Where is the worst area you have sailed?

[Paulka]

Wattensee : more sand than water ... and trees to mark the channels at high water. Of course no need at low water ... if you manage not to finish high and dry.
It's long time ago thus. Don't know if it changed.

And, of course, as already mentioned : north african coast. No wind or sandstorm, and a lot of trafic all the way down from Gib to Annaba. I didn't sail further.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Whitehaven.

If you go out for a short sail, you just flop around a very dull corner of the Irish Sea.

And when it's time to go back, things get even worse - you end up in Whitehaven.

But there's always top totty in Gallaghers to liven up the evening though. That's if the marras haven't got there first.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

Despite all the miserable places mentioned above, I suspect that the Somalian Coastline must be one of the worst.

 

[Whiskey Bravo]

And yes, Snooks, you are right, Scotland is cold, wet, windy and miserable with clouds of man-eating midges. Best avoided. (We need to keep the crowds away).

There aren't any crowds, it's cold, wet, windy with clouds of man-eating midges and miserable blokes wearing skirts uprooting telegraph poles!

 

[DownWest]

More a question of being in the wrong place at the time.
Trying to get into Alderney in F7 when the tide turned...misery
Short tacking inside the rocks off cap trafalgar(at night) to make Barbate before we passed out from exaustion. Kept banging my head on the winches when I nodded off.
Thames estuary is fine, unless you run into a sandbank at 2 am.....very wet 'T' shirt from that.
MorBihan is nice,as in beautiful, just need to work the 10kt tides. And perhaps avoid high season... Still, more exciting when sheeting down in gusting F5/7..
Yarmouth (east anglia) is better sampled in the pubs. Better still, move inland to the Broads.
Any place can be ruined by crass neighbours. (Greece)
DW

 

[xyachtdave]

Patras in Greece.

Rod Heikell and his 'pilot' to blame.... he is in for a good/bad sandwich when I bump into him.......

Assuming what I have read on here about him actually visiting some of the places in the book are true!

 

[Searush]

There aren't any crowds, it's cold, wet, windy with clouds of man-eating midges and miserable blokes wearing skirts uprooting telegraph poles!

You forgot the godawful wailing of bloody bagpipes.

and the "uncharted rocks", tidal waterfalls & maelstroms that abound.

 

[Champagne Murphy]

Everywhere I've ever sailed has something going for it but the attitude of the local population makes or breaks it. For me the Sporades had the rudest and most careless. Bulbs deliberately removed from nav lights, leaky tenders and an attitude which said 'f--- you!' On the other hand the turks I found absolutely delightful, with pristine clear water and predictable winds.

 

[dunedin]

Worst sailing ground Southport Marine lake no rocks, no tide, next to no water! Very crowded for 24hrs.

Add pitch dark, freezing cold - and full gale (full hiking under jib only) - and would tend to agree with you. But the 24 hour beer tent was some consolation afterwards

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Morocco.

From the log:

The 'seaside resort' of Al Hoceima
Is deeply in need of a cleaner.
The flies are the size of elephants' eyes
And the amenities couldn't be meaner.

Every time you enter or leave a port, even to sail to another Moroccan destination, the yacht is searched by at least five different sets of officials, all wanting to be bribed with Scotch. They assume you must be there for drugs, after all, why the hell else would you be there?

Agree with Snowleopard - Salvage islands is a very exciting anchorage (we wedged the anchor between 2 giant boulders using SCUBA gear, and leaving - close to the rocks with a big swell - was the exciting part.

Also Bahamas - a place for catamarans! We sailed for 40 miles with no more than 2 metres under the keel at any time, keeping a constant lookout for coral heads ... Apart from that they're lovely.

 

[dylanwinter]

fess time

Patras in Greece.

Rod Heikell and his 'pilot' to blame.... he is in for a good/bad sandwich when I bump into him.......

Assuming what I have read on here about him actually visiting some of the places in the book are true!

I would like to confess to the excessive use of CGI in my apparent journey - in fact the slug is still in Chichester Harbour

after crossing the solent I decided that it had been such an undertaking that sailing was not for me

I rather lost my nerve so everything from Chichester to the Wash has been done with the clever use of graphics

Dylan

 

[Seajet]

I always try to make the best of a new place to sail, but the very small,surprisingly grim & bland ( for Somerset ) Cheddar reservoir took serious effort to find redeeming features.

My ex father in law sailed there, and I took the P when I found they do 2 races a day, presumably first one way round then the other, so as not to get dizzy !

 

[Lucky Duck]

I always try to make the best of a new place to sail, but the very small,surprisingly grim & bland ( for Somerset ) Cheddar reservoir took serious effort to find redeeming features.

If reservoirs and gravel pits are to be included then I would like to nominate Grafham Water as particularly dull place to sail, alternatively Stewartby Lake in Bedfordshire was once described to me as an 'armpit' so maybe it should hold that honour?