How to plan a day around the wind in Malta

Malta is small, which is the thing that saves a windy day. From most departure marinas the whole coast is reachable, so a wind that ruins one side of the island simply moves the trip to the other.

This is the single most useful thing a skipper does, and it is worth understanding even if you never take a helm.

When the wind is in the north

The north coast is out. Comino, Mellieħa Bay and Ramla are all exposed to it, and the Blue Lagoon in a fresh northerly is an unpleasant place to try to swim.

Go south instead:

• Mġarr ix-Xini on Gozo, which is sheltered from northerlies and is the best swimming water in the islands
• Marsaxlokk and St Peter's Pool on the south-east
• Għar Lapsi on the south-west, under the Siġġiewi cliffs

When the wind is in the south-east

The Xlokk reverses it. The south-east coast becomes the exposed one — St Peter's Pool in particular is unusable, because the flat rock that makes it pleasant is what makes it dangerous with swell running in.

Now the north works: Comino, the Coral Lagoon, St Paul's Bay.

When it is genuinely blowing

Some places need settled weather rather than merely the right direction. Dwejra on Gozo's west coast is open, deep and hard-edged; Fomm ir-Riħ is the same on Malta's. In anything other than calm, the answer is that they are not on today, and a skipper saying so is doing the job properly.

The bays that always work

Grand Harbour and Marsamxett are enclosed and there is nearly always somewhere to lie. It makes a poor headline for a day out, and a very good fallback.

What this means for booking

Do not book a charter to a specific bay. Book the boat and the day, tell the operator what you are hoping for, and let the route be decided on the morning. A trip sold as "Blue Lagoon guaranteed" is either lucky or dishonest.

Departure marinas matter less than people expect for the same reason — see where the boats leave from.