5 REASONS NOT TO SAIL IN THE MEDITERRANEAN 

A good balanced video based on your experience, sailing in the med. Fair play!

Excellent advice guys. What an amazing couple you are!

Great info. Many thanks for the tips

Thank you so much for this video… Was thinking about crossing the pond to the Med next summer…. You have changed my mind… Going to stay in Florida Keys, Bahamas and Caribbean…. Recognized you from the Admiralty Channel. We live full time on our Lagoon 420… Appreciate the candid input…

Wow, that’s a lot of good reasons, thanks for sharing. I’ll probably spend this year along the south of Ireland, mostly exploring West Cork and maybe a bit of Kerry. Where are you planning next for quieter cruising? There’s a lot of lovely places around Britain and Ireland and plenty of secluded anchorages too. I look forward to exploring lots of them.

Thanks for the honest review, always good to hear different opinions 😊⛵️⚓️🦜

I found your video very informative and overall positive about your experience in the Med. It's definitely an area I intend to cruise in the near future, so its good to be informed in order to be prepared. As someone from an EU member state, I can honestly say we respect the UK decision to leave the EU but unfortunately the freedom of travel is only guaranteed to member states. I really do hope that a better travel agreement (both ways) can be sorted in the near future, as there are no winners. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Great video. Thanks!

Nice insight guys, lots to consider if anyone is Med bound. I was just about to type to say I cannot forgive you for not showing your doggy who was clearly in need of some attention, but then she popped up at the end. Love dogs, mind you my two do restrict my sailing. Happy days guys. Andy UK

Yep…can’t argue with any of them but, as you say, there are some stunning bits too. Damn shame schengen doesn’t allow us to stay for both shoulder seasons to enjoy it when it’s quieter! Anyway thanks for linking to our schengen vid…much appreciated 😊😊

Thanks for the great information. As an American, the Schengen Visa has nearly killed my dream of sailing my boat to the eastern Med. I will check out your links to see how to get around the issue. I am sure there is more than one way to cook a potato!!! Thanks again.

You should also explore Sicily, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece and Turkey to get the full picture of the Med.

Thanks Boris!

Thank you for honest review.. It might be better to travel the Med by land and go elswhere with the boat

Well done 👍

Thank you for your points of view. Brilliant ..... Its like driving a car on bank hiliday here in the UK . You ask yourself is it worthit?? Fair Winds and Following Seas.

The third piece of the Admiralty, haha glad to find your site

Great video

Great vid

Absolutely correct 👍. Sailing the Meds is NOT what most "influencer" show on their always "happy, easy living, sunshine always exited nonsense videos. Fact is here it is: Extremely expensive. Almost everywhere is overcrowded. Noisy due stupid "party/disco vessel who destroy any peace and quiet everywhere. Almost the wrong wind. Choppy waves. Zero to none fishing grounds. This is why those RU-vid celebrities come and go as Sad but true 👍 This is why I like and follow you 2. No bullshit and straight forward. Many thanks for sharing 👍

We have been to the med chartering many times, would love to get our boat there, but recently I keep thinking of the Baltic as an alternative !

I was also thinking about lone sailing around the med, then learnt about the 90 days, Orcas, party people, jet ski's full up anchorage and thinking less and less about it, Im looking at other places to go from the Uk, will be 1000's of miles further, but its the journey I'm looking forward to, With the prop foul, im an x commercial fisherman, and spent many times over the back cutting off the fouled nets, even in winter in the English channel, i didn't understand why you didn't do the same? then i saw the bit about Orcas bumping you boat, OMG good choice not doing the same as i use too, thank you for the info, very well done.

Another positive take on it all... apply for residency in Spain and avoid Brexit rules ? You can apply from UK if you are thinking about a new life.. Spain is wonderful. I live here and I've just started sailing. My boyfriend is an experienced sailer so I'm getting great tutoring and enjoying the Med so far ( first mini cruise last week )

Woah the timing. I was just wondering if i could sail from croatia to turkey

Fab vid guys and good to know both of your thoughts about the Med. Now then, when are you bringing Talisman back? And do you need/would you like a 3rd pair of hands? I'm just getting my funds together for next season after spending a huge chunk on Jazzi's new engine and would love to do some proper blue water passeges. Think I am sailing south in around April/May time for 6 months of boat life .... Hope you are both well ⛵😁🍺

Nice review! The Mediterranean has basically been fished out, and the EU has way too late started to do something about it. tbh, I think it may need a couple of 5 year Fidhing Bans to kick-start a recovery. The EU Fishing Fleets have pretty much set UK territorial Waters on the same path to destruction, but we could get started with a 2 year complete Ban, as Herring Stocks really bounce back fast and we can restart Kippers for breakfast if we get fish smokers ready and smaller fishing boats built, and Crews trained up during the stopped fishing period. a couple of years restricted to British small boats fishing herring, at the end of that 4 years have passed and we should be able to start adding Mackerel for example, and start doing a proper assessment of what stocks have started to make a healthy recovery, and add another species for another two years, and reassess again, which means some species have now had a 6 year rest to begin recovering. The problem is UK territorial waters are critically important biodiversity of sea life popolations, and since we joined the EEC they've been relentlessly hammered with things like big trawlers Pulse Fishing. Planned wave goodbye quick trip with New Boat. delivery Crew from South Coast to Gibraltar, Provisioning and Fuel fill, Popping across to Morocco, just to see how things have Changed, from there straight to North Cyprus for a fill up and stopover for a few days, then to Turkey, and check things over Making sure to get close to hayloft and service intervals there, including for the tender's Outbosrd. maybe as much as 3 months, then back West to Spain with 90 days in the Bank and haulout full service and checkout, plus any warranty issues seen to, plus check the test of Cold Galvanising Zinc as antifoul, if working as well expected, slap another coat on and relaunch, head to Funkyrola Marina, for a last few pints of the best Guinness I've ever had in the Irish bar there, then down to Gib, provision and Fuel, and off to Madeira and the Canaries with a delivery crew. Then to Cape Verde, maybe with pick up Crew of people wanting trips for Yachtmaster Offshore logs, and such. Depends who is around. From Cape Verde, tbh, if no Crew to head East, I wouldn't mind Soloing across by around then. or tie it in with people who would like to tag along behind the ARC. 6 months plus sailing and leaving the Eastern Med September ish, Boatwork should be done early November, Could be good timing for around ARC time in the Canaries, if there us anyone with enough money for it to happen next year. 🤔 Vest Wishes and Fair Winds. Bob. 👍

I enjoyed your video, your down to earth style, and sharing your experiences which I will " take on board "😅. Planning on sailing the Med in next 2 years, applying for Portuguese residency in hope to minimalise Brexit horrors, though don't fully understand how it works, as even EU residents have limitations...90/ 180, anyone explain this?! ❤

Croatia is now also in Schengen!

nice video

Great info as usual, thanks! I guess the new Brexit limitations impacted everything because you were hurried and couldn't fully explore ways around the other problems. The Brexit thing is turning out to be pretty annoying for Britons on so many fronts. But your series was really educational and inspirational, haven't seen every episode but will most likely go back to them looking for specific info.

Yes this is how it is in the Med. As a sailor my self, the Med is not really an attraction for me eventhough I come from the Mediteranean. Come up to Scandinavia. A sailing paradise. But! No warm waters and no high temperatures. Although we can be lucky sometimes to have beautiful weather. Sailing the Swedish archipelago, either West or East is sweet! South and West coast of Norway also fantastic and Denmark. But, preferably not in the high season which streches from the beginning of July until about the middle of August. June and towards the end of August is wonderful.

Very interesting video for someone planning to sail to Portugal in June from NI. I plan to take the boat out of the water in Nazare and sail her from October March. My main concern are Orcas. I may decide to go to Madeira and Canary Islands instead. I have absolutely no interest in crowded anchorages, marinas and party boats. Also interesting what you said about end. Thankfully the 90 day bureaucracy will not apply because being Northern Irish we can apply for Irish EU passports. Thank you. Useful insight. ⛵️

Great video. Are you back in the UK now? (21/02/23)

You get checking in and out in all countries outside the Mediterranean also. As for transit log for your boat that is nothing to do with Schengen, that is related to tax being paid on your boat. If you sail back to the uk you are more likely to have to pay the vat there! Yes Brexshit is a pain for ordering parts from EU and does limit time spent in a large area rather than 90 days in each country. However you just work around it like all the other none EU citizens have to do. It changed our plans but you can definitely get to places but you sail longer passages and just go for it. We sailed from Barcelona to Kefalonia in 7 days.

Welcome to post u know what bureaucratic hell.. the best places are at the Eastern end past Italy and off the regular tracks. Agree about the Med being a bit of a washing machine and blow dryer 😂 The storms are a feature thats going to increase.

How about Scotland for sea life and quiet (mainly free) anchorages? No Brexit issues either. I see absolutely no point in restricting the movement of people who aren't working and taking local jobs. I've never heard a logical reason for it either.

I came down to the med 2012. Staying here since then. I organised charter sailing , had AIRBNB on 2 extra boats . Now i 72 and just sail for fun . I speak spanish now and i am never ripped of. Very often i got free moorings here in Spain as i know a lot of people. This year i will bring down my last boat ( from Sweden ) here , and i will stay here for ever. In 2023 i sailed 6 months in the baltic sea , cold,rainy,expensive its not worth the money to freese. Have a nice sailing summer 2024 . We have sunny here in Barcelona today. 👍⛵🇪🇦

Leaving for the Med in 2 months 😑 When you go to the reset countries, how long do you have to stay there before returning to Schengen countries? Take care and God bless 💚

Dreams crushed in 18 minutes😢

Off topic a little bit! I’m just intrigued as to what’s in your vivarium?!

What are your sailing plans for next season?

i'm not a sailor but am a 'wannabee' :-) maybe you can look into getting/utilizing a 'sea anchor'? this hopefully would let you 'anchor' off-shore in deep water and avoid all those pesky annoying motor boats etc. :-))

I’ve been skippering charter yachts in the Greek Islands for over 20 years and some of your points are very true,each to their own. Definitely choose the off peak periods, as a certified dive instructor the Mediterranean is not the most plentiful area for marine life, much prefer the coral reefs and wrecks in the pacific. As for crowded anchorage’s I have had many tangled anchor chains, and my device called an anchor trip can deal with several chains at once, other yachts have been heard to say what the F...k did he just do as we Motor away from the mess of knitting? You are correct in saying other yachts have limited skill at Mediterranean mooring especially stern to, this is a skill that you get better at over time and my charters prefer this as the guests can step ashore and choose a restaurant, or rent a motor bike and explore the island. Brexit has not affected my Mediterranean experience as I live in New Zealand so it is always seasonal. I’m now retired mainly due to the Syrian crisis and then Covid, but as you can see your purpose is somewhat different to my Mediterranean experience. But good points for people to consider when planning a Sailing trip to the Mediterranean. Kind regards Alan Inglis

Mate the orca situation is definitely not good, however there is a far greater risk of orca attack in the Atlantic a coast off Spain and Portugal than inside the Mediterranean itself.

Are you not able to use Albania and Montenegro as a visa reset?

There is an exemption to the 90 day Schengen rule for marine (and air crew).

and now Croatia is in the Schengen agreement

Really? So you have 90 days in the EU in 180 which does not mean leaving for one day gives you another 18 months. Where did you get this from?

How about Europeans sailing British waters? What's the post-Brexit ruling for Europeans? BTW, on the topic of storms in the Med.. the videos on the 18 aug '22 Corsica storm are an eye-opener.

Good of you to share your thoughts on cruising in the Mediterranean. While I would love to visit the Mediterranean, I have no interest in sailing there. Mainly because of it being overcrowded, and the weather is very inconsistent with respect to sailing.

The EU are ignoring Maritime Law. There is no other continent that expects a sailor to transit in 90 day’s. 🤔🇪🇸

Nope, Croatia is in Schoengen now.

Are the immigration restrictions to do with the registry of the boat, or the nationality of the crew? Or both? I live in England but have Irish nationality and wondered if i coukd register a boat in ireland. My partner is British though, so i guess we'd still face restrictions?

I began sailing the Med back in '76 as a professional yacht skipper.. yes, I know.. your grandfather's time. I'm still sailing in the Med, though only for pleasure. Two major differences you may not be aware of being relatively new to the scene.. 1) Cost. Keeping a boat in the Med now is eye-wateringly expensive.. and if you don't want to cough up the marina fees, you can be sure there's someone from Germany, Spain, or wherever, a dozen other countries that are scrambling to reach for their chequebook. Another sad fact. There are fewer and fewer owner yachties.. you're far more likely to be tied up alongside a charter yacht crammed with a crowd of half Pi$$ed vacation people, the worst being large multihulls crewed by Russians, most looking and dressed like Putin's bodyguards. I do know some places where You can almost choose the wind you want, magical acnchorages.. unspoiled, romantic settings.. Am I likely to list them here..?

Are the Orcas attacking the boats because the boats are taking all the fish?

So where is the places that you like to cruise?

On the good side, since Brexit, there are fewer cruisers in the Mediterranean.

Hmm sad to hear some of these, and especially the orcas whome i love. Im in the us and hear sailboats can be 40% or more cheaper in the med. I want ro live in italy and greece sail around exploring Europe.

I loved greece Ilive in Irelanda del norte mi encnta grecco ,espana😅

Waves in the mad compared to the Atlantic apart from wind against tide is nor really related to tides. Waves are made by wind where ever that is in the world. Mediterranean waves are shorter frequency due to less fetch, less distance for the waves to travel. The weather this year was not bad, we for instance we didn’t get a Medicane (hurricane) this year like past years. Guys be fair the Mediterranean is one of the best cruising grounds in the world, that is why it does get busy. 😀⛵️ If you are wanting it beautiful scenery, good weather then it will attract more people. Wow you are painting a poor picture of what is one of the best places to sail in the world. You didn’t get far into the Mediterranean, go further east far less cruisers. We have sailed from west, Spain, to east Israel and north to Croatia. There is so much to see and fantastic cruising grounds.

Don't speed through anchorages!!

Just try to avoid August and all is fine. If you go to tourist places of course there crowded. When I anchor I'm usually the only one there and I chuck a line in and catch my lunch. Try sailing in the Solent on a Bank holiday that's what I call crowded.

the weather is greta thunbergs fault

As we ususally say down here: If you can sail the Med, you can sail anywhere.

look into diplomatic passports. you can get a passport from the forgien office not HM passports office and pretend you dont have a birth cert.. However you might need to know what happens when you are needed to evacuate an area. Or have dual nationality ...and 2 passports

you guys should take the mast down and go up through french canals and rivers to the uk. sack the bay of biscay off.

Simple solution ... Charter!

If you'd done a couple of things differently. You'd have avoided most of your 'issues'. France goes on holiday in August. Like clockwork. So, either avoid the congested areas or don't go there in August. Research. Plan ahead and then have contingencies. Be aware that during peak months, if you're seeking peace and quiet, you'll have to use the more 'off-grid' locations. If you're a marine biologist, how can you not be aware that in many places, the Med has been denuded of fish. There are vast areas of the Med, where the rental crowd never or hardly ever go. I'm not spilling the beans here. A little research and you can find them yourselves. If you'd done any research beforehand, you'd be aware of the named winds and usually they're very predictable. Anyways. Nobody died. So all's well that ends well ;)

Nothing shocking. The Brexit and Bureaucracy stuff is also not a surprise. Shocks me how many sailors and expats voted for it. We find the wind to be predictable. Stay safe.

I think the chances of hitting a semi floating container is probably higher than being munched on by an orca. Each to their own, it would not put me off. Should get a downvote for no recipe in this video! ;-)

So you are telling us that Brexit actually was a really stupid idea?????

You guys from the black country ?

Don't leave without visiting Greece! Greece will change your mind.

carry a spear to fight off the orca's

I think I'll just skip the Med tbh. Too rushed to be viable for a non EU liveaboard.

Get a Digital Nomad Visa, and sail to Brazil.

I planned to sail 4500 miles around the Med when I retired I bought a project boat and spent 7 years turning it into my ideal boat for the trip. Then just before I was due to retire and set off. Brexit happened to say I am annoyed and angry is an understatement. Worse I lost my job because I occasionally had to work for short periods in the EU. I have been stunned by just how gullible the British people are and I am now trying to work out how to get my EU citizenship back.

And Brexit itself is not a reason to not sail the Meds! And aren't changing weather situations a challenge for sailors! What kind of Sunday afternoon sailors are you that you do not like good winds and changing weather....

Brexit benefits keep on giving! Not only cruising but other British travellers penalised by Brexit including Campervanners, Caravanners & those with overseas properties. The most unexplained phenomena is just how many of these actually voted Brexit themselves! I live in Spain & work in Gibraltar & my life has been impacted negatively & as has 200,000 or so, others in Gibraltar & nearby Spain. The Brits moaning at the border queues are simply staggering, but the Brits living on the Costas who voted Brexit to stop immigrants take the top prizes for incredulity. On a positive note, there could be a corresponding increase in abandoned cheap UK registered boats & vans & properties for the locals to scoop up cheaply!

Reverse Brexit NOW!

There is always noth africa like moroco, tunis and others. Keep in international waters. They cant touch you. Just pick a non eu port. Brexit waz not done right, it was a balls up to be true thanms to boris and may.

Is the Mediterranean really your reason to stop sailing. If you really don’t like the med then why stop sailing, just sail somewhere else, don’t quit sailing. We have lived onboard full time for 7 years in the Mediterranean, loved it. OK we are leaving the Mediterranean next year but only to sail more of the world

1 st. Mediterranean sea is beautiful and full off beauty, 2nd freedom of travel is only for EU members, but you are welcome follow our procedures like for us in UK or other sides of the planet, 3rd under q10 or over 20 nods is all over the planet specially caribean sea, from Portugal to Greece we have the most spectacular coast and places for sailing and visit, please be honest and tell is your opinion, beacouse thousands believe the Mediterranean sea is a paradise! Sorry but you don't even have years of experience ! please be serious and do not talk about things are not well known

The UK wanted Brexit - now you have it. Who voted for it & why?

Turkey is not Europe….

HOW TO GET ROUND THE 90 DAY RULE - You have the legal right to say check out of the Balearics with ´no plan´ on where you would like to sail next, and nor do you have to disclose that information. Once checked out you can make your way to Greece lets say and stop and anchor along the way, this is completely legal under Article 17 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea allows ships of all States to enjoy the “right of innocent passage” through the territorial sea. Article 18 states that passage shall be “continuous and expeditious”. Passage includes “stopping and anchoring”, but only in so far as the same are “incidental to ordinary navigation or are rendered necessary by force majeure”.

It's not so much Brexit that is the problem with the 90 day rule, it's Brussels attitude to the British because they chose to leave the EU. Brussels makes the rules and they can change the rules if they wanted to, for example citizens from EU countries can come to the UK for 180 days at a time, that's UK rules. Unfortunately the Brussels unelected presidents have taken it personally that the British don't want to be in there club, so all we hear from them is "it's the UK leaving the EU, not the EU leaving the UK." Until the Brussels elites start thinking like adults rather than children many Brits will find other places to spend their money.

Angry killer whales? LOL

But you got your country back 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

Fking brexit making everyones life difficult.

But but but.... you're got blue passports! You can get a visa for 180 days. "own different ways of doing it..." you mean they have sovereign control independently whilst in the EU... Who knew! 🤣

Bloody hell... a couple of moaning poms and Bregret !!

Please stop Bryn barking 😊😊😊. The upside of BREXIT is that we are no longer slaves and recipients to rules made in BRUSSELS...There ARE many upsides to that ...however , as you have found , some downsides as well ...which you guys have been able to navigate through 😀...Doing a cross Atlantic or another journey route then it will not have an impact #The Sailing Brothers and #Sailing Yacht Florence ...take care both x