2016 Scuttlebutt Cherbourg Cruise

RobinBirch said:
Hi

Can you add 'Hanser' 28ft Hillyard - Skipper + 1 possible crew member (will confirm)

X Channel first timer looking to 'buddy up' with any other boats from around Poole.

Thanks for organising!
Click to expand...

I will be heading out probably from the West Solent but more than happy to tag along and stay in sight/radio contact etc if needed. And yep, thanks to Sailfree :)
 
Another first timer here, well up for this!

It'll be me and Pete on Marschallin (if she's not sold by then), going on Friday from Langstone Harbour, leaving Sunday. I think. This will be our first time crossing the Channel.

Exciting!
 
Last edited:
Update

Sailfree - Jane's Buoy - 6
Colhel - 2
Lady in bed-1
Langstone layabout -
Dom +Angele
Chubby
Topcat 47
Jungle Jim -
Horatio Nelson -
CPD - Pipedream II - 4/6
Rotrax - Jarrow Lilly
KREW2
DJE - Sea Reach - 2/4 .
PotatoNavigator
Bedouin ?
Babylon ?
Derekgillard - Ja Punta - Bav 30
SimonFa - Venezia -2
RobinBirch - Hanser - Hillyard28 - 2
sniffyjenkins - Marschallin

Good to met Angele and crew last weekend (we were practising our alcohol consumption so assume we spoke the usual rubbish!) but Angele called the return journey better than I did by leaving Saturday. We left on Sunday and returned in fog for most of journey with about 300m visibility. In about 60 channel crossings it was my first time in fog relying completely on RADAR and pleased that we did not need to deviate course once. Was surprised though when 3 MoBo's closely following each other coming the other way passed us about 200m away but did not show up on RADAR. Every journey sailing can be a learning curve!

Met Magli from Marina and Scuttlebutt cruise are booked in and all participants will get the 20% berthing discount - I supply the marina with a list of participating boats- boat names only no other details - remember to ask for discount though and they then check against the list . For newbe's Cherbourg facilities were new 2yrs ago and among the best, perfectly maintained and clean.
 
Last edited:
Sailfree said:
Good to met Angele and crew last weekend (we were practising our alcohol consumption so assume we spoke the usual rubbish!) but Angele called the return journey better than I did by leaving Saturday. We left on Sunday and returned in fog for most of journey with about 300m visibility. In about 60 channel crossings it was my first time in fog relying completely on RADAR and pleased that we did not need to deviate course once. Was surprised though when 3 MoBo's closely following each other coming the other way passed us about 200m away but did not show up on RADAR. Every journey sailing can be a learning curve!
Click to expand...


It was really good to see you and your crew again. And you were all surprisingly coherent. Either you hadn't yet had enough drinking time when we saw you or those years of practice pretending to work after a boozy lunch have paid off. ;)

Well, even Saturday wasn't entirely fog free. We had it for about 2.5 hours - from halfway through the eastbound shipping "lane", until shortly after entering the wesbound one. Indeed, on approaching the westbound one, RADAR told me I had seven ships on my starboard bow between 2 and 8 miles distant. Some would pass ahead, some astern ...... probably. :nonchalance:

I was just about to put in a 90 deg turn when we emerged from the fog bank and suddenly they all came into view. Collision avoidance is soooooo easier when you can see the orientation of the other vessel.
 
Angele said:
It was really good to see you and your crew again. And you were all surprisingly coherent. Either you hadn't yet had enough drinking time when we saw you or those years of practice pretending to work after a boozy lunch have paid off. ;)

Well, even Saturday wasn't entirely fog free. We had it for about 2.5 hours - from halfway through the eastbound shipping "lane", until shortly after entering the wesbound one. Indeed, on approaching the westbound one, RADAR told me I had seven ships on my starboard bow between 2 and 8 miles distant. Some would pass ahead, some astern ...... probably. :nonchalance:

I was just about to put in a 90 deg turn when we emerged from the fog bank and suddenly they all came into view. Collision avoidance is soooooo easier when you can see the orientation of the other vessel.
Click to expand...

For those of us that don't have radar, i.e. me, this is extremely scary! Maybe for those that do too, but how does one deal with this sort of situation without radar/AIS?
 
sniffyjenkins said:
For those of us that don't have radar, i.e. me, this is extremely scary! Maybe for those that do too, but how does one deal with this sort of situation without radar/AIS?
Click to expand...

Purchase a decent radar reflector (some such as the Tri-Lens are much better than others), don't go if fog is forecast, if you get caught by it in a shipping lane always let the Coastguard know of the situation and it can put out a safety bulletin...

....and finally consider purchasing at least one or the other. Take a look on the For sale Forum here as this kind of gear often comes up.
 
sniffyjenkins said:
For those of us that don't have radar, i.e. me, this is extremely scary! Maybe for those that do too, but how does one deal with this sort of situation without radar/AIS?
Click to expand...

Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you.

Wise advice from Dom and Potato navigator.

I don't have any statistics to back up my gut feel (perhaps there are some on the internet somewhere), but IMO sea fog tends to be more common in the English Channel in Spring and early Summer than it does in September. I was caught out by fog a couple of years ago when going on the Cherbourg rally, but that was because we were in Netwown (IoW) and it was the stuff that develops in estuaries on chilly autumnal nights.
 
dom said:
Purchase a decent radar reflector (some such as the Tri-Lens are much better than others), don't go if fog is forecast, if you get caught by it in a shipping lane always let the Coastguard know of the situation and it can put out a safety bulletin...

....and finally consider purchasing at least one or the other. Take a look on the For sale Forum here as this kind of gear often comes up.
Click to expand...

Quality advice, thank you.

We do have a decent radar reflector, so that's something, and may well look into second-hand radars.

PotatoNavigator said:
My plan is to find someone with Radar and follow them!
Click to expand...

We'll be right behind you!

Angele said:
Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you.

Wise advice from Dom and Potato navigator.

I don't have any statistics to back up my gut feel (perhaps there are some on the internet somewhere), but IMO sea fog tends to be more common in the English Channel in Spring and early Summer than it does in September. I was caught out by fog a couple of years ago when going on the Cherbourg rally, but that was because we were in Netwown (IoW) and it was the stuff that develops in estuaries on chilly autumnal nights.
Click to expand...

No worries!

Yes, all good advice here, will be preparing for the off very carefully, and very much looking forward to it and meeting everyone :)
 
I'm wondering due to the amount of newbies this year, and I include myself in that,that it might be worth having a pre-scuttlebutt get together to discuss passage plans and hopefully some more experienced scuttlebutters can be encouraged to turn and offer first hand advice. We could drink beer too. Or prosseco.
 
sniffyjenkins said:
For those of us that don't have radar, i.e. me, this is extremely scary! Maybe for those that do too, but how does one deal with this sort of situation without radar/AIS?
Click to expand...

Firstly, if you're any where near the Casquettes separation zone, you may well find yourself out of radio range. Last year I was unable to raise Jersey, Guernsey, Solent or Joberg when there.

I was also caught out with a gear failure and sudden poor vis, despite a rising wind. I broadcast an "all ships" Warning with my position, speed and course every ten minutes until I got a reply from the City of New York, a huge container ship out of Amsterdam. He located me on his radar and remained in contact. Interestingly he was unable to get a response from the Coastguard either. A condor ferry picked up our transmissions and took over as good shepherd until we were in good vis AND contact with Solent Coast Guard. They monitored out progress until we were safely in Yarmouth Harbour.

I don't have AIS or Radar. A modicum of common sense helps, of course, and the goodwill of fellow sailors. Once in contact with another vessel, my only worry was a further gear failure.
 
Topcat47 said:
Firstly, if you're any where near the Casquettes separation zone, you may well find yourself out of radio range. Last year I was unable to raise Jersey, Guernsey, Solent or Joberg when there.
Click to expand...

Hopefully Sniffy shouldn't end up in the Casquets TSS on her way to or from Brighton and Cherbourg. If she does, I'd question her navigation skills. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

baart
Cheap place to leave the boat for a week somewhere between Salcombe and Fowey ?
Replies
10
Views
681
baart
baart
S
We've been on our first cruise!
Replies
1
Views
291
tico
T

Share this page

Top