0400today Oostende port what is the vis like? Normal- yeah!

[benw]

The title of this post gives it away. Set off from Nth Sea Yacht Club at 0400 and asked with the port control what vis conditions were like. The answer came back normal.
Well having shared the West Hinder, North Hinder and all bits up to the Sunk with a cotton wool envelope it was far from Normal. dover and Thames CG very proactive updating fog conditions - I wonder if David Cameron tuned in!?
Shared the crossing in some part with a Levington racer Four Broke and a Dutch yacht. I had a novice on board who had taken a shine to operating the AiS mind you helming in 35-42 kn on outbound was not his forte. Thank god or st christopher for the radar affinity. Felt reasonably secure crossing everything like a bandit run knowing the big stuff is in front or behind.
iPad worked well if a little bright so a dedicated ais plotter for please.
Great sailing into Harwich today a real sense of relief and accomplishment.

 

[sailorman]

The title of this post gives it away. Set off from Nth Sea Yacht Club at 0400 and asked with the port control what vis conditions were like. The answer came back normal.
Well having shared the West Hinder, North Hinder and all bits up to the Sunk with a cotton wool envelope it was far from Normal. dover and Thames CG very proactive updating fog conditions - I wonder if David Cameron tuned in!?
Shared the crossing in some part with a Levington racer Four Broke and a Dutch yacht. I had a novice on board who had taken a shine to operating the AiS mind you helming in 35-42 kn on outbound was not his forte. Thank god or st christopher for the radar affinity. Felt reasonably secure crossing everything like a bandit run knowing the big stuff is in front or behind.
iPad worked well if a little bright so a dedicated ais plotter for please.
Great sailing into Harwich today a real sense of relief and accomplishment.

well done we ducked-out this year,the first due to weather since 84.
we had a quick chat with Silver Gull on his return Sunday evening, not a good trip back it seems

 

[photodog]

well done we ducked-out this year,the first due to weather since 84.
we had a quick chat with Silver Gull on his return Sunday evening, not a good trip back it seems

Well, if you feel that it was a good choice to duck out... I will feel a bit less guilty about ruining Pete and his missus weekend!

 

[sailorman]

Well, if you feel that it was a good choice to duck out... I will feel a bit less guilty about ruining Pete and his missus weekend!

they had some geezer O/b when we met them they even fed him & us too then got the Macallans out

 

[davidfox]

The title of this post gives it away. Set off from Nth Sea Yacht Club at 0400 and asked with the port control what vis conditions were like. The answer came back normal.
Well having shared the West Hinder, North Hinder and all bits up to the Sunk with a cotton wool envelope it was far from Normal. dover and Thames CG very proactive updating fog conditions - I wonder if David Cameron tuned in!?
Shared the crossing in some part with a Levington racer Four Broke and a Dutch yacht. I had a novice on board who had taken a shine to operating the AiS mind you helming in 35-42 kn on outbound was not his forte. Thank god or st christopher for the radar affinity. Felt reasonably secure crossing everything like a bandit run knowing the big stuff is in front or behind.
iPad worked well if a little bright so a dedicated ais plotter for please.
Great sailing into Harwich today a real sense of relief and accomplishment.

I didnt realise that you were there, i saw you moored under the steps in the corner, we got in on Friday evening and moored on the pontoon ( there was one buoy available in the far corner by the wooden tripper boat but there was a dinghy mucking around in the spot, so i decided to give it a miss) and came back to find ourselves surrounded by the Haven ports racing fleet, you can imagine what fun it was all night long both Friday and Saturday. Poor, sloppy motor sail over on Friday and a decent sail back yesterday albeit a tad exciting in the fog, i would think we had less than 50m in the worst patches, I heard you come up on the radio as you entered the TSS, at the time i was busy on the Radar with the MARPA going like the clappers monitoring the traffic up and down, anyone who says that having Radar is a waste of time would have eaten there words yesterday!

 

[benw]

Yes that was us! Agree completely re radar, ours being only AIS was a godsend. I couldn't leave the helm as novice crew just couldn't steer in fog and zero vis but was very happy to play with the AIS. We had one close shave in the N Hinder but it passed our stern by 0.5 nm. He had altered course too which is reassuring to know they had seen us.
Dover CG were very good as always.
Which boat are you as there seemed to be a lot of racers!
Incidentally we had a great crossing on Friday evening 4-5s and then a bit more exciting 35kn gusts and a bit as we surfed into Oostende on Sat morning.
Ben

 

[sailorman]

Yes that was us! Agree completely re radar, ours being only AIS was a godsend. I couldn't leave the helm as novice crew just couldn't steer in fog and zero vis but was very happy to play with the AIS. We had one close shave in the N Hinder but it passed our stern by 0.5 nm. He had altered course too which is reassuring to know they had seen us.
Dover CG were very good as always.
Which boat are you as there seemed to be a lot of racers!
Incidentally we had a great crossing on Friday evening 4-5s and then a bit more exciting 35kn gusts and a bit as we surfed into Oostende on Sat morning.
Ben

North Hinder

it was the "Mercator Race " w/e

 

[benw]

Thanks Sailorman had picked up on this. Some even returned on Saturday night into what can only be described as a maelstrom. Obviously very sure of their kit and crews ability.
Not heard from anyone crossing home that evening but I can imagine it was a lively one with the swells that we crashing into the Oostende beach.

 

[davidfox]

Yes that was us! Agree completely re radar, ours being only AIS was a godsend. I couldn't leave the helm as novice crew just couldn't steer in fog and zero vis but was very happy to play with the AIS. We had one close shave in the N Hinder but it passed our stern by 0.5 nm. He had altered course too which is reassuring to know they had seen us.
Dover CG were very good as always.
Which boat are you as there seemed to be a lot of racers!
Incidentally we had a great crossing on Friday evening 4-5s and then a bit more exciting 35kn gusts and a bit as we surfed into Oostende on Sat morning.
Ben

We came across on Friday morning got in about 6pm, we were Lady Linzy Moody 422 buried behind a raft of racers on the centre pontoon, you were lucky to get that spot as whoever was in it must have left. I got a couple of good photos of a square rigged something or other surfing into the harbour on Sunday morning when it was blowing probably a 7, it was a good spot for boat watching wasnt it. We had a similar, closeish call, I heard a fog horn off on our Port side and identified that 'it' was going to run behind us between 1/4 - 1/2nm - then out of the fog just where it was expected I saw a slight shape, but picked up the bow wave first which was obviously more visible and then this black shape materialised, looking quite malevolent, behind us, thank goodness. It was the only ship we actually saw until the fog lifted.

 

[davidfox]

Thanks Sailorman had picked up on this. Some even returned on Saturday night into what can only be described as a maelstrom. Obviously very sure of their kit and crews ability.
Not heard from anyone crossing home that evening but I can imagine it was a lively one with the swells that we crashing into the Oostende beach.

And most came back as well!

 

[benw]

Yep got you thanks for that, buried apt description.
We called in and spoke with Robert who said if you want to be friendly you can raft up or we have a buoy mooring nbr 1 opposite the entrance. Well from the entrance I could on make out nbrs 20 etc I asked for clarification is it a fore or aft arrangement and in his inimitable style barked it is a round thing which floats and has some chain attached!
First time on one these Med style moorings and surpassingly given it's cramped location we nailed it first time.
My NASA AIS stand alone was a gem. Looking seriously at getting my iPad wireless AIS or a standalone AIS enable chart plotter. Info at the helm is key. I was lucky that my crew despite being a hopeless helm loved sitting at the chart table calling out AIS targets, proximity etc.
Ben