Blackwater to Oostende

Well i've decided that im going to fly over for a pint now you've put me off the route ;)

Its a bit different to chartering in Greece Croatia and the Canary Islands. The channel is so full of navigational avoidances. The Colregs states that cross shipping channels at right angles as reasonable practicable, I think 130 from LSH looks a lot less a mess about option. I may head slight further down the channel before crossing but not to the point so it is a right angles. If there are no vessels to be seen when I get to LSH it will be a 130 cross. By that time the tide will be with me anyway. The chances of getting run down will be low if I maintain a watch during this period. If I lights on the horizon I will check its speed and course on AIS and make a calculation to determine a possible confliction but If truth be known if it is a vessel of any size then it will be out of the way in not much time at all.
 
MystereFlyer said:
Well i've decided that im going to fly over for a pint now you've put me off the route ;)

Its a bit different to chartering in Greece Croatia and the Canary Islands. The channel is so full of navigational avoidances. The Colregs states that cross shipping channels at right angles as reasonable practicable, I think 130 from LSH looks a lot less a mess about option. I may head slight further down the channel before crossing but not to the point so it is a right angles. If there are no vessels to be seen when I get to LSH it will be a 130 cross. By that time the tide will be with me anyway. The chances of getting run down will be low if I maintain a watch during this period. If I lights on the horizon I will check its speed and course on AIS and make a calculation to determine a possible confliction but If truth be known if it is a vessel of any size then it will be out of the way in not much time at all.
Click to expand...


Just keep an eye on the tidal set. dont end up down tide / wind on the other side, the tides are strong & to fight them is soul destroying after a 15> 18 hr passage
 
MystereFlyer said:
Well i've decided that im going to fly over for a pint now you've put me off the route ;)

Its a bit different to chartering in Greece Croatia and the Canary Islands. The channel is so full of navigational avoidances. The Colregs states that cross shipping channels at right angles as reasonable practicable, I think 130 from LSH looks a lot less a mess about option. I may head slight further down the channel before crossing but not to the point so it is a right angles. If there are no vessels to be seen when I get to LSH it will be a 130 cross. By that time the tide will be with me anyway. The chances of getting run down will be low if I maintain a watch during this period. If I lights on the horizon I will check its speed and course on AIS and make a calculation to determine a possible confliction but If truth be known if it is a vessel of any size then it will be out of the way in not much time at all.
Click to expand...
Don't worry too much about ships. Much of the avoidance is just common sense. AIS is brilliant, but it is often quite simple to judge a ship's heading by eye, and it is an essential skill to acquire. There is something beautiful about a ship's lights gliding by, followed by the distant(?) throb of its engines and later the whiff of its exhaust. It's part of the romance of the sea that hasn't changed much since the time of Conrad.
 
johnalison said:
Don't worry too much about ships. Much of the avoidance is just common sense. AIS is brilliant, but it is often quite simple to judge a ship's heading by eye, and it is an essential skill to acquire. There is something beautiful about a ship's lights gliding by, followed by the distant(?) throb of its engines and later the whiff of its exhaust. It's part of the romance of the sea that hasn't changed much since the time of Conrad.
Click to expand...
Also one`s first foreign landfall having navigated one`s own ship there. Nothing like the first time
 
johnalison said:
There is something beautiful about a ship's lights gliding by, followed by the distant(?) throb of its engines and later the whiff of its exhaust. It's part of the romance of the sea that hasn't changed much since the time of Conrad.
Click to expand...

Not wishing to raise a 'non ECF' like note of discord, but we were downwind of a Dover-Calais ferry a few summers back and there was nothing whatsoever romantic about the smell from the air con and exhaust: nothing at all. A mixture of diesel fumes and unwashed bodies. Quite put us off the lovely day.
 
tillergirl said:
Not wishing to raise a 'non ECF' like note of discord, but we were downwind of a Dover-Calais ferry a few summers back and there was nothing whatsoever romantic about the smell from the air con and exhaust: nothing at all. A mixture of diesel fumes and unwashed bodies. Quite put us off the lovely day.
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Maybe I got a bit carried away; that's what winter does to me. On the other hand, they probably said the same thing about the smoke from the old coal-powered ships. Our descendants will probably wax romantic about alpha particles.
 
tillergirl said:
Not wishing to raise a 'non ECF' like note of discord, but we were downwind of a Dover-Calais ferry a few summers back and there was nothing whatsoever romantic about the smell from the air con and exhaust: nothing at all. A mixture of diesel fumes and unwashed bodies. Quite put us off the lovely day.
Click to expand...
We find that it's the gas and crude carriers that really stink!
 
So finally after three years I got over to Neiuwpoort in Belgium. And not in the Flyer as I sold it two years ago, instead it was done in a Hurley 22.
The trip took 17 hours thirty minutes both ways and was done in day light hours...just and from Harwich.
The original destination was Oostende but a low pressure system from the North was well on its way and I believe about three hours earlier than forecast with F7-8 the following day. For this reason I went into Neiuwpoort.
Neiuwpoort is a great place to stay with trams running along the coast twice an hour and takes 35 minutes to get to Oostende from here. The Vlaamse Yachthaven Nieuwpoort Marina is huge, a great marina, customs were no problem and very helpful.
I found the shipping traffic tracking east in the main shipping lane to be busy, and smelly. There seems to be alot of waste floating around this area. The navigation is relatively straight forward.
Will be going again soon hopefully!
 
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With the low pressure system moving in from the north it was Long Sand Head to West Hinder Cardinal. I was glad to go that way and not straight over westhinder bank. Even though the Hurley could easily clear the banks, the water seemed to churn up over this. I'm thinking this is the effect of large volumes of water pushing up from the deeper parts of the north sea and up onto the bank. Miniature versions of this are duplicated further inland with the likes of Neiupoort bank. Its challenging sailing ground in certain conditions.
On the way back the sea was much more settled as the wind direction had changed to a SW'ly. I went over Fairy bank at LW water. even though the depths on the chart read 2.2m at its shallowest point I saw 1.5m on the sounder and for a couple of seconds could see the sandy bottom. It was quite strange being out sight of land and seeing the seabed. Just gives you an idea of how shallow the North sea actually is in places.
I'm in the process of editing a video to go online, will post it when its completed.

Thanks All
 
Glad to hear you got there in the end. (Well, if not actually there, somewhere thereabouts!)

It particularly interests me to hear about your trip as I use to have a Hurley 22 which I campaigned fairly far and wide. Not the most capacious or comfortable interior, but a boat that I had huge confidence in, and which gave me lots of fun.

Seems you made some sound decisions adjusting for the emerging weather, and I think you're wise to treat those banks with caution.

I would have found seeing the bottom rather alarming. Not so much the depth, as the culture shock: the very idea that water off the East Coast could be transparent!:eek:
 
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