Another passage plan - comments welcome

[Outforaduck]

Time mid May over 10 days or so. The intention is to sail motorboat from Waspik, Netherlands to Plymouth. A first time Channel adventure. I would aim to sail with the tide wherever possible and I've ordered an easterly breeze making 6 or so knots. Let's see shall we....

Crew 2, we prefer it this way. The boat is 50ft, solid, single Volvo D4 225 with plenty of pre filtered fuel. Safety assets include radar and AIS, and of course other personal safety items.

Day 1 Waspik to Colinsplaat, 44 nm.
Day 2 Colinsplaat to Ostend, 47 nm.
Day 3 rest.
Day 4 Ostend to Boulogne sur Mer, 67nm.
Day 5 rest.
Day 6 Boulogne to St Vaast, 132 nm. This big hop will be the longest we've sailed this boat before and I want, if possible, to make this longer journey before the channel crossing itself.
Day 7 rest.
Day 8 St Vaast to Alderney 47 nm.
Day 9, 10 rest.
Day 11 Alderney to Plymouth.
Day 12 wash boat.

Any advice, warnings, comments welcome. Thank you.

 

[Nigelpickin]

Sounds fantastic, great looking plan. I would think about taking fuel on in Guernsey after Bray.
It will be tricky taking fuel from the Bray harbour pump at your size and the crossing from Guernsey to Plymouth will avoid the TSS, from Alderney I think you clip it and have to factor a northerly tack and that can be less than ideal.
All IMHO
Have a great trip.

 

[IDAMAY]

Your plan seems perfectly doable given reasonable weather. Personally, I wouldn't want to do a 132 mile trip at 6 kts (or even at our normal 9 kts or so) unless there were no alternatives. I would probably cross the Channel from Boulogne to, say, Eastbourne and then port hop along the south coast. This would limit the longest passages to around 60 miles but would cut out Nigel's option of cheap fuel in Guernsey (Circa 34p per litre from a tanker at St Sampsons). Whichever route you take, have a safe and enjoyable passage. Oh, and if leaving St Vaast give the NE corner of the Cherbourg Peninsula a wide berth, particularly in any wind over tide conditions.

 

[superheat6k]

For a delivery trip with such a distance and against the prevailing winds, and with limited speed I would allow a much more flexible approach, with bolt hole stops en route. For this reason I would make the Channel hop say across to Ramsgate, this then provides you plenty of refuges where you can safely leave the boat and also obtain assistance in your own Country and currency, plus if you are delayed by weather you can travel home by train then return later to continue the voyage. The hops from Ramsgate to Eastbourne and Weymouth to Brixham are quite long, but all doable in a day providing you are not banging into anything above a force 4, especially if the tide is against the wind.

The sight seeing tour I would leave for when time is less critical.

 

[Outforaduck]

I find myself agreeing with most every point made; thank you.

Caution will be uppermost, if the planned easterly doesn't show then we shall decide on a daily basis whether to hug Europe or wiz across or stay put, let's see. If we do make it to CI and the weather is fair we may well make a trip to Guernsey for the fuel top up. Again let's see.

I'll update when trip completed.