienced delivery skipper Crete-UK. We did the trip in 23 days. First stop bottom south west corner Sicily then Gib. Last stop before UK was just behind Cape Finisterre. He kept us close to Portugal. Most nights we motored north on a flat sea, tacked off shore as the wind built during the day and back inshore to motor for the usually windless or light head wind at night. He had done the trip a good few times and claimed it was the best way north with a boat that (like yours) can sail close to windward and has a decent motor. To avoid a gale he stopped in the Ria’s which was only practical because we were inshore - another plus for his strategy.

We used a far bit of fuel (of course someone else was paying for it). You might want to fill up in Gib, last November I paid 41p a lt.

Best wishes

 

[Heckler]

As many of you regular visitors here know, I have been planning to bring my Bavaria back from Corfu to Poole this year through the Canal du Midi. We were down in th S of F last week casing the joint. Pretty scary looking into the deep lock at Beziers just before the bridge!, but really lovely picnicing alongside the canal at Colombiers.

Anyway, since we started planning my personal circumstances have changed rather dramatically and I have to go under the knife fairly soon so we have decided to get the boat back as quickly as possible.

Plan is to launch end of April and leave 1 May and sail straight back round the outside. Currently putting a crew together SWMBO not coming - fancied the canal but not the long distance sailing bit.

Has anybody done this type of trip? Would appreciate any advice. My current project is deciding on charting as I only have a little Navman and the C Map charts for the trip will cost about 3 times as much as the plotter! Current favourite (in addition to already purchased paper passage charts) is Imray electronic charts/software to run on a laptop. Does anybody have experience of these. Also advice on Pilot books would be useful.

No doubt more questions will come up over the next few weeks. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Stewart
As posted, have just bought the Western Med one for £29, it goes to small charts from Sardinia to Gib and the big M10 that covers to the Ionian for passage planning. With the Maplins ND100 (?) usb gps dongle a complete kit for £59
The charts are the ordinary Imray ones.
If you want to chat about ops feel free to PM or phone
Stu

 

[Cariadco]

Gib to Corfu

Ok, so it's the opposit to your direction, but hope this helps:

May/June Gib - North Africa - South Sicily:-Brilliant Westerly's and Southourly's all the way.
South sicillian coast - all the way upto Corfu - Rubbish, no or very little wind, motored most of the way.

Biggest hassle were the trawlers at night whilst passing Spain. They we're a nightmare!!
and the mind bendingly boring run past sicily and up to Corfu.
The whole lot took just over 10 Days.

 

[jimbaerselman]

Westbound, May, Med, a lot of light winds and one big session of four days unsettled weather would be the average. Say 14 -17 days allowing two pauses en route.

Atlantic, northbound, regular northerlies off Portugal should not have developed fully in the second half of May, so an inshore strategy will probably be OK. Strategies listed on my web site. 10 to 14 days with a couple of pauses. Nothing wrong with Biscay if you head A Coruna to W Brittany, but the chances of severe weather on a three day trip across are about 25% at that time of year, so waiting for a weather window may add another 2/3 days. Having said that, I've had to motor across three times!

The CA Almanac http://www.cruising.org.uk/almanac gives adequate pilotage info for ports of refuge along the Atlantic coasts.

 

[Tranona]

Many thanks for all the suggestions so far. I am meeting up with my crew later this week to consider our plan. Pleased that my early estimate of 4 weeks is in the right area.

Have got the demo disk of the Imray electronic charts which look promising. Also getting to grips with setting up the PC. Have bought on Stus advice a GPS dongle from Maplin. Considering engines for AIS and Navtex - currently NASA seem best value. Again appreciate any comments on this kit.

 

[Richard10002]

Hi,

How much of a dash is it? We left Malta 19th July 09 and arrived Glasson Dock 22nd August 09. This included 7 days waiting in Sardinia for a part, 1 day Almerimar, 2 day crew change in Lagos, 2 days R & R in Baiona, and 1 day gale bound in The Scillies.

I chose to hug the Portuguese and Spanish Atlantic coasts, and wait for weather windows rather than head for the Azores.

Corfu is probably an extra 3 days onto the above trip.

Only 3 of the sailing days were against the wind, and many were spent motoring/motor sailing in light winds.

We probably got lucky with the weather as the prevailing winds for the whole of the trip are against it in the Summer months. I think May is a better time of year.

Probably better to wait for weather windows than bash into wind towards the Azores, but that's a personal preference, and a bit luck of the draw, IMHO.

Our route was:

Portomaso, Malta - Sciacca, Sicily - Villasimius, Sardinia - Santa Eulalia, Ibiza - Almerimar, Spain - Lagos, Portugal - Cascais, Portugal - Baiona, Spain - Camarinas, Spain - St. Marys, Scilly - Glasson Dock, England

If I never go to Santa Eulalia again, it will be too soon!!!!

I'll reply separately to your PM shortly.

Cheers

Richard

 

[Tranona]

Thanks, Richard

We will be a crew of 3 - one a professional skipper and will not need crew changes. I have a window of about 5 weeks as I need to be back by end of first week June, so I think we have enough time. Coast hopping up the Portuguese coast seems the favourite way.

 

[marrymatin]

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[petlan]

Thanks, Richard

We will be a crew of 3 - one a professional skipper and will not need crew changes. I have a window of about 5 weeks as I need to be back by end of first week June, so I think we have enough time. Coast hopping up the Portuguese coast seems the favourite way.

From my experience, the Midi option wins hands down if you have a tight schedule, so long as you are not deep draught (1.5 really is max). You could end to end in about two weeks if you don't stop and enjoy the country (what a waste). You could and very likely will be delayed by the weather on the outside circuit not to mention wear and tear on the rig.

 

[Tranona]

From my experience, the Midi option wins hands down if you have a tight schedule, so long as you are not deep draught (1.5 really is max). You could end to end in about two weeks if you don't stop and enjoy the country (what a waste). You could and very likely will be delayed by the weather on the outside circuit not to mention wear and tear on the rig.

Many thanks for your suggestion. Our original plan was to do the Canal du Mid route - we were around Montpellier a few weeks ago looking at that end of the Canal. However, the total journey time is much the same and I am looking forward to the open waters passage.

Saving the Canal for later as a holiday with my family.