Channel Crossing

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cglanton

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Don't shoot me! Serious Q - whats the min length of Cat B boat you'd take across the channel with Chart plotter, DSC radio, offshore flare pack, autohelm - 21ft?

I have a beneteau first 21.7 and have always thought it a bit on the small side although recently have spoken to two people who have taken 21 footers across with a very good weather forecast, so now I'm not sure!

Thoughts?
 
Your boat is plenty big enough! I know it depends to a large extent on your experience, but we sailed our Hurley 22 from Plymouth all along the French coast from Normandy to the Morbihan many times a few years ago.

Yes, it was a bit gut-churning at first (no Decca etc just compass and echo-sounder in those days!) but SWMBO and me meticulously plotted the DR on the charts and very rarely got lost and never in trouble.

Do have a go. Check the weather and choose very gentle and fair conditions for the first couple trips to avoid scaring the hell out of yourself and SWMBO and you'll soon build confidence.

The first 'foreign' landfall is always special and will stick in your memory forever.

Have a great trip! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Well I took me Hobie 16... and back... in a failed bid at a Darwin Award. Not sure what RCD category it was!
 
Should be no problem, pick the weather and off you go. It's only in the last few years that a "starter" boat has become 35 foot + . Plenty of people have crossed the channel in 22 foot boats with a lot less equipiment but more skill than the nowaday owners of AWBs
 
Well I did Falmouth to L'Aberwrach in an Alacrity 18 ft 6in I think that was about 150 miles or so..mind you that was in the days before everybody got obsessed with personal safety.

We carried on and went to the Med for the summer, came back across November 4th 1975 Guernsey - Weymouth.

Really with modern forecasts you should be well able to cross in a boat of that size just remember to take the ferry back if the weather turns nasty and you run out of time..never press on just because you 'have to get back for work'.

Good luck Nick
 
I would sail your boat across but I would be far more cautious about any uncertainty in the weather prediction. In your boat the crossing would become an ordeal at +17kts whereas in my boat the same threshold would be 25kts.

When you are seriously looking for a good day to cross, think FOG FOG FOG. It is the one thing that could make it a horrible experience.
 
[ QUOTE ]
All

whats the min length of Cat B boat you'd take across the channel with Chart plotter, DSC radio, offshore flare pack, autohelm - 21ft

Thoughts?

[/ QUOTE ]

This is from a layman's point of view. If you are sure of your equipment and just as important, you have confidence, you could do it in far less than 21 ft. A 19ft Seawych would be more than capable in the right hands to do it.

In my mind, a 19 footer is just as bouyant as a 35 footer.
 
the first cabin boat I owned was a 22ft Galion with an outboard motor and 2 gallons of petrol.. I had done the shorebased YM course (but not finished it cos of work) and 3 weeks after I purchased the Galion - Mignonne - I sailed from the Hamble to Cherbourg non stop - took 36 hours - not much wind...

It was a bit of a challenge but not huge... A couple of months later took my wife and two just teenage kids across via Yarmouth IOW...

Its really not the boat size although bigger boats tend to go faster, it's more if you want to do it... With GPS you will not get very lost... go for it.
 
Go for it - you know what wind you're happy with in your boat- expect it to take quite a while - set the autopilot and chill out if you get tired and enjoy the ride.
 
Seawycth 19 is OK for Pompey to Cherbourg, just a chart, compass, log and a vhf. At least it was for a friend of mine, we were in a twister at the time though feeling like we were in a big boat.

Before the days of gps/decca/epirb/autohelms dr worked most times.

Just don't put yourself under pressure to be back if the weather turns, it can be a long uncomfortable trip.
 
Hi Micheal
Sorry for the minor fred drift-
FYI, a member (an ex commodore, no less) of our club in Portsmouth owns a Galion 22 called Mignonne. It's painted red now but it was red gel underneath.

Cheers
 
Im sure the boat will be up to the job .I think that the wind direction is the important thing. You definitely wouldnt want a force 4 to 5 on the nose but the same wind on the beam would give you a quick and exhilarating passage.

Also make sure you have enough fuel to motor most of the way should the wind go too light.
 
Once, a very long time ago, I went to the Scillies in a Hurley 22. Used a chart and a pencil - easy as long as you got the right end of the pencil. These days you can't get to Cowes without a chartplotter and Heaven knows what else!
 
One club we were members of for many years had many members when we first joined with 17ft Silhouette bilge keelers, with seagull 40+ outboards that regularly crossed from Poole to Cherbourg before Decca. GPS, plotters etc and mostly without RDF although the Seafix was just about around then. There was one group of 3 men in particular AVERAGE age over 70 years that did it several times to my knowledge! The First 21.7 is big by comparison and very much faster!
 
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