UK to Med: French canals vs Biscay

[Mike Banks]

Do you prefer seasickness or serenity? How much time do you have? In what season do you plan to do the trip? Avoid the Biscay in winter.

[GTom]

Originally Posted by Mike Banks

Do you prefer seasickness or serenity? How much time do you have? In what season do you plan to do the trip? Avoid the Biscay in winter.

Thought about late April, early May.

[ononimus]

Originally Posted by AndreBruijntjes

Returned from the Med to Holland summer 2017. Looked in to the possibilities to go via the Canals but as my boat draws 2.15 it seemed not a feasible option.
Sailed the Bay of Biscay with my children an had great fun.

My opinion is that if you take the time and patience to wait for a good weather window the Bay of Biscay is fun. T It took us 3 days to sail from Coruna to Plymout, but we had a good breeze on our tail. Planning this trip I found a lot of literature going south but less on going north as we did.

I think a lot of the bad reputation of the Bay of Biscay dates from times when the weather predictions for the next 72h were unreliable, Nowadays the predictions for the next 72h are reliable and if you have patience during summer you will find numerous windows to go south.

Our biggest problem was not the Bay but heading north along the Portuguese coast. The dominant wind direction is from the north and there is a constant current of about 0.5kn going south. Of course going in your direction that is favorable. We found the Portuguese very friendly and the restaurants and bars very cheap.

Also the route along the Algarve and the coast of Spain was great fun. In my opinion in both directions. Be sure not to hurry, if the weather is not ok rent a car and explore this coast.

Be aware that the Med is a large sea, much larger than the Northsea or the Channel. Exploring the Western part as we did takes a lot of time and it is a large trip in itself to go through Messina strait to the Eastern part. In the western parts the towns are great-Valencia-Barcelona-Cadaques-Colioure-Marseille-Toulon etc. We stayed away from the riviera because of the costs. Also the islands are an adventure-the Baleares(Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca)-Isles de Hyeres- Corsica must not be missed.
Can't give you more information on the eastern part than the enthusiast stories from other sailors.
And after you are satisfied that you have experienced the Med go back through the canals via Paris. With your boat that cannot present a problem. Don't worry about sailing permits, as long as you are on a foreign boat you will not be troubled. Of course you need the Carnet. Maybe the biggest problem in a few years in going back is the Brexit, you will need to clear in and out and maybe we will raise the Carnet costs of the passage for the British after Boris Johnson insulted the rest of Europe. But who knows, my advise is don't worry en enjoy the Med.

Hi Andre
I was reading this thread and wondered whether you could share some of you insights and experience of coming back up north from Portugal/Biscay. My wife an I are planning to sail our Moody 34 back from Gibraltar next spring but cannot find much information on the Internet going North (lots about going South though).
Thanks,
Ono