Santander to Portsmouth - End of November (1 Viewer)

[clanjones]

We are thinking of heading south in September spending some time in Spain hopefully to some more cycling. Couple of questions.

Anyone experienced this route at this time of year and is it sensible?

I'll cheekily ask if anyone has a Brittany ferry discount code if this seems viable.

 

[2657]

I will send you a PM

 

[clanjones]

Wow thanks @matamoros much appreciated

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[2657]

November crossings can be variable weatherwise but rough crossings can happen any time of the year.

 

[clanjones]

We are ok with rough crossings more concerned about the motorhome. It crosses the bay of Biscay so got to expect a bit of 'spice'!

 

[pyro]

My own experience (last year) in November was excellent, I wouldn't worry too much

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[wanderer]

Just to mention if you go on the economy ferry it is likely that your MOHO will be on open deck . Although we had a reasonably mild crossing in April we were covered in salt

 

[clanjones]

Thanks for all the info guys, return ferry booked from Santander on Pont Aven, late November. Got a few jobs to do before then on the motorhome so no doubt there will more questions!

 

[treetops1]

Sit near the lifebelts lol

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[wiljoy]

We are ok with rough crossings more concerned about the motorhome. It crosses the bay of Biscay so got to expect a bit of 'spice'!

We sailed back from Bilbao in March. The boat was an open deck pile of scrap. Nearly all motorhomes were on the top deck exposed to the 30 foot waves and wind for 28 hours. We had our satdish ripped off, our fridge drowned with sea water and ruined plastic windows. Brittany declared it was an act of god. My bank balance disagreed.

 

[clanjones]

I am under the impression that Pont Aven doesn't have open deck storage, hence the date I booked. There is no way the motorhome is going across the bay of Biscay on an open deck ferry in November! I plan to have a chat with BF to understand options if they change the ferry from that scheduled.

They will probably say tough, but no harm in asking.

 

[busby]

I am under the impression that Pont Aven doesn't have open deck storage, hence the date I booked. There is no way the motorhome is going across the bay of Biscay on an open deck ferry in November! I plan to have a chat with BF to understand options if they change the ferry from that scheduled.

They will probably say tough, but no harm in asking.

Its the Economee with the top open deck but you can be put on the open rear deck if you are unlucky on other boats....Tell them you have a mobility problem and they will put you near the lifts which are covered.BUSBY..

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[Alex Black]

We came back on the economie ferry beginning of last year at the end of Feb. Loader man tried hard to squeeze us down the rails at the rear of the ship between trucks and the railings. I point blank refused to go where he said and eventually he reversed us back under the deck above but still slightly to the open air.. Needless to say the crossing was smooth as. Win some loose some. We sail again on the 23rd Jan..

Bloody great cabin we got though. Best so far..

Good tip to plead the disabled bit. I will def' give that a try... LOL

 

[Mikeco]

We always book the Pont Aven.

 

[MikeD]

We come back at the end of November every year and had both bouncy and smooth crossing's.

We always have a posh cabin on the Pont Aven as they are at the back of the boat and I tend not to notice the motion quite so much. I am a crap sailor.

We have been at the back of the ship on deck 8 and the spray from the prow was streaming past our window on the bigger waves.

Pont Aven is all under cover as far as I can remember for the vehicles. At least we have never been put on an open deck.

Cap Finistere has a little bit of open deck at the rear of the boat but its fairly sheltered. The only time we were there I was worried more about the bar on the decks above and people insecurely leaving their glasses/bottles.

On the Cap Finistere the posh cabins are at the front and they bounce up and down with vigour so I would not recommend them. Most if not all of the cabins on this ship are towards the forward part of the ship.

Check that u have a direct crossing as occasionally they stop at Roscoff for a crew change and that means u will be at sea for roughly another 10 hours.

Both of the ferries if the weather is rough will either put a little further out in the Atlantic or go like the clappers across the Biscay. Its about 10-12 hours to the calmer waters near to the right turn near France.

In the northern parts of Spain especially near the Picos mountains the weather can get fairly cold and we have experienced driving rain, heavy fog and freezing temperatures (-3c) at that time but all the major roads have always been clear.

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