Imray charts Atlantic Spain and Portugal

Roberto

Roberto

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I am in the planning stage for a trip from France to Galicia, say Coruna, then south along portugal, possibly ending in Sevilla or Cadiz.
Imray have three charts covering the whole coast, with the usual lot of larger scale detailed plans for ports and main anchorages; their scale is 1:350.000, I'd say nearer to a passage planning chart than to a single port close-up covering one whole chart.

The portuguese coast seems uneventful, I have the impression that one single chart plus detailed information about port entrances from pilot books should be enough, is it so ?

For places like the northern rias, or guadiana and guadalquivir rivers I might buy a few more detailed charts locally, depending on the day to day program.

Does it seem sensible ? or would it be better to start with a lot more charts since the beginning ?

(re Electronic charts, I am in the very early stage of getting used to them and do not feel comfortable as yet to rely solely on them)
 
Pilots are essential, large scale charts are ok because of the almost straight line coast of Atlantic Portugal. You will find the electronic charts are anything upto 200 m out when near land but this is not consistant, very usefull in fog and straight line navigation. Mk1 eyeball and pilot books are best for entering harbours.
I did Ipswich to Mar Menor and back this year, stopped at Coruna for 5 days waiting for decent weather then on to Mugia, Muros, Bayona, Leixoes, you can anchor in these 4 ports. Figuira da Foz, Peniche, Sesembra, Sines (can anchor), Lagos (expensive), Portimao (can anchor) are all good ports of call and have their own points of interest.
Keep an eye on the barometer and have fun.

P.S. Portugal is BST and cheapest for beer.
 
Don´t rely on finding detailed charts when you are down on the Algarve or SW Spain. I live on the Guadiana, and I would like to have the best chart of this area but my standby is still the RCC pilot. There is an amateurish pilot book on this river, but it is about 40 euros, and most people would not get their moneysworth. The first 25 miles can be done by keeping in the middle, and not many go any further.
I would say that you need good charts of the northern rias to enjoy them, and perhaps of the north coast of Spain, in case you find yourself making a landfall east of La Coruña, which is the eastern limit of the RCC Atlantic Spain and Portugal pilot. After that, a small scale chart and the pilot will do.
 
We did this trip in 2006 - agree a large scale chart of the rias if you want to explore them, but otherwise the pilot and large scale do fine. You can buy a good local chart of teh Guadalquivir 9we got ours at the chandlery in Chipiona, otherwise a horrible town); you don't need it as it is well bouyed but it makes the trip more informative and doesn't cost too much.

Enjoy the journey.
 
We did Scotland to Lagos this summer so did the bit from La Coruna to Lagos which you are interested in. We had the Imrays plus pilot book plus some more detailed charts of the Rias and the Portugal coast. The detailed charts of the Rias were very useful but the ones of Portugal were not needed, the pilot and the Imrays were sufficient.

I also searched the Internet and printed off all the relevant bits from the following link that was very useful

http://www.manorhouses.com/ports/map.htm

The blog (link below) gives up to date info on many of the stops on the way down.

Dr Bob
 
thank you all /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I guess I ll go with the pilot and the three charts, we are planning a very slow and leisurely trip, roughly four months june to september, so spending a week more here and there waiting for an additional chart shouldn't be a problem

We'll head for a wintering spot in september october, Seville is high on the list (nice town, winter weather not too cold, cheap flights to paris, etc), but Lisbon might be a nice option too, we'll see

thanks /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
We sailed from Southampton to Gibraltar this year and used the three Imray charts and the Atlantic Spain and Portugal pilot book for La Coruna to Gibraltar and had no problems. The pilot book is really useful.

Rob
 
For the broad brush planning aspect of your trip, you'll find my web site useful.

After that, the Imrays are adequate if you're planning a quick trip through with only a limited number of stops. In terms of pilot books, have a look at the CA Almanac. That expands considerably on the Imray stuff, and provides good instructions for all the ports of refuge and major rias en route. In fact, it's coverage is all the way from Scotland to Gibraltar!

If you want to potter en route and explore the minor anchorages and harbours (it's a great journey) then of course you'll need the detailed individual pilot books, but that's a number of volumes. Their harbour plans are mostly adequate enough to remove the need for detailed Admiralty charts if you're a cautious explorer.
 
Thanks for posting this, we are planning the same trip next year and i wondered if the imray charts and pilot would be enough. seems they are. see you out there.
 
fwiw

these days I went to the boatshow here in paris and there were both the Galicia and Andalucia tourist offices and they were most welcoming, wouldn't they ?
I went home with a few Galicia (ok not too detailed) charts, a booklet with descriptions of marinas, another booklet with ideas and itineraries for trip in the hinterland, a booklet with the list of the best beaches, even a small nautical guide I have some difficulties in understanding whom it is directed to (sentences like "while rounding that cape keep no more than 468 metres from the coast, and better if you do not exceed 648 metres /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif ) just kidding, but the impression is they are trying very hard to develop that area
 
To ensure a long life (in the absence of detailed charts), it is probably worth mentioning to stay well offshore along the Rias.

I'm particularly thinking of the area between Muros and Arosa, as there are "pinnacle rocks" that arise from considerable depths, well out to sea. I'd stay 2nm away, or maybe more....

But don't just drive past - get detailed Spanish charts (from Coruna or somewhere like that) and explore them - but rocks are a feature of that area, so beware...
 
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