Sabbatical !

[Yealm]

I'm planning to take a sabbatical for the whole of June and July next year.

I've got a Contessa 32, kept at Plymouth.
I was thinking of going down to Scillies, then Brittany, then down along the Biscay coast to northern Spain, mostly double-handed, hopefully mostly sailing by day, not at a racing pace, but not spending too more than a day or two at each stop. I need to return to Plymouth within the period.

I'd be grateful for any advice - I've sailed a lot along the UK coast but not beyond before.

How far should I aim to go - is my plan realistic ?
What are the really pretty must-see places along the way ?
How reliable is the wind at that time of year ?
What paperwork would I need (I've got yachtmaster theory, small ships register certificate and bill of sale) ?
Is it OK to have red diesel in my tank ?

Thankyou very much - at a very early stage of planning still !

Paul

 

[Tranona]

Others will advise on planning etc, but suggest you read the information on the RYA site on taking your boat abroad. It will tell you all you need to know about rules and documentation neither of which are onerous.

 

[gertha]

I have sailed the areas you mention, all are beautiful.
Wind is normally reliable; but you will get times of gale force winds, this may limit you for returning from Spain if is at wrong time. However the wind should be behind you and a 35knot breeze should set up a lovely Contessa role or is it roll.
Red fuel has never been checked.
Regularly asked for ships papers by random officials or marinas. Insurance and SSR is all that I have needed , in addition I carry ICC and VHF; but never been asked for.
People get excited about VAT; but it is only in UK I have had to show proof, on a Contessa she is out of age, so would not worry.
Keeping some sort of log is good, my guess is they cannot understand what I have written but it keeps little men in uniform happy.

If it was me I would do one big ballsy sail to Baiona in north Spain ; about 4 or 5 days then hop back, find a third crew for this leg on the sailing lonely hearts crew sites.

Simon

 

[LadyInBed]

To get round to N Spain via the coastal route and back on about eight weeks is probably a bit ambitious if you want to stop and look around on route and make an allowance for being weathered in anywhere.
If you want to include the Scillies, I would then just go across to S Brittany.
Your paperwork should be ok, but ensure to extend Insurance cruising area.

 

[ShinyShoe]

How far should I aim to go - is my plan realistic ?
You presumably know your typical sailing speed round the UK. Using average speed and number of daylight hours you are prepared to be sailing will be a starting point for distance of each leg. Lets say you said 4kts speed and 8 hours of sailing you can plan for 30NM legs.
Am I reading your plan as sail one day, 'in harbour the next', sail the next? So in 60 days, you sail for 30. So you can do 900NM in that timeframe at that pace. Assuming you were just going straight line there and back and ignoring tides and wind etc - 450NM from plymouth feels like your limit.

How reliable is the wind at that time of year ?
Look here (https://www.worldweatheronline.com/plymouth-weather-averages/devon/gb.aspx) - you can get the last 7 years of wind (scroll down) which you can then use the sliders to look at June. Looks to me like you get >7.5MPH <20MPH typically.
But you will want a plan for if its calm or blowing.

What paperwork would I need (I've got yachtmaster theory, small ships register certificate and bill of sale) ?
VHF Cert?
Insurance

Is it OK to have red diesel in my tank ?
It seems to be Belgium that has the issues. BUT you need to check the info in May 2018... lots could have changed by then!

 

[doug748]

Sounds a grand plan; take all your docs though I have only been asked for proof of insurance and registration. Red in your tank should be no problem, certainly in France. I would also have 4ish gallons of diesel in cans but make it white to be on the safe side, loads of room in the locker to stow it on your boat.
If you do not have one already, an awing can be very useful in keeping off the sun and rain. Easy to make from a rectangle of canvass over the end of the boom and secured to the lifelines.
Even with 8 weeks I would consider leaving out Scilly, at least at the start, because:
- You could well end up spending a number of great weeks there and then feel the pressure of time.
- It's so handy from Plymouth you could save it for another time when you could enjoy it for it's own sake.
- You could start to brood a bit over the cross channel trip. Probably better to go direct and feel the satisfaction of a longer passage under your belt at the outset. This also puts you in France and right among it.

 

[Yealm]

Many thanks, some great advice.. particularly leaving out the Scillies..

 

[[3889]]

Many thanks, some great advice.. particularly leaving out the Scillies..

Not sure who has asked for insurance as it is not a requirement in either France or Spain. Crew passports/ official id and Ships Registration(+vhf if you are caught transmitting) are the only legally, as opposed to marina contractually, required docs. Been boarded on 4 occasions, including one serious rummage, by Douane and never been asked to produce insurance. Red in the tank is not an issue, it most definitely is an issue in cans. Plymouth-Scillies-Spain-Plymouth within your timescale is feasible but more of a chore than a pleasure. Ex- Plymouth with 8 weeks I would spend 3 weeks cruising Brittany, a long leg to Gijon then work east and north to include another longish leg from Hendaye/ Ondarriba to Port Medoc: the coast between the border and the Gironde is neither interesting nor hospitable.

 

[capnsensible]

Every Spanish marina Ive been in has required proof of insurance before allocating a berth.

Biscay is not very big and mostly drama free! A wizz down to N Spain in four days followed by a gentle bimble back for the rest of two months might be fun.

Whatever you choose, hope you enjoy your summer!

:encouragement:

 

[agroundagain]

I took a sabbatical this year, April, May & June. A really excellent thing to have done. Circumstances prevented me going on any long trips (daughter's GCSE year, lots to do on the house etc...) but I set myself some boat targets, including lots of maintenance, with the highlight being lots of local single handed trips.

I had the great advantage of a good friend having done something similar shortly before but not achieving many of the things he set out to do because of just getting caught up in the small stuff of life. For me it was important to set myself some goals (very trite, I know) around which I could let the other things happen. I didn't do everything I wanted to do but I did all the big things.

Enjoy it.

 

[LadyInBed]

Not sure who has asked for insurance as it is not a requirement in either France or Spain.

Maybe no one will ask for it, but if you have a mishap you will be pretty pissed if your insurance Co says "Sorry, we no pay as your out of your insured cruising area".

 

[Ludd]

Maybe no one will ask for it, but if you have a mishap you will be pretty pissed if your insurance Co says "Sorry, we no pay as your out of your insured cruising area".

Could you take the boat cross-channel on a weekend in May, back by ferry? You'd then be setting off on your two month cruise with a head start and less weather worries.

 

[Concerto]

For sailing legs you should be able to manage 50+ miles for the out bound legs, I sail a Fulmar and regularly manage 60 to 100 mile legs singlehanded by sailing up to 16 hours. Try and set your ultimate destination as the target and adjust your sailing days according to the weather and how tired you feel. Then have shorter sailing legs for your return, and enjoy the ports. I used this method to sail to the Isles of Scilly from the Medway this year and expected it to take 8 to 9 days to get there, but managed it in 6 days, meaning I had more relaxing days knowing I had reached my target destination. So do not plan exact routes, but use the wind and tides to maximum advantage when in your favour.

 

[LadyInBed]

Another factor is the wind, if you have say a 30 mile hop with light wind in a favourable direction, are you happy to sail slowly and take maybe 12 hours or go under engine in 6 hours.
When I pottered around S Brittany in 2012 the mileage covered was dictated by the distance between the ports visited, not my endurance limit. Unfortunately I didn't record how much of this trip was done on engine, though for the year I put 181 hours on the the engine.

 

[Bav34]

LadyInBed, nicely presented log. I've always wondered when I hear people say " it took me x hours" for a passage.

From where do you measure your start/arrival times? Pontoon to pontoon, entrance to entrance which I would find very inaccurate ... St Peter Port or St Malo might work but where would you time Cherbourg or Treguier for example?

 

[LadyInBed]

From where do you measure your start/arrival times?

Start to end of navigation and to nearest 5 mins
Pontoon - Pontoon
Pontoon - Anchor
Anchor - Buoy
etc

 

[Bav34]

Ah, ok. I tend to go for a slightly arbitrary spot as for example by the time you've got out of SPP and circled around stowing warps and fenders and getting the sails up then reversed it all in say The Petite Rade and then motored in at 3 knots and been allocated a berth etc it can all add up. Ta.

 

[Minchsailor]

You can do the places nearer home at any time. I would get as far south as fast as possible, and then take my time coming home.

The NW corner of Spain (Galicia) is a gorgeous cruising area - the Rias around Vigo and Bayona. You can then potter along the north coast of Spain, before heading up the Atlantic coast of France.

I've done Southampton - La Coruna in 5 days (4 nights) in a Westerly Fulmar, 3 up, very comfortably. From Plymouth in a Contessa 32 you could knock a day off that.

I'm quite envious.

 

[wotayottie]

Having done the trip myself I agree with the poster who says " Plymouth-Scillies-Spain-Plymouth within your timescale is feasible but more of a chore than a pleasure".

Northern Spain is a lovely area but many small harbours are drying. We enjoyed pottering down the French coast much more than Spain. So rather than cut the travel time by sailing direct to Spain, I would potter down the atlantic coast of France to the Gironde and then make a decision whether to go to Spain or not. The Gironde Bilbao crossing is only just over 24 hours so its easy to find a weather window and Bilbao is an attractive town with an all weather approach. We left our boat there in the compound at the Real Club Maritimo.

Red diesel? For the sake of avoiding aggro during the Brexit period, I would change to white before leaving the UK. Bit the same with documentation. There is non accounting for an over zealous plod / customs man creating problems in a foreign language so take the lot. When we went, for example, the French government were having a campaign to reduce manpower in their customs department and the customs officers were responding with a campaign to show how much they were needed by being a PITA to tourists.

 

[Yealm]

Many thanks - thats great advice. Are the French Atlantic coast marinas similar to UK ones - or the Med type without pontoons ?