Question for the med based boys

[lanerboy]

ok I know there is all the banter regards uk boating versus med boating

I just wondered what boating conditions are really like this time of year in the med, has anyone been over in the last couple of weeks, I know I can look the temperatures up on tinternet etc etc but its not like getting it from the horses mouth

is it tee shirt weather down there is the sea calm have you been out on your boats etc etc, just good HONEST answers please

what is it really like down there compared to the uk at this time of year

 

[Andy Bav]

Not a boaty answer but I was in Rome on Thursday on business and it was overcast drizzling and about 11 degrees

 

[rustybarge]

Not a boaty answer but I was in Rome on Thursday on business and it was overcast drizzling and about 11 degrees

Same here in the south of France, wet windy cold overcast, maybe a couple of sunny days a week, temp below 10deg most of the time.

The real truth......you need to go much further south to get reliable weather in the winter, like the Canary islands or the West indies. the former is cheap and nasty, the Caribean very very expensive to fly to.

The States?

 

[pan]

Was over in Mallorca a couple of weeks ago for 4 days…. 2 days of sun, 2 days of low cloud & a little rain, temp was sweater conditions, out at sea better with marine jacket. Sea conditions fairly calm, no issue with some local cruising. Spent most of the time fiddling & fixing, without the pressure of friends & family waiting to cast off, very satisfying! Lots of opportunity to sit on the flybridge & enjoy a San Miguel, feet up. Frankly if you want hot sunbathing weather at this time of year, it's the Caribbean…. Med is too changeable from a few lovely sunny calm days to 4-5 days of blow & rain.

 

[Nick_H]

You get more calm sunny days in the winter than in the UK, but it's not reliable. Temperature averages out 5 deg C warmer in SoF than UK south coast all year round. So, if it's usually 5-10 degs daytime temp here, it'll be 10-15 in SoF, which is a bit more comfortable, but hardly bikini weather. I was in Greece a few weeks back, and was told no-one uses their boats from October-Easter.

 

[kashurst]

I was in Spain last week - weather calm, clear blue skies @ 15 - 20 degrees, sea flat calm, sea temp @ 18degs C
had a thunderstorm for an hour on wednesday. If you want to see what the sea state is try the link below. On the far right of the shot you can see the harbour wall and any breaking waves.
November, December and January was mostly calm but will get rough and stormy from now until @ May.

http://www.torrevieja.com/eng/webcam.html

 

[paulingreece]

11 degrees and peeing down, had a couple of sunny days where it has been t shirt weather, but horrible wet and more wet to come.

 

[Portofino]

Sun,s Allways brighter and warmer as Pan says nice and quite to fiddle + fix .
Bars restaurants and summer haunts closed .Boats not hauled out .
TBH having been " spoilt " in the season we pack up Oct 1/2 term ( professional guardian) and revisit April / May .
Then onwards 8 weeks or so in the season .In the season with sea temps August 25-26 oC and air over 30 oC one kinda associates that with boating ,needing plenty of iced rose to keep cool+ air con in the cabins
Never been on a heated boat
Test for me is - if my forehead is cold without a hat @ 30 knots - then its too cold .But each to there own .
Have boated @ Easter ,but all is v quite .Its because the summers are fab , winters are well different - unlike Uk where things tend to blend with odd " summer " week end

JTB s targa 40 + JFM helping @ PV one Easter ( we are fuelling up - popped in to check out property ,used the 2 hr lunch as free mooring :nonchalance

 

[lanerboy]

so reading between the lines then the season is no longer than in the uk but summer is obviously warmer, I was thinking the season would be almost most the year give or take a few weeks

 

[MapisM]

the season is no longer than in the uk

If your boating season in the UK spawns from May to Oct, then yes.
'Fiuaskme, I qualify as boating season the timeframe in which I can also swim comfortably and stay barefoot 24/7, but that's me.
I accept that you can go boating also with your parka on, and jump in the water with a dry suit, if that's your thing.

 

[GSL]

so reading between the lines then the season is no longer than in the uk but summer is obviously warmer, I was thinking the season would be almost most the year give or take a few weeks

I usually go to Sant Carles for a week in mid March to do antifoul, anodes and any out of water jobs, always working in shorts and a tee shirt, very pleasant.

I don't think you can see the season as being the same length as the UK, or the SoF.

We always spend an extended weekend on the boat in October, that also is very pleasant, no shortage of warmth during the day, can be a bit chilly in the evening.

Graham

 

[pan]

Season in the Balearics for boating is May through September…but the weather is pretty reliable then, mistrals usually just skirt north coast of Minorca.

 

[vas]

I qualify as boating season the timeframe in which I can also swim comfortably and stay barefoot 24/7

what MM says!
Typical behavior in the Med (by locals that is) is that boating == swimming, so if it's no good for swimming, not much point in boating. Effectively means May-June to Oct down where I am.

V.

 

[DavidJ]

We were in Empuriabrava (NE Med Spain near the French border) a couple of weeks back and the sunshine and showers forecast gave us a range from 18 degrees and blue skies down to 9 degrees and rain. Didn't take the boat out but a lovely break away from the UK.

 

[Hurricane]

We are off to Sant Carles tomorrow - by car
Staying a couple of weeks - some jobs to do but we will be relaxing as well.
Also taking our snow skiing kit with us so we may get some other activity as well.
Not skied from Sant Carles before - I believe that there are some good slopes about 3 or 4 hours drive away.

Met with John100156 from this forum yesterday
Apparently, they had a week or two round New Year and the weather was good enough to go out onto the lagoon and raft up with others.
So, with that in mind, the season season to have extended to a full year.
However, we went down for the previous New Year and went swimming but the water was a bit chilly.

 

[kashurst]

the med season is essentially May to end of October as a rule, however compared to the UK it is 12 months of the year. In the UK season, weather windows are hoped for and the weather may or may not be suitable. In the med thats what its like from November to April - you can still go sailing a lot and be often warm in the sunshine but you need to read the weather forecast properly rather than just deciding if a one or two clouds are acceptable.

 

[Bertramdriver]

I go with the flow. No pleasure aboard when it's cold and wet, but by last week of April it's all change into shorts and Tees
Oh deep joy and happiness

 

[John100156]

.......Met with John100156 from this forum yesterday
Apparently, they had a week or two round New Year and the weather was good enough to go out onto the lagoon and raft up with others......

Yes, we had a great time, arrived SC 26 Dec and stayed until 9 Jan - we had at least a full week of good weather, on several occasions in shorts and T-shirts (not a pretty sight), and as Hurric said, we went out in the lagoon and rafted up with others and stayed on the hook until dusk - good company and great fun.

Colder at night of course at this time of year and as others have said, you will have some rainy and windy days but can usually still get on with maintenance jobs in fairly light clothing. On two occasions we had a BBQ with friends on the pontoon.

We are fairly new to the Med (2008), Torquay before then, absolutely no regrets. Sant Carles really is an ideal marina to start off in, lots of Brits out all of the time, excellent facilities, English speaking and very helpful marina staff, large and safe lagoon just outside the marina with its own restaurant on stilts, good boatyard where you can still work on your boat, you can go up to Barcelona, down to Valencia or hop over to Mallorca and excellent value of course!

 

[lanerboy]

thanks very much for all the replies, this is making me think very seriously about moving to the med one problem I have is I love my boat and don't want to change it but 2 things no air con and no passerelle

Other thing is I need to try and find somewhere that is a decent price, good facilities, lots of English speaking people and can be accessed via east midlands airport. anyone got any ideas as I would also like to go in the colder months when some airlines stop flying to certain destinations

cheers

 

[kashurst]

Have a look at places north and south of Alicante and Alicante itself, lots of flights all year lots of english speaking people, and lots of other nationalities too. Lots of peeps use a manual pasarelle - much cheaper and easy to get and fit. Aircon very useful in July and August - but you can get portable units quite cheaply - just stick the venthose out of a window. That way you can try it all out and decide to commit to a bigger bill later.