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

You've had more than enough advice already but I'll just throw this in. Do decide at the outset which end of the Solent you want to enter, and stick to it. Sounds obvious, but if your planned passage over the ground takes the classic S shape, you can find yourself closer to the other end at some point. But the tide is probably about to turn, and will put you back on course for your original Solent entry point. Stick to the plan.
 
Bembridge is not somewhere I'd chose. It's not a straightforward approach and the harbour is quite shallow. Langstone Harbour has a strong tidal flow which may prove problematic and the Southsea Marina doesn't have all tides access. and Ryde is entered over the sands again not all tides. Portsmouth/Gosport is accessible at all states of the tide. Haslar Marina is right on the entrance so well positioned for a quick get-away. Premier is also conveniently placed by the harbour mouth. Gunwarf is noisy and outside berths are not particularly comfortable overnight. I'm not sure if Clarence Marina has visitor berths. Port Solent is quite far into the harbour after a long day at sea.
 
St Malo is a very nice place. You need to be wary of the very strong tides and the passage to Jersey takes you past some shallow areas, best stay away from them.

If the wind is right go to Brighton or even the Solent. If you have experienced people on board you could go further. I agree Portland is a long we off your track.
 
Minn said:
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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St Malo - StPP - Braye - Solent - Dover. Or take more time if you like.

St Malo - StPP is a good day's sail and StPP round to Braye will take you just half the following day. It's all about the tides around there. I'd do Braye rather than Cherbourg as a stopover to save time doing unnecessary coastal detours.

Solent Eastwards along the S coast is dull (just a personal prejudice) but greatly aided by the tidal gravy train. The Channel tidal flow charts show the pattern. There's an E-running eddy along the N shore of the Eastern Solent before the turn of the tide. Catch it and you're propelled out of the Solent before the real E-going tide picks you up. With good boatspeed and a big tide you can get out past Dover on the same tide, but more reasonably stop in Dover and still call it one hell of a day's sail. You can't do the W-bound equivalent on a single tide though; it's just the way the Channel works.

Good idea to head to the E end of the island, wind direction permitting. Mind that Bembridge is tidal and you can only enter (or leave!) on the top ~4 hours of the tide, although you can anchor outside, or perhaps overshoot it and shack up in Portsmouth instead before catching the first of the tide E?

You might want to check out the passage round to Essex too. Into the Thames estuary & anchor just into the Medway (I do Dover round to Stangate Creek in a day) and cross the narrow part to the Essex coast? Or cross further offshore? N (I wouldn't but they're not my waters). Seriously worth checking your charts are up to date around there: the sand bars don't stay put.
 
There's a very, very good Indian restaurant in Dover just a couple of hundred yards from the marina gate. That's good enough reason for stopping there....
 
zoidberg said:
There's a very, very good Indian restaurant in Dover just a couple of hundred yards from the marina gate. That's good enough reason for stopping there....
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Cinnamon something. If you’ve ordered a take-away from there to take back to Granville Docks, they'll send you a promotional text message every Friday for the rest of your life.

Good Indian dishes though.
 
Just a quick update on the channel crossing, thanks everyone for the help.
We headed out of Plouer to St Malo on the 20th, St Peters Port, Braye, Bembridge and Brighton on the following days. Very lucky with the weather, though motored nearly all the way as little wind until we got a few miles off the IoW.
Got into Brighton just before a set of squalls hit, at which point the alternator decided it had had enough. Holed up there until the new one arrives and the weather is suitable. Now thinking Eastbourne, Dover, Ramsgate and home.
 
philwebb said:
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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+1. Relax about Cherbourg. It’s the easiest place to get in and out of. Just be aware of the remarkably short finger berths. Your centre cleat becomes your aft cleat!
 
Thanks for the update. Hope your alternator issue is sorted, presumably it's not just the belt that's slackened, an easy fix.

We used to keep our boat on the Medway and were quite familiar with the trip home along the south coast. As others have said, you can get a good lift from the tide, if I remember correctly the last of the flood up the Channel somehow meets the start of the ebb up the North Sea somewhere before Dungeness. It will be obvious in the tidal atlas. Consequently Brighton to Ramsgate and beyond are feasible in one passage if you need to.
 
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