Channel crossing France-UK 1st time as skipper - advice please

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ScillyPuffin

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I've recently inherited my fathers Westerly Konsort, currently moored in Plouer sur Rance. I'm planning on bringing her to live with me in Essex, making the crossing in early August.

Whilst I have sailed lots with Dad, including making the channel crossing to St Malo, I have never skippered such a long journey, nor really done any significant sailing without him on board. Three of Dad's friends have offered to help me, two experienced but older sailors and one experienced crew. I completed my yachtmaster theory several years ago, but didn't get around to the practical.

I am planning on St Malo - Jersey (stay overnight) - Alderney (stay overnight) - Portland Marina. Any advice about approaches, timings and paperwork etc. would be appreciated, I've never actually had to think about the insurance etc. before!
 
Why Portland if you plan to end up in Essex?

I must admit that I have only done it in MOBOs, so tides may be a factor, but I would be inclined to go St Malo to Guernsey. Guernsey to Cherbourg, Cherbourg to Solent.
 
Agree with CLB. Portland is not really in the right direction, you will be worrying about the Race, and so on.
Just to add:

Allow yourself ample time and don't set off on a leg if you are not entirely sure about the weather.

There are just three things to remember:

The weather forecast
The tides
The charts and pilot books.
 
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It all depends on the weather, hopefully you'll have a nice SW wind force 3 or 4 to make it easy. I'd be more tempted to go to Jersey and then Guernsey (St Peter Port) and then Cherbourg and then a port in the Solent. Alderney is lovely but not the best place to be or even go to if the weather turns nasty. Try and give yourself enough leeway so that you don't have to push on if the weather is not good. All the ports on that route are easy to enter in almost any weather, it's all well documented in the Shell Channel Pilot and Reeds Nautical Almanac.
 
You will need to study tides (and get a pilot book) for the Channel Islands as working them sort of determines where you stop. However, Guernsey then Cherbourg would be more desirable for making good time. Then a crossing to Poole or the Solent - although Alderney to Poole is much the same distance. Would not do Portland if the objective is to get east. Then port hopping along the south coast - although some might prefer to go east along the French coast and cross further east.

Normal insurance covers those waters without problems but check with your insurer. you should get title transferred to you with a Bill of Sale and then register on the SSR. You will find guidance on this process on the RYA site and a template for the document. I expect it is your father's executor who currently has title and it is he who signs the Bill of Sale. The boat is then legally yours. Make sure you pay all the bills at the marina before you leave.

There are no further formalities and you do not need to report to anybody on this side if your last port is in France (hence the suggestion for stopping in Cherbourg). In theory arriving from the CIs you should report to customs using a C338 form, but few bother and customs don't seem to enforce it.

Worth buying the Channel Pilot as it will cover the whole of the south coast and the north French coast with useful information on crossing the channel and transiting headlands as well as detail on ports.
 
Actually, the hard part of the trip is from the Solent to the Thames Estuary. The cross Channel bit is easier, but getting up the channel can be a real grind - you do benefit a lot from the tide but it is a long stage and a very long one if the weather isn't obliging.

If the weather is obliging, you can do it very fast - I once did it, crewing for a very expert delivery skipper, in 27 hours, in January, in a Westerly Fulmar. But he is an exceptional weather prophet.
 
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Because of the way the tides work in the Channel, it is possible to make good progress eastwards, often more than you would think. Personally, I would make my way to Cherbourg, then Brighton/Eastbourne, then it's downhill all the way to Dover/Ramsgate and the centre of the nation's civilisation.
 
Thanks all for your replies.
I mostly thought Portland as a case of shortest route to be honest. I've never been so far east via sea before so it's a new area to me. Was wary of Cherbourg as a large port but looks as though I need to investigate it.
New almanac and charts have just arrived, insurance is being quoted, but need to sort the bill of sale and SSR.
 
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Personally, if experience is short, I would consider bypassing the CIs and going straight to Portsmouth, with an option to stop at Cherbourg.
But if the weather is fair and your experienced crew have the time to do a bit of a tour, enjoy.

First thing is to get a decent pilot book for the area, or at least have a good read of the passage notes in the Almanac.
 
CLB said:
Why Portland if you plan to end up in Essex?
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I'm guessing because alderney->portland is a shorter distance than, say cherbourg->chichester and the OP wants to minimise offshore time on a first crossing.

The route CLB proposes not only minimises total journey time to essex but also reduces paperwork. No-one seems to know or care what paperwork is required for entering France from the channel islands. Coming from Alderney to the UK you're supposed to fill in a C1331 and call the yachtline on arrival in the UK but from france there's nothing to fill in. Of course a lot of people don't bother with the paperwork and I don't think we've heard of anything bad happening to anyone as a consequence.

If keeping the crossing short but getting over to the uk quickly are a priority, rather than portland consider studland if the wind isn't in the noth or east. Alderney to studland is less than 60 miles and you don't have to faff about with parking in a marina at the end of it.
 
lw395 said:
Personally, if experience is short, I would consider bypassing the CIs and going straight to Portsmouth, with an option to stop at Cherbourg.
But if the weather is fair and your experienced crew have the time to do a bit of a tour, enjoy.

First thing is to get a decent pilot book for the area, or at least have a good read of the passage notes in the Almanac.
Click to expand...

+1. Consider Cherbourg as a port of refuge, should the weather worsen on passage, or if people need a break/get seasick, so have the charts for it and read up the pilot book, but plan to go straight past if the weather holds.
 
Some form of AIS receiver, whilst not essential, would make life less stressful for the channel crossing, the trip to Essex and sailing thereafter.
We did our first and only channel crossing from Guernsay to Portland. Other than an early start (as soon as we had depth to depart the marina) and a long day, it was an easy run. But we and lots of other boats waited for 6 days in Guernsay to find a comfortable weather window. There was a 9am huddle round the weather screens in the toilet block, then depart for walks round beautiful island instead of sailing. Also we set out initially for Dartmouth but bore off for Portland as more comfortable to avoid wind on the nose.
We were headed west thereafter so tend to agree that a bit along France (Cherbourg or further) makes sense if headed East.
 
If you are not in a hurry back why not hop up the French coast then cross near Dover? Make it an adventure rather than a delivery trip.
 
Sandy said:
If you are not in a hurry back why not hop up the French coast then cross near Dover? Make it an adventure rather than a delivery trip.
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I like that idea though I haven't done that myself. Before you suggested that I was thinking of the Cherbourg then Brighton route.

I've done the crossing at different places many times over the years. Becauase I started without GPS or AIS I'm still comfortable without AIS as ships are very visible day or night and if you can navigate a car in city traffic then the timelags in shipping make crossing shipping lanes very easy. My only tip for shipping lanes is to use autohelm if possible as a straight and undistracted course makes it easier for ships but also easier for you to line up different parts of the boat against the oncoming ships bow and see whether the ship will pass you ahead or behind (and take action if there is no movement).

The stressful bits of sailing for me tend to be close to objects (land, ships, bouys etc) so I would aim to relax and enjoy the offshore bits when the motor or sails are whooshing you along with little to do but enjoy the world going past.
 
Lots of advice here to use Cherbourg, but that means coming round Cap de la Hague. I’ve never done it without being bounced around quite uncomfortably for a short time. I’m sure that OP (and I ?) would appreciate the advice of the more experienced on how to avoid the worst of it.
 
johnalison said:
Because of the way the tides work in the Channel, it is possible to make good progress eastwards, often more than you would think. Personally, I would make my way to Cherbourg, then Brighton/Eastbourne, then it's downhill all the way to Dover/Ramsgate and the centre of the nation's civilisation.
Click to expand...

+1
 
Cherbourg to Brighton cuts a big corner and saves a couple of long day sails over the alderney->studland option but:
- it's more than half as long again as alderney to studland
- the rhumb line keeps you in the main flow of shipping traffic for rather longer due to the crossing angle
- the rhumb line takes you through the wind farm, which I understand is allowed now it's operational, but is another hazard to think about

Old hands might underestimate the comfort factor in getting back to home waters quickly and easily on a first big trip as skipper. It's for the OP to decide what best suits the comfort vs time budget.
 
Hi having done this route numerous times, I would agree with Island 163. Go to Jersey St Helier first then Guernsey followed by Cherbourg. Access to these ports is straightforward and you can hole up in Cherbourg in comfort and choose your window for crossing the channel. What I would recommend for the Channel Islands is a tidal atlas. You have to “ride the tide” or you may find your boat going backwards. You will find the staff in the marinas in the CI knowledgeable about what time to start on the tide. When you have done this trip once it will do wonders for your confidence, get stuck in!
 
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