Advice on Cross Channel trip Ramsgate-Cherbourg

[lilianroyle]

I want to get to Cherbourg as quick as possible so I can down to the less serious business of cruising round the Bay of st Malo. I will leave from Ramsgate and I'm thinking of doing the trip either in one 40 hour leg or staying on the English side and then crossing North South from the Isle of Wight or possibly going first to Boulougne and then direct to Cherbourg from there. Basically I want to avoid as much commercial traffic as possible. What is the quieter route?

 

[Guest]

At some point you will have to cross all the traffic anyway. In my opinion it's better to get all that over with at one shot by crossing not far from (but not at) the Dover Strait.

I'd suggest crossing just to the West of the Dover Strait. In the strait itself the traffic comes simultaneously from all directions both cross-channel and down the channel, big and small. But if you do a dogs' leg first crossing the cross-channel traffic coming out of Dover and then turn to cross the lanes while the shipping is still relatively concentrated in the VTS you will encounter the cross-channel and down-channel traffic separately, but will have cleared the commercial traffic quickly. It's important to make sure you time it with a westbound tide through the Strait: you will emerge somewhere around Boulogne like a cork out of a bottle. You are then pretty much clear of shipping all the way to Cherbourg, etc. for the odd ship coming out of Le Havre/the Seine estuary.

Dieppe is a good stopping off point en route to break the journey.

 

[Guest]

p.s.

Another advantage of going along the French coast rather than the English one is that there is more sea room for tacking without encountering the shipping lanes.

As you get further west towards the target the Cherbourg peninsular can provide some protection from a rolly Atlantic swell, which is nice. And the French coast has more/better bolt holes along the way available at all or most states of tide (eg. Boulogne, Le Havre, Dieppe, Honfleur, Ouistreham).

 

[Guest]

Re: yes, cross early.

Simonc is right, hang about to use that shortest crossing, making boulogne if poss, or calais or further west if avoiding beam s-westerly. But careful this week, westerly winds/gales will make it rough from wednesday onwards. The metfax is good with autodial-back fax and 5-day forecast for fwd planning, see the met office website. I liked Deauville and St Vaast if rough with west winds. Be sure it's calmer before going to cherbourg and west side of C. Peninsular.

 

[zvidoron]

Weather Forecasts

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/bracka.html will give you a free actual weather chart from the UK met office at Bracknell. Change the letter 'a' in 'bracka' to 0, 0a, 1, 1a, 2, 3 or 4 to get forecasts of up to 120 hours forward. All immediate and free. To print the chart use the Print Screen button to copy it on to the Clipboard, open your Paint accessory program, use Edit|Paste to drop it into Paint and then File|Print.

Best of luck.

 

[billmacfarlane]

I'd cross early and sail down the French coast. There are many advantages in this. French marinas are cheaper than their English counterparts - the food's better too. If the prevailing wind is dominant ie. SW , you'll get calmer seas on the French coast. You've got better deep water bolt holes on the French coast if the weather turns foul , Le Havre, Dieppe and Fecamp. Hope you have a good trip.

 

[Grehan]

Wetterzentrale

Just checked out that weather site.
10/10 - thanks for the tip.