Portimao to UK end of June anyone?

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Wandering Star

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Anyone up for some sailing at end June? I've decided to sail my Vancouver 27 back home but none of my boys is available to crew at that time. It's not a delivery as such, more a cruise with places to visit. The current and winds will likely head us but I'm not a sailing purist and we'll use the engine whenever we need to! You don't necessarily need masses of sailing experience, just a pleasant personality. I could sail the boat back solo but prefer having crew.

Wandering Star is small but I'd be happy to consider a couple just so long as you realise she only has 3 single berths so not much privacy!

Anyone interested please PM me.

Cheers, Brian.
 
I am sure that you know this if you are based in Portimao, but you might consider doing this trip earlier than the end of June. As you say, you will be headed all the way North up the coast as the trades will most likely be in full flow by them. If you are not in a rush and can pick your weather windows you might care to consider late April early May. Sorry, don't want to appear to be teaching........eggs...etc.
Fair winds.
 
I would never ever again motor up the Portuguese coast again, as said it's upwind, generally 20 knots and 25 around headlands, and upcurrent, 2 knots. The best thing to do is sail out towards the Azore until you pick up the westerlies.
 
It's generally reckoned to be all uphill, but not necessarily so. In late June last year, southbound, we had SW winds all the way from Finisterre to Cascais - then finally picked up a strong Nortada for the run down to Cape St Vincent. So, for most of the way the weather would have favoured a northbound boat. If these conditions were predicted :) I would be be planning to sail from CSV as far as Sines overnight, before any northerly really gets into its stride, as the land heats up over Iberia. Failing that, a long tack out to the west would be better for us than trying to motor directly up the coast.
 
The consensus of opinion as always, when sailing north off Portugal you will be headed. Well so what, there are plenty of good places to moore up to avoid the worst of the weather if need be.
Sailed and motor-sailed back four years ago, very enjoyable experience, stopped at ports I had missed on the way down. If you have the time don't worry you will enjoy the sail/motor-sail, just make sure your tanks are topped up
 
Hi Guys, appreciate the advice/knowledge/opinions, in my experience the weather encountered on this piece of coastline is not as consistent as the pilots etc would have us believe! Unarguably it is one of those contrary passages and sailing south would be better than sailing north, but I've made the same passage at roughly the same time of year 4 times and never failed to have an enjoyable sail. I've never encountered a true northerly wind, there's alway been a bit of a bias to east or west and I don't remember ever encountering strong winds! I'm fairly confident I'll be able to sail the course even it means judicious use of the engine to get an angle on the wind which as a non sailing purist, I'm quite happy to do! As far as the current goes this is generally reported as being up to half a knot south going, I'm not denying it exists as it most certainly does, but running at 2 knots i find hard to believe and its certainly not been my experience in the past.

I'm not planning to sail the passage in one leg, but to stop at various ports along the way as far as Bayona, neither am I inclined toward breaking any speed records so if the wind is blowing a northerly F5/6 I'll happily sit tight and wait for a better suited wind before breaking cover for the next planned port of call.

Cheers, Brian.
 
Wandering Star said:
Hi Guys, appreciate the advice/knowledge/opinions, in my experience the weather encountered on this piece of coastline is not as consistent as the pilots etc would have us believe! Unarguably it is one of those contrary passages and sailing south would be better than sailing north, but I've made the same passage at roughly the same time of year 4 times and never failed to have an enjoyable sail. I've never encountered a true northerly wind, there's alway been a bit of a bias to east or west and I don't remember ever encountering strong winds! I'm fairly confident I'll be able to sail the course even it means judicious use of the engine to get an angle on the wind which as a non sailing purist, I'm quite happy to do! As far as the current goes this is generally reported as being up to half a knot south going, I'm not denying it exists as it most certainly does, but running at 2 knots i find hard to believe and its certainly not been my experience in the past.

I'm not planning to sail the passage in one leg, but to stop at various ports along the way as far as Bayona, neither am I inclined toward breaking any speed records so if the wind is blowing a northerly F5/6 I'll happily sit tight and wait for a better suited wind before breaking cover for the next planned port of call.

Cheers, Brian.
Click to expand...

You've been lucky.I grew up in Portugal and I can attest it can blow very strongly from the (usually)Northwest for days on end in the Summer.Some years there's very little wind though.A sure sign of the Nortada(trades) is a deep depression over central Spain coupled with a well set Azores high. I've been held in Lagos and Baleeira on several occasions for over a week by the trades when it's about impossible to make headway against the seas which can build up to very steep and breaking after only a few days.Local knowledge advice is to leave harbour in the wee hours and motor as far as possible before the wind sets in.Exceptionally the trades blow through the night so that's not an option then.Having said this I've always made it in the end so patience pays.
 
Just a suggestion which you might not have considered - French canals? Still motoring, but not into a headwind/big sea!
 
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