Crossing biscay - best route?

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c2tux

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We're a two-man crew, reasonably experienced, crossing from Falmouth to La Caruna in a light displacement sloop around mid May. We don't fancy the coastal route, and weather permitting may plot a rumb-line Brest - La Caruna, but we favour the more 'traditional route', heading out West of Ushant - perhaps a little further than 10.W choosing the approach (weather permitting) - either La Caruna or further South past Cape Finistere to, say Vigo. We'd value advice/opinions. Thanks for your help
 
Biscay

We've only done it once, and here or Scuttlebutt will get you peeps who've done it more often. But for us - go south west until it's running down the southing and definitelywest of Cape Finisterre. Get to the deeper water on as straight a line from Falmouth as possible. Both of these designed to give you room in case of problems.

We lost our prop and had to change plan from Portosin to La Coruna as we didn't know if there'd be a lift at Portosin. (There is!) We had room to manoeuvre because we were further west, though we were closehauled for the last 12 hours to get us to the northern tip of Coruna bay.

May is quite early - if you have time to wait for a weather window then make the most of it. Also the Rias are fab cruising; we could have spent a season there at least.
 
Depending on your time frame, I'd definitely second the sugestion of taking in part of the northern coast of Spain, say making landfall 60 miles or so west of Gijon. Wonderful scenery, enchanting anchorages and less busy than the Rias Bajas (beyond Finisterre --although they are also not to be missed).

You'll probably encounter three schools of thought about the crossing itself: stay off the continental shelf as far as possible; coast hop; or something in between. Brittany is certainly worth exploring if you have time, which would imply the middle option. You'd have less sea room (but still quite a lot) and would spend half the trip in shallower water. On the other hand something like Lorient to Spain is only two days or so, well within province of reliable forecasts, unlike a five-day trip which can be more of a lottery.

Whatever anyone tells you, there is no 'right' way (well, not unless you're on a square rigger).

Good luck, and good fun.
 
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c2tux said:
We're a two-man crew, reasonably experienced, crossing from Falmouth to La Caruna in a light displacement sloop around mid May. We don't fancy the coastal route, and weather permitting may plot a rumb-line Brest - La Caruna, but we favour the more 'traditional route', heading out West of Ushant - perhaps a little further than 10.W choosing the approach (weather permitting) - either La Caruna or further South past Cape Finistere to, say Vigo. We'd value advice/opinions. Thanks for your help
Click to expand...

I have done it several times and always start somewhere like Dartmouth/Plymouth/Falmouth/Scilly isles to wait for a good 5 day forecast.
My route is down the traffic lane heading around 5 miles west of Finnisterre with the object of going into Bayonne as the first stop. You need to keep to the east of the long line of merchant ships heading up towards Ushant - normally on the horizon.

My preference for Bayonne rather than Coruna is that if a Southerly or Westerly gale blows up then I should be able to run for Coruna - although in 12 crossings that has never happened!

Did the inside route last year for the first time - Chanel du four - Raz de Seine from Guernsey in one pretty easy hit then a couple more to La Rochelle. From there it is still 3 days to la Coruna or Capo Finnesterre so if you are heading south towards the Med the offshore route is much to be favoured IMHO

You might be interested in 'My Biscay Log Book' in the sailing section of my web site - it is the log of a crossing in a 36ft Moody
 
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I'd say, don't miss out on south Brittany or the Spanish coast west of Gijon, both fabulous cruising grounds. But don't coast hop into the corner (the French /Spanish border) either, it will take forever.
 
Crossing Biscay

I have done this trip several times.
If you go direct you will likely sit around in Falmouth for a long time waiting for a 5 day weather window. Apart from forecasting doubts in indicating such a window, they are fairly rare especially in May when the weather is less stable with a high frequency of stronger winds. (Take a look at the historical data on routing charts etc). So my suggestion which has always worked for me is to look for a window of sufficient length to cross to NW Britanny in favourable conditions. These occur much more often. If the window closes you can then duck in to one of the many very pleasant NW France harbours to await another window which can then be shorter - in the meantime you can edge south as the opportunity arises in small step,s if necessary. If on the first phase the window remains open then you can continue south anyway.
In my experience I have always arrived in N Spain well before those waiting in Falmouth for the ideal weather window AND have had the pleasure of visiting various harbours en route!
 
We crossed from Falmouth last year in early August having waited for a weather window. We headed SW across to about 8.5W before heading S to La Coruna, where we used the new marina which was still only 1/3 full and offering good deals (2 days fees, 3 nights stay etc) don't know if they're still doing that.
We then headed down to the Rias and spent a couple of weeks there - could have spent more but a wedding got in the way.
The attraction of the route we took was that it kept us in deep water for the majority of the trip without getting too mixed up in the shipping lanes. Also, we had to have 3 or more crew on board to keep the insurance company happy: you might want to check with your broker about that.
 
Biscay crossings

It depends where you are coming from, where you are ultimately headed, and how long you have got. Obvious init?

If you are coming down channel, then I can't see why you should go around Ushant: there is a great little lift from the tide if you get it right through to the Raz. West coast or Falmouth would be different.

If you do decide to take the tourist route around Brittany, south Biscay coast, then beware of the trap in the SE corner. Arcachon is particularly tricky to time getting in and out of, and there are the firing ranges to consider.

If you are in a hurry, then go direct to clear Finisterre, but keep inside the shipping as previously posted.

If you are not in so much of a hurry, head for Gijon or points west, the upper rias down to La Coruna, but leave more time for the southern rias if you are short of time.

We went inside in 2004, fell into the aforesaid trap, and generally spent most of a season making the journey:

Look at www.syfuga.co.uk or more specifically www.syfuga.co.uk/journal.htm
 
I'd go from Cross Haven or Kinsale, then head south to La Coruna or where you want to go to. As said elsewhere there is no right route, but I liked the sea room and deep water, so we headed West and into the bay at the bottom end.

Just get the forecast right and off you go, bearing in mind there is no right forecast either. You'll some **** somewhere on the way down, so make sure its with you.

You have to do the Spanish Rias, a fantastic cruising ground.
 
c2tux said:
We're a two-man crew, reasonably experienced, crossing from Falmouth to La Caruna in a light displacement sloop around mid May. We don't fancy the coastal route, and weather permitting may plot a rumb-line Brest - La Caruna, but we favour the more 'traditional route', heading out West of Ushant - perhaps a little further than 10.W choosing the approach (weather permitting) - either La Caruna or further South past Cape Finistere to, say Vigo. We'd value advice/opinions. Thanks for your help
Click to expand...

This might be worth a look:

http://weather.mailasail.com/Franks-Weather/Crossing-Biscay-Meteorologists-Advice
 
It is really a question of how much time you have got. On our trip to the Med we took four months going via the Channel Islands, North and South Brittany and took off for the Biscay crossing from Belle Isle. As has been mentioned, the good thing about leaving from there is that it is a two day passage tops and it is possible to get a pretty reliable forecast for that period. we made landfall at Gijon and then worked around the north coast, A Coruna and Baiona spending some time in the Rias and then down the coast to Portugal and on to Gib and the Med.
When we were planning the trip, the consistent advice was not to rush it and to take our time to enjoy it. If you have the time, take it, you won't regret it.
 
SimonJ said:
Crossing Biscay

I have done this trip several times.
If you go direct you will likely sit around in Falmouth for a long time waiting for a 5 day weather window. Apart from forecasting doubts in indicating such a window, they are fairly rare especially in May when the weather is less stable with a high frequency of stronger winds. (Take a look at the historical data on routing charts etc). So my suggestion which has always worked for me is to look for a window of sufficient length to cross to NW Britanny in favourable conditions. These occur much more often. If the window closes you can then duck in to one of the many very pleasant NW France harbours to await another window which can then be shorter - in the meantime you can edge south as the opportunity arises in small step,s if necessary. If on the first phase the window remains open then you can continue south anyway.
In my experience I have always arrived in N Spain well before those waiting in Falmouth for the ideal weather window AND have had the pleasure of visiting various harbours en route!
Click to expand...

But isn't inner Biscay the nasty part where you don't leave enough sea room and you get steeper seas? Crossing from Rochelle or somewhere would have you bang on the inside of the bay?
 
Wgregor said:
But isn't inner Biscay the nasty part where you don't leave enough sea room and you get steeper seas? Crossing from Rochelle or somewhere would have you bang on the inside of the bay?
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He's not suggesting that. He's suggesting coast-hopping down to La Rochelle or Royan, and then going across the corner, which at most is a 48hr run, so it's easy to get a good weather window with good confidence in the forecast.

If you are going to "cross Biscay", they yes, you stay well out past the shelf.
 
First time, we were held up waiting for weather so worked our way down the coast to LaRochelle and then crossed to Coruna from there, giving the option of making landfall further east if weather blew up. Coming back we did Gijon to LaRochelle and then the same in reverse when heading south again. As others have said, northern coast of Spain is well worth a visit.
 
Bit of drift.

We have crossed more than once in both directions but if you have the time, the most memorable, is to coast hop. It will double the distance but is well worth it.

The only night passage was from Falmouth to Camaret-sur-Mer.
 
No news about orcas yet off the Galician coast……..one route I took was La Rochelleto Santander,then coastingto Vivero all easy entrances.Daysailngonce on the Spanishcoast but good chars needed
 
nortada said:
Bit of drift.

We have crossed more than once in both directions but if you have the time, the most memorable, is to coast hop. It will double the distance but is well worth it.

The only night passage was from Falmouth to Camaret-sur-Mer.
Click to expand...

It would be interesting if you could mention your stops and routes nortada.
 
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