essentials for Med cruising.

poter

poter

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Still going south currently in Corsica for winter
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Some essentials that I thought I would pass on for those contemplating Med Cruising, the list is sure to get longer the further I go.

10.5 M yacht.

1. Weather forecasts - med weather is very unpridictable
2. Sun shade or Bimini.
3. A good anchoring system - You will be anchoring in some really beautiful areas.
4. Know your boat - Marine cost are very expensive.
5. Good cooking facilities.
6. A reliable engine, Volvo parts for instance are a pain & expensive.

Others please add.
 
Bimini, walkthrough transom, fridge, ventilation, large water and fuel capacity, big battery bank and appropriate charging, anchoring kit including powerful windlass, good light airs sailing performance, good engine (mine happens to be a Volvo, but of the Japanese variety, not Swedish). Not sure about cooker as heat limits amount of cooking and outside barbie maybe higher priority.

Just add beer, cheese, bread and wine and away you go.
 
We are currently in Sardinia having made our way across from Lagos over the summer and so far any weather forecast we have obtained has been as unpredictable as the weather itself!!!

Friends on much the same route have expressed the same opinion. You have to become much more adept at estimating your own forecasts, particularly around headlands and narrow channels.

In short, do not expect accurate weather forecasts, this may be different if you actually get a "paid for" forecast for a specific area. All free internet based weather forecasts are not very accurate in the Med. Sea and land breezes are a big factor in the weather here and these internet forecasts do not take much, if any account of these.
 
poter said:
Some essentials that I thought I would pass on for those contemplating Med Cruising, the list is sure to get longer the further I go.

10.5 M yacht.

1. Weather forecasts - med weather is very unpridictable
2. Sun shade or Bimini.
3. A good anchoring system - You will be anchoring in some really beautiful areas.
4. Know your boat - Marine cost are very expensive.
5. Good cooking facilities.
6. A reliable engine, Volvo parts for instance are a pain & expensive.

Others please add.
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1. If the weather is unpredictable, how would the forecasters predict it?
2. Certainly. Or a bar with a good shaded patio.
3. Is that so you do not drag out of the beautiful area?
4. Is this so you can recognise your boat and, therefore, minimise marina costs, if you were to lose it and spend extra days looking for it?
5. Or a bar with a good menu, when you have lost your boat.
6. For 10.5m a pair of oars would do and a couple of Thai crew to manage them.

Happy cruising!
:D:D:D
 
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crisjones said:
We are currently in Sardinia having made our way across from Lagos over the summer and so far any weather forecast we have obtained has been as unpredictable as the weather itself!!!.
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Aw, come on. The summer weather is totally predictable in the Med. The rules are simple. The weather is either settled, or unsettled.

If it's settled, the local winds do what the pilot book says. Predictable.

If it's unsettled, forecasts don't work, since the wind will depend on the proximity and strength of the nearest cell of thunderstorms. So it's predictably unpredictable.

See what I mean?

I do wish the forecasters would just say "settled" or "unsettled". That would help a lot. And I suppose "strong settled and "light settled" may be useful variations.
 
jimbaerselman said:
Aw, come on. The summer weather is totally predictable in the Med. The rules are simple. The weather is either settled, or unsettled.

If it's settled, the local winds do what the pilot book says. Predictable.

If it's unsettled, forecasts don't work, since the wind will depend on the proximity and strength of the nearest cell of thunderstorms. So it's predictably unpredictable.

See what I mean?

I do wish the forecasters would just say "settled" or "unsettled". That would help a lot. And I suppose "strong settled and "light settled" may be useful variations.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. It is now quite clear.

We either have predictable, in which case we do not need weather forecasts or we have predictably unpredictable, in which case we can not have weather forecasts or at least predictably accurate weather forecasts.

I have long tried to explain to those unfortunate enough to listen to me, that weather forecasting has done more to stop people sailing than the invention of the mobo.

SWMBO once was heard to advise a puzzled neighbour, who had managed to download 4 weather forecasts, all slightly different. She said that this was quite normal here and you simply took the one, which suited you.
 
1. A good, reliable engine and loads of dosh to buy diesel.
2. Put your sails away as they'll rot in the sun, you don't need them; either too much or too little wind in any case.
3. Same for compass, the wind is always on the nose to where you want to go.
4. GPS, as above.
5. Loads of solar panels as diesel is too expensive to buy.
6. Huge water tanks, as the marinas will charge to take on water.
7. Nerves of steel when the charter boats arrive to bugger up your peaceful anchorage.
8. A kedge anchor and learn how to use it - better than arguments about going into expensive marinas.
9. A fridge to keep your beer & wine cold; see solar panels.
10. A Bimini with built in mosquito/wasp guards

Well its a start!

Enjoy the Med' it's really good :-)
 
Love this post.. Makes you wonder why we take a sailing boat into the med. I hadnt realised much of this before i ventured there and i live to regret it.

I have racked up lots of engine hours, and not a lot of really enjoyable sailing. Some really enjoyable places to visit.. But it would have been cheaper to visit by air or car. Either the egine hours or stay put somewhere I didn't want to be. Or didn't want to pay for.

Thank god I have left....

Carol

Ariadne said:
1. A good, reliable engine and loads of dosh to buy diesel.
2. Put your sails away as they'll rot in the sun, you don't need them; either too much or too little wind in any case.
3. Same for compass, the wind is always on the nose to where you want to go.
4. GPS, as above.
5. Loads of solar panels as diesel is too expensive to buy.
6. Huge water tanks, as the marinas will charge to take on water.
7. Nerves of steel when the charter boats arrive to bugger up your peaceful anchorage.
8. A kedge anchor and learn how to use it - better than arguments about going into expensive marinas.
9. A fridge to keep your beer & wine cold; see solar panels.
10. A Bimini with built in mosquito/wasp guards

Well its a start!

Enjoy the Med' it's really good :-)
Click to expand...
 
Med

I love the med - well the places I visit, its IMHO the only way to see the variouse towns, harbours, etc. Markets the local festivals all add to the enjoyment/ For instance I had a grandstand seat fot the huge fireworks display on the harbour wall in San Remo, sitting on Shady with a beer, cant beat it.

My original post was to get some feedback to those still dreaming, that all.

Live the Dream:cool::cool:
 
Weather forecasts: the grib files usually live up to the 'big picture' but they will always fall down when looking at really local variations, like round headlands and so on. We came round Cap Creus 2 days ago; approaching the headland, the southerly wind that had been blowing all day suddenly reappeared until we were 1/2 a mile south of the cape, when it just as suddenly disappeared. Looking back to the cape, the wind was still there, kicking up white caps and waves; local weired wind.

Shade: lots of it and boom tent to rig when you stop.

Solar: lots of it so as to keep the beer in the fridge cold.

Engine: lets face it, there's always too little or too much wind in the Med and what there is of it is always on the nose. Live with it or learn to beat to windward and enjoy it (50 miles sailed to cover 20 miles along the coast, great days sailing going not very far!).

Anchor system: having finally ditched the CQR and bought something else, I now sleep at nights and usually manage to get the thing to bite 1st time. A winch is essential as I no longer have the upper body strength to deal with chain and anchor by hand.....

Oh. And a sense of humour to enable you to deal with the numpties who will persist in dropping anchors over yours, anchoring too close to you, mowing you down in the anchorage etc etc etc.... We all had to learn somewhere, it just a pity that so many seem to want to learn next door to us!
 
Med.moans

Is this getting into a UK v Med v Carib debate?
I will dismiss home as the weather is ****,marinas expensive although there are plenty of anchorages if you want to put with the wind,rain and tides.Know nothing about the Carib.other than comments "good wind,beautiful scenery,poor food.too American.."
Do know enough about the Med/Adriatic to report:
# wind not always 'on the nose' - have had some super fast sailing in SOF,Corsica,Sicily,Corfu and Adriatic,
# plenty of free anchorages,not always crowded and only once in last 2 seasons suffered crossed anchor and then in big wind,
# marinas often less expensive than UK eg Cannes 30 euro for 12.7 mtr in June,
# very good weather forecast service in Adriatc,
# only once ( Gouvia,Corfu ) have been asked to pay for water,
# the frequency that "moaning minnies" give vent eg " very expensive in Croatia". In the height of the season I have been charged between 50 and 70 euro for the occasional marina visit(you can often anchor for free just outside),£1 per litre for diesel,£2 per pint for beer...
# have met many cruising sailors who love the Med.with the beautiful weather,spectacular scenery,variety of cultures etc,etc
 
Has anybody mentioned fans and windscoops or not yet? You need those too.
The weahter conditions in the summer are less predictable if you are near the land (which is often the case anyway). Around the coasts these are more affected by thermal conditions (differences in temperature above land and sea), local conditions and so on rather than the pressure systems. In the winter it's usually different and it's the lows and highs that affect them.
Too much wind or no wind? Not necessarily, we also get some good days, but I have never sailed anywhere else than the East Med (Conithian, Aegean, Cyprus and further east all the way to Lebanon). Probably in the Carribean or UK wind is better, cannot compare.

Solar panels, as already mentioned, are a big plus. I only have a 45W panel, connected to a cheap and simple regulator and I see around 15amps fitting my batteries daily.
 
Med

Weather:
Nicest thing to hear "There is a high flat field over Italian waters"

Of course then you can cruise long passages, but need extra sail area or pay the piper for the diesel!
 
so why do so many people use sailing boats

rather than outright motor cruisers for Med cruising? Wouldnt a displacement motor cruiser offer advantages if it is really that bad? Bigger tanks, more living room inside, more stowage, no rig to worry about....?Underwater lights! Come on there must be more to it than flat calms or dead beats?
Graham
 
It seems that most people complain about the weather / wind in the Med - too much, too little, on the nose etc etc. If you want to cruise in the Med then you have to get used to it!!

As has been said, the Grib files (and hence almost all free internet forecasts) only give the big picture, they take no real account of the effect of island land masses, sea breezes or local effects hence they generally seem to be poor. You are generally sailing near land so the Grib files are more inaccurate.

As Jim points out we do get fairly long periods of settled weather and during these periods the Gribs predict generally light winds. However you will almost always get some sea breeze that will enable you to sail.

We are on the SW coast of Corsica and the Gribs are predicting max 3knts, however we have actually got 10-12knts due to sea breeze. Most people would love that sort of wind over calm seas to sail in.

If you are cruising then you are usually only hopping along the coasts say 10 - 20nm at a time maybe up to 30nm on occasions, so 12knts of breeze makes for a great days sailing since it generally blows onshore so is close to being on the beam whichever way you want to go. Again, when cruising you can take your time and choose to sail when conditions suit the destination.

The problem comes when you have a longer passage to make away from land, say over 100nm, then the wind is generally too much or too little unless you have a lot of time to wait for the right conditions.

So coastal sailing is fairly easy during settled summer weather, but you do have to learn when sea breezes begin, how strong and how long they last. Also be well aware of wind increases around headlands or funneling between islands. Weather forecasts will not give you this information - and this may be why a lot of people complain about the inaccuracy of the forecasts.

The other points about Med cruising are pretty spot on - shade and ventilation are essentials so sort out a good cockpit bimini / sun shade preferably one that works under sail but make sure it covers as large an area as possible when anchored, remember to get it down as low as possible - the late evening sun is still very hot in summer. If you can arrange ventilation to get a constant through flow of air at anchor then this really does keep the interior cool so wind scoops are great. If you can maintain this ventilation overnight through the cabins then you will sleep comfortably as well. Shades on windows also make a huge difference to interior temperature.

We notice how hot the interior of the boat becomes after only an hour or so ashore when everything is shut up, the temperature can be at least 10 deg hotter than when we left. Not much you can do about it, but if your ventilation system works then the temperature will come down fairly quickly once the boat is opened up again.
 
gdallas said:
rather than outright motor cruisers for Med cruising? Wouldnt a displacement motor cruiser offer advantages if it is really that bad? Bigger tanks, more living room inside, more stowage, no rig to worry about....?Underwater lights! Come on there must be more to it than flat calms or dead beats?
Graham
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Friend has 44ft motor cruiser, at 50 euro per hour, it rarely moves off the mooring.
 
In "flat fields" the west coast of Italy is a light wind area with a bit of sea breeze in the afternoons. Motor boat territory.

But the big islands of the west Med (Mallorca, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicly) develop good afternoon sea breezes blowing half on-shore clockwise around them. Corsica wins the battle in the Bonifaccio straits, with consistent big westerlies - which just grow stronger if there's a bit of mistral hanging about. That's why Porto Pollo is so crammed with windsurfers, who only wake up if the wind goes above a 6.

Then there's the east Med which just does good northerlies all summer (OK, a bit light east of Antalya and Cyprus). Great for reaching E-W or vice versa. Maybe a bit intimidating for people not used to cruising in F6 or 7, but those conditioned with a bit of English Channel off-shore racing will be perfectly happy.

That said, big winds (through Gib straits, the Mistral or Tramontana, the Bora and sometimes the Meltemi - see the pink arrows) do occasionally stop a passage for a day or three. Bit like a big nasty depression in the Channel.
 
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