From Finland to Cyprus

[Guest]

I am planning a journey from Finland to Cyprus on a Scanper 22 starting 1 August. Since neither I, nor my friend has experience outside of the Baltic Sea, I would like to have some opinions on this planned journey.

First of all does it sound at all feasible with such a small boat and with a crew inexperienced in international waters? We are on a steep learning curve to patch up the missing areas in navigation, communication and safety, but we will have not practiced them when we start.

Is there anything important that might be crucial for this trip and it is easy to overlook for us not having sailed anywhere else than Finland?

Is it realistic to plan this journey to take 4-5 months?

Any comments and suggestions are welcome and desperately needed regarding the route, weather, planned departure date, skills needed, equipment, documents and certificates necessary.

Thanks

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[tony_brighton]

depends how you want to get there - will you be coastal hopping from port to port? Cutting through the French Canals would seem very viable for a small boat and save you weeks of time.

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[snowleopard]

I agree. I think you would be very unwise to cross Biscay with two inexperienced people in a small boat.

there are other routes by canal through eastern Europe but they would not be so much fun. you can go through france by several routes, up the seine or the gironde for example.

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[tcm]

Re:Is he innexperineced tho?

Hi Mario.

You saying "inexperienced outside the Baltic" could still be a whole lot of experience. How much sailing have you doen. If you've sailedlots and lots in the Baltic, then you'll be sensible and seek forecasts etc in Biscay.

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[Guest]

Thanks.

We plan costal hopping, but with longer legs included ocasionally. I am totally ignorant about the French canals, but I definitely should look into it. The only problem I can think of now, that it looks like lots of time on engine. (

Do you know perhaps from where can I get general weather information (prevailing winds, temperature, precipitation, etc...) about the a certain area in a given period?

Do you have any information about the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal? If possible we should use that instead of rounding Denmark.

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[tony_brighton]

It may be a lot of engine time - but what a way to travel! I'm sure you'd enjoy the experience. There may be some people on the various sites who know about the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal - try a chat on scuttlebutt.

Plenty of good sources of general weather trends and information on the internet - www.noonsite.com should really get you started.

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[davidbains]

If a Scanper 22 is 22ft long then frankly it's a bit small for Finland to Cyprus.
You should spend maximum time in canals.
When you get to Cyprus it will be unbearably hot, especially after Finland.
Why do you want to take such a small boat such a long way?


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[Guest]

We take such a small boat, because this is what we can afford. Heat we will manage, none of us is Finnish.

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[Guest]

Re:Is he innexperineced tho?

Hi,

We gave up our plan of crossing the Biscay 5 minutes after we first thought of it. I have sailed in the past 3 years in the Finnish Archipelago, so there I am pretty confident.
We plan costal hopping, from port to port. Ocasionally though we have planned to leave the shore a bit further behind. Like from the western shore of Denmark to Helgoland and from there down south to Germany. And the longest planned leg is from Menorca to Sardegna on the Med. Is it too daring? What do you think is the biggest safe distance for us in this boat from the shore?
I think that if we carefully listen to the weather forecasts, then we do not risk our lifes getting on something that we are not able to accomplish. According to our plan we will arrive to the med around September. Is there a catch in the weather in the Med in the autumn, beginning of winter?

Thanks,
Mario

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[Gunfleet]

Re:Is he innexperineced tho?

Mario - why give up on Biscay? THere are two ways across Biscay, one out at sea (which is the way everyone writes about), and the other coast hopping. It is no more dangerous to coast hop in France than it is in England. Eventually (after a lot of hops) you'll end up in Spain. THen you continue hopping. I know loads of people who've done it.

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[Guest]

Re:Is he innexperineced tho?

We gave up on crossing out at the sea. Instead we plan coastal hopping. Thanks for the support!

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[Bladerunner]

Re:Is he innexperineced tho?

Good luck with your adventure. Hope you have a safe and enjoyable trip.

<hr width=100% size=1> Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas

 

[vyv_cox]

North Sea canal

What do you want to know? It's very straightforward, you can sail with the wind behind you but no tacking. Pay at the Kiel end, very reasonable, I think we paid 10 Euro or so each way with 34 ft boat. Lots of motoring, something like 50 miles. The Elbe is something of a challenge, very strong tides and open to west-northwest winds, of which there seem to be plenty.

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