Earliest / Latest time to cross Biscay?

[Nostrodamus]

No doubt there will be a few boats heading south this year but what is the earliest or latest time you would concider crossing Biscay?
Is there a time you would not cross it?
We have been in La Rochelle for a couple of months. We should have sailed for another month but we did not know the weather would hold out.
We are now getting itchy feet again so a crossing from here to Santander / Bilbao is some 200 miles or about 36 ish hours. For this we can get quiet reliable weather/ swell forcasts. Would you go at this time of year or when would you go?

 

[alant]

No doubt there will be a few boats heading south this year but what is the earliest or latest time you would concider crossing Biscay?
Is there a time you would not cross it?
We have been in La Rochelle for a couple of months. We should have sailed for another month but we did not know the weather would hold out.
We are now getting itchy feet again so a crossing from here to Santander / Bilbao is some 200 miles or about 36 ish hours. For this we can get quiet reliable weather/ swell forcasts. Would you go at this time of year or when would you go?

Time of year is incidental, apart from the cold, its a stable favourable weather window you need.

I brought a boat back from Gib in early March, with high pressures all the way up to Ushant, with sun & haze. Few weeks later, a skipper was lost in a F10/11 off Finistere, after he + crew abandoned yacht, which was recovered intact later.

Reliance seem to have a lot of Caribbean deliveries starting from your area about now.

 

[Neil_Y]

Latest I've been, from Plymouth to Coruna was Nov 5th and it was very rough. Weather window/forecast was only good for 3 days, and things develop quickly at that time of year. But boy does it feel good to have that first hot shower on dry land followed by a beer and stories of wave heights in the bar!

 

[jordanbasset]

Agree that is is not so much the wind (you can get a reliable forecast for this period of time) but more about the cold. You are going to have short days and long nights. I would leave it until April to allow things to warm up a little.

Also you do not want to be trapped some where because of the weather paying high marina fees and or where nothing is going on.
If going to Santander we would not recommend the marina at the end of the estuary. Fairly high costs (May) and very difficult to get anywhere from it. Was public transport but was a long walk to the bus. Pretty souless place, would have been better if we could have got a place in the marina in Santander itself but there was no room. We also had bad weather in May, seemed to rain 90% of the time.

Don't want to put a downer on it, never went to Bilbao but from what people have said since may have been a better option

 

[Crabman]

When does the equinox start around september. Check with your insurance cover that you are covered . My insurance did not cover me for going across the bay in the winter so I had extra cover.I had a good trip surfing down the trough's

 

[Wansworth]

From the general weather we have been having I would venture to say that the swell is quite a problem on the north Spanish coast.

 

[Nostrodamus]

If anyone wants to see the Atlantic swell predictions this site is very good.

http://www.previmer.org/en

 

[Plomong]

No doubt there will be a few boats heading south this year but what is the earliest or latest time you would concider crossing Biscay?
Is there a time you would not cross it?
We have been in La Rochelle for a couple of months. We should have sailed for another month but we did not know the weather would hold out.
We are now getting itchy feet again so a crossing from here to Santander / Bilbao is some 200 miles or about 36 ish hours. For this we can get quiet reliable weather/ swell forcasts. Would you go at this time of year or when would you go?

If you wait for the Azores high to establish itself covering the Bay of Biscay and into the UK and across Holland, then we get several days of light winds with mostly east in them. However, at this time of year, bitterly cold, and I mean bitterly !!!!

With those conditions, swell is not a problem as the high has pushed the generators of swell (lows passing across towards NE Europe) up north and the swell doesn't reach here at all like it does when the lows go across the UK and Ireland, as was the case recently when we had 7m swells !!!

As for where to stop, I second what has been said about Santander. I'd recommend Bilbao, which has plenty of activity and 2 marinas, Real Club Maritimo del Abra (RCMA) straight in from the inner entrance, and Getxo Kaia to port about half a mile away. Both have similar tariffs, similar facilities, the metro to Bilbao is about the same distance from both (500 metres), and activity in the areas is also about the same. However, RCMA is nearer the shopping heart of Las Arenas (500m). The big supermarket and commercial centre (Artea) is a good 30 mins walk from either. Artea has super (Eroski), clothes shops, newsagent, restaurants, etc, bank and teller machines, Leroy Merlin for hardware, etc. Getxo Kaia has several bars and restaurants, some with takeaways, and 8 cinemas on site.

You may find that at RCMA you have to anchor off at this time of year, but it would be worth a try anyway for a pontoon berth. If they fit you in, it would be my preference. Anchoring off at RCMA is not a viable option at this time of year -- if a big NW blow came in you would be totally exposed and on a lee shore, with a vicious chop of maybe 1 meter. Not safe, and not enjoyable.

My boat is permanently berthed in Getxo Kaia, by the way, so if you do come to Bilbao, let me know by PM and maybe I can be of some assistance, if assistance you need, point out the sights, how to get about, whatever. OK?

Other possibilities would be Zumaia, about 50 miles east of Bilbao, and Hendaya or Hondarribia right at the border with France, one each side of the border. I'd go for Hondarribia, as the town is more lively. Hendaya in winter is dead dead dead. Zumaia is a small town, which itself might be an attraction, as you get known quicker in that sort of place. Pricing would also be lower than in Bilbao, in the marina and for restaurants, pubs, etc. You might even learn some Euskara in the process !!!

Plomong

 

[GibseaRob]

Agree that is is not so much the wind (you can get a reliable forecast for this period of time) but more about the cold. You are going to have short days and long nights. I would leave it until April to allow things to warm up a little.

Also you do not want to be trapped some where because of the weather paying high marina fees and or where nothing is going on.
If going to Santander we would not recommend the marina at the end of the estuary. Fairly high costs (May) and very difficult to get anywhere from it. Was public transport but was a long walk to the bus. Pretty souless place, would have been better if we could have got a place in the marina in Santander itself but there was no room. We also had bad weather in May, seemed to rain 90% of the time.

Don't want to put a downer on it, never went to Bilbao but from what people have said since may have been a better option

Agree - go to Bilbao, not Santander!

 

[ripvan1]

Time of year is incidental, apart from the cold, its a stable favourable weather window you need

Spot on

 

[Nostrodamus]

After sailing some 140 miles from Ipswich to Hull last January in -10 through the North Sea here seems like the tropics. We sailed into the marina in Hull last year and the following morning the marina froze over. Don't you love British weather.

 

[MacG]

When does the equinox start around september. Check with your insurance cover that you are covered . My insurance did not cover me for going across the bay in the winter so I had extra cover.I had a good trip surfing down the trough's

A hello to all, although I have just arrived @ YBW, I am not new to sailing.
I have a bit of the same experience on the Biscaya. Last time I did a crossing I left Falmouth in Bft 5, wind easing down, picking up midway on the edge of the CS which resulted in some wavedancing of the not so troublesome kind. It was still the beginning of July. Therefore, I do not so much believe in time of the year but prefer to have a reasonable window. If not available, the risk of running into a uncomfortable passage is quite visible.