Southampton to The Algarve

[Antonio Silva]

I may be sailing a Jeanneau SunShine 36 from Southampton to the Algarve. a bit later this year.I have quite good experience offhsore but mainly in Hong Kong/ Philippines, Azores, Brasil , Madeira, done the Indic etc.. The Biscay however is new to me. Any advice would be welcome.
Thanks
António

 

[Buck Turgidson]

With modern forecasting you can pick a window and go. My solo crossing was uneventful. I stayed west of all the shipping and TSS until south of Lisbon then crossed the traffic towards Cape St Vincent.

 

[Wansworth]

Checkout the App for Orcas apparently active on southern iberian coast .See in scttlbutt above

 

[JVL]

I may be sailing a Jeanneau SunShine 36 from Southampton to the Algarve. a bit later this year.I have quite good experience offhsore but mainly in Hong Kong/ Philippines, Azores, Brasil , Madeira, done the Indic etc.. The Biscay however is new to me. Any advice would be welcome.
Thanks
António

A decent forecast and the starting point are the keys to Biscay . If you have crew and keeping watches Falmouth to A Coruna/ Bayona . Solo it’s “easier” from France ( Raz de sein ) to Cedira (Galicia) you are inside the shipping lanes with very little other traffic you can have an uneventful crossing. Cedira is a straight forward fully protected anchorage/ fishing port . Anchor up with the other cruisers who have just crossed or awaiting departure , then cruse on down the coast to Cabo st Vincent and the Algarve !

 

[Wansworth]

Cedería…….not the best of harbours to enter…….carry on to Coruna

 

[JVL]

Cedería…….not the best of harbours to enter…….carry on to Coruna

I can see why you would say that , I wouldn’t for an instant try it it in heavy onshore weather . Though having spent a year based in Ortigueira whilst cruising Galicia it’s easy to see why it’s a fishing harbour

 

[Wansworth]

I can see why you would say that , I wouldn’t for an instant try it it in heavy onshore weather . Though having spent a year based in Ortigueira whilst cruising Galicia it’s easy to see why it’s a fishing harbour

Passed too quickly that area of the Galician coast,maybe get to go back…..in a boat with an engine

 

[JVL]

Passed too quickly that area of the Galician coast,maybe get to go back…..in a boat with an engine

A beautiful part of the world. I must admit to having used all of my 14hp in my 8ton cutter whilst watching my friend sailing his engineless venerable gaffer!

 

[Wansworth]

A beautiful part of the world. I must admit to having used all of my 14hp in my 8ton cutter whilst watching my friend sailing his engineless venerable gaffer!

Areyoustill onthe Galician coast?

 

[JVL]

Areyoustill onthe Galician coast?

At the moment no , I’m on the Algarve

 

[Wansworth]

At the moment no , I’m on the Algarve

Danger Zone

 

[[3889]]

Shortest crossing is Lesconil, Brittany to Cedira. Lesconil puts you south of the tidal gate of the Raz. Personally, I wouldn't go if I was expecting confitions which made entry into Cedira difficult. Its well sheltered and nice after a longish passage to just drop the hook and have a rest without the faff of entering a marina. Only a very short detour and Coruña 4 hours away.

 

[Graham376]

Shorter offshore route is LaRochelle to Gijon and then along coast. Possible to day sail with plenty of anchorages and marinas all the way to the Algarve with lots of nice places to see on the way.

 

[sailingmartin]

A good jumping off point is Cameret. Half way between the Chenal du Four and the Raz De Sein so you can time both perfectly. As others have said just wait until you get the right forecast. I did this from Cameret to A Coruna last year in a 36ft boat. Roughly 350 miles or around three days. Going down the Spanish and Portuguese coast is possible in day sails if you want to avoid the Orcas at night. They will be somewhere on your trip south, exactly where depends on your dates. Good apps now available to check. Good luck.

 

[RAI]

I took six months solo day sailing to get to Lagos. There are so many interesting places on route. Though I did cut the corner from Rochfort to Santander.

 

[voyager35]

I crossed this summer from Scilly Islands to Gijon in three days. We were intending to go to A Coruna but diverted to avoid strong winds on the NW corner of Spain. It was a very easy crossing and for the first time on an offshore passage I had a sat phone for updated weather forecasts. This removed a lot of stress and allowed us to take better decisions on a course to sail.
Remember you need to arrive at a port of entry to book into the EU, i have been surprised at how much our paperwork is checked by each marina.

 

[[3889]]

Shorter offshore route is LaRochelle to Gijon and then along coast. Possible to day sail with plenty of anchorages and marinas all the way to the Algarve with lots of nice places to see on the way. Ile de Yeu is shorter crossing to Gijon and knocks 60 miles off French coast trip. Then you punch the prevailing winds to the corner.

Ile de Yeu to Gijon saves 60 miles on departure from La Rochelle and is 10 miles shorter crossing. But then you still have to punch against prevailing weather to the corner.

I took six months solo day sailing to get to Lagos. There are so many interesting places on route. Though I did cut the corner from Rochfort to Santander.

The French-Spanish coastal route is excellent sailing (Gironde - St J de la Luz excepted, perhaps). If the OP has the time then go for it, but I wouldnt miss out San Sebastien, Mutriku, Bermeo and Getxo on the east end of the Spanish coast. Slightly biased as Mrs Q is Basque.

 

[greeny]

Checkout the App for Orcas apparently active on southern iberian coast .See in scttlbutt above

A "bit" later in the year the orcas will be moving North or will be North (Gallicia) already. Not a great time to be coming south. As Wansworth says, keep a good check on the app for locations of attacks and where the tagged orca/orcas are and try to route and time journey to avoid them. Ideal time to head south to Algarve is early in the year, May/early June before they leave the Straits and Barbate area to head North following the tuna.

 

[Wansworth]

A "bit" later in the year the orcas will be moving North or will be North (Gallicia) already. Not a great time to be coming south. As Wansworth says, keep a good check on the app for locations of attacks and where the tagged orca/orcas are and try to route and time journey to avoid them. Ideal time to head south to Algarve is early in the year, May/early June before they leave the Straits and Barbate area to head North following the tuna.

No news on local tv or radio of siteings

 

[MontyMariner]

Antonio, you don't say if you are going mob handed or solo.
Solo (and being a tight wad), I go Cameret (anchor off, wait for window) - A Coruna, anchor on the N side of the Rea then go into A Coruna after some sleep.