Beginner Sailor Norway to The Med

[SaskiaUK]

I’ve had very little sailing experience - almost none outside of my day skipper.

I’m considering buying a boat in Norway and sailing it to Italy where I’d keep it for a few years and cruising on it about 6 months a year.

Is this an insane plan?! Is it a ridiculous idea for the first outing to be a huge huge sail?

My plan was to take the journey slowly. Only sailing in good weather windows, marina to marina and staying relatively close to the shore until I felt comfortable…

But please let me know if this is a terrible idea.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Saskia.
Staying close to shore could be a terrible idea.

[Cloroxbottle]

Originally Posted by SaskiaUK

I’ve had very little sailing experience - almost none outside of my day skipper.

I’m considering buying a boat in Norway and sailing it to Italy where I’d keep it for a few years and cruising on it about 6 months a year.

But please let me know if this is a terrible idea.

People do all sorts of things successfully because they are lucky.

Others do all sorts of things successfully because they are good.

I'd rather be in the second group.

What you propose - a route crossing the North Sea, the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay, and waters off Portugal where sailboats have been attacked/disabled/sunk by Orcas - requires being part of the first group.

[HeinSdL]

Originally Posted by Cloroxbottle

People do all sorts of things successfully because they are lucky.

Others do all sorts of things successfully because they are good.

I'd rather be in the second group.

What you propose - a route crossing the North Sea, the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay, and waters off Portugal where sailboats have been attacked/disabled/sunk by Orcas - requires being part of the first group.

I don't quite agree with the need to just be lucky to make it to the Med from Norway, one does need to be competent though combined with a sprinkling of luck to not make the voyage too challenging. Not so familiar with Norwegian waters but the North Sea is largely an industrial estate so up to date charts etc would be good. It can be blowy but waves are more irritating than threatening, the Channel can be annoying due to SW prevailing winds + shipping lanes, Biscay requires timing regarding weather and as far as the Orca's are concerned, well that's been discussed endlessly already. Time of year plays a role + a wide berth of the Iberian Peninsula might be considered.

[TrentePieds]

A puzzling query :-)!

Since you are clearly in the UK - on the south coast no less - why would you wish to buy a boat in Norway, only to keep it long term in Italy? Is there something you've not yet told us?

If it's the Med and the Adriatic you want to sail, why not buy a boat there, since English, German and Scowegian designs are plentiful there? Even French and Dutch?

If it the west coast of Europe you want to sail, do start with staying in the Solent for now and work up to the Channel by and by as you gain enuff experience to do so. By your own admission you do not yet have that. Teaching yourself off Hastings doesn't seem to me to be a good idea.

But if you really, really want to become a seafaring man, the first thing you should do is skive off down the street a little ways and visit these people:

https://www.hastingssc.org/

They give lessons. They make sailing opportunities available to you before you blow a packet on owning a boat. They certify you so you can rent boat wherever you list.

Beyond that, we, in this forum, are both able and willing to help you attain your goal.

Your last but one paragraph is the classic, naïve landlubber's view how to keep yourself safe at sea. Such a view needs amending. And it is NOT a good idea to try to become a sailorman all on you own bottoms!

All the best!

TrentePieds

[Fintry]

Two thoughts:


First, it is unlikely that you will be able to get insurance without some experience or at the very least some on the boat teaching. Most marinas require insurance, although many don't bother to ask to see the policy.


Second, a true story. A German couple, with no sailing experience, ran across a 30' (or so) sailboat in Central America that had been abandoned and was for sale cheap. They bought it and sailed across the Pacific. We met them first on Suvarov (5,000 miles west) and again at Apia. By then, they knew how to sail. So it is possible, if you are smart and careful, to sail long distances without much experience.


Jim

[SaskiaUK]

Thank you all!

I might have undersold my sailing ability slightly. I can dinghy sail and I have my day skipper and VHF licences. I have also chartered boats for holidays etc. So whilst I wouldn't say I was a competent or good sailer, I do have a basic knowledge of how to sail. What I don't have is any offshore experience or long term cruising experience.

To clarify, I've found a boat I like the look of in Norway and have always wanted to explore the Norwegian coastline, so I liked the idea of starting there.... Is the Norwegian coast an easy or hard place to begin?

Thank you everyone!

[TrentePieds]

Saskia:

You said: " Is the Norwegian coast an easy or hard place to begin?"

It depends to a large extent on just where the boat is located. Sailing in Oslo Fjord is a very different thing from sailing off Stavanger, let alone Ålesund.

I would like to have this conversation with you, but it's getting late here in my home waters on the west coast of Canada which are, in many places, like those of the west coast of Norway.

Be patient till my morrow, and I'll write you a screed :-)!

Cheers!

TrentePieds

[Sail Sail]

Not an easy route. Spend at least one season in the same area getting used to the yacht and learning the basics.

[boatman61]

There is always the alternative.. sail into the Baltic and take the inland waterway route to the Med.