Channel Crossing

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Kittycarter

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Ok, time booked off in June.

time to plan everything needed for first cross channel crossing to Guernsey, Jersey and France. Any advice on things to look for, or best way to plan trip etc would be very helpful from those with experience would be great.
 
Are you going alone or in company? I always like to aim for Cherbourg as a first stop, as being all tides it removes any deadline from your Channel Crossing. It also allows you to plan your trip through the Alderney race a little better.
 
Kittycarter said:
Ok, time booked off in June.

time to plan everything needed for first cross channel crossing to Guernsey, Jersey and France. Any advice on things to look for, or best way to plan trip etc would be very helpful from those with experience would be great.
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Work it to go to Cherbourg first, do as much as possible in daylight, arriving in daylight.
 
neale said:
Are you going alone or in company? I always like to aim for Cherbourg as a first stop, as being all tides it removes any deadline from your Channel Crossing. It also allows you to plan your trip through the Alderney race a little better.
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at the moment heading over alone, unless I find anyone who is thinking of heading over the same time. My first thought was to head for Cherbourg, but if weather and journey going well to continue on straight to Guernsey
 
Kittycarter said:
Ok, time booked off in June.

time to plan everything needed for first cross channel crossing to Guernsey, Jersey and France. Any advice on things to look for, or best way to plan trip etc would be very helpful from those with experience would be great.
Click to expand...

There are plenty on here with more experience than me but we have three CI visits in the last 5 years:
Time your arrival in G and J to avoid waiting outside the gates
Think about fuel cost, tempting to go to France first but why not sail with less than 100 percent and top up the tanks in the CI's, you'll save a few quid
Don't ignore Alderney, Bray is one of the great bays and a real antidote at the end of your trip, come home via the eastern approaches and spend a night there on a mooring
Watch out for the condor! And of course there are loads of races so again timing or fair weather will play a part but it's not nearly as intimidating as say Portland or Lyme Bay!
Sure there's loads more coming but that's my tuppence worth.
:)
 
Kittycarter said:
Ok, time booked off in June.

time to plan everything needed for first cross channel crossing to Guernsey, Jersey and France. Any advice on things to look for, or best way to plan trip etc would be very helpful from those with experience would be great.
Click to expand...
The boat is 21ft ?
 
The most important thing for me is the wind, you certainly won't want a rough first crossing, so I'd look for a period of settled weather with F4 or less, and just as importantly the direction of the wind compared to the tide. F4 wind against a spring tide,, especially around the CIs and French coast, will create pretty unpleasant sea conditions.

And don't forget to fill up with cheap diesel, best to arrange a tanker in St Sampsons on Guernsey. There's loads to see and do, take a bus trip around Guernsey and see the whole island and then decide which parts you want to go back to. And do try to get into Beaucette marina, it's well worth the effort with a great restaurant on site. And we love Cobo Bay (on the bus). Enjoy it!
 
I'm assuming a slight difference in speed ....

my first X-channel trip was with Galadriel on his sailboat - it was for the Scuttlebutt meet that takes place in Cherbourg in September
my second was for the same meetup the following year.

my first trip across with SWMBO was from Poole to Alderney - 6kts motoring (no wind) - I aimed for Alderney as I could easily divert to Cherbourg if necessary but had no particular desire to go there at that time. From there we set off at an appropriate time to get slack tide to Guernsey.

2 years ago (we've sold the boat now) we went direct from Chichester to Alderney (still with the thought of diverting to Cherbourg if required) and after a couple of days we used the tides to get to Guernsey, we mooched about around there for 10 days then my Dad and I brought the boat back from St PP direct to Chichester (all at ~6kts). We took full sized bikes with us and we were able to get them ashore on Alderney using the harbour taxi (careful of the pedals! I removed ours for the trip) and we had several good rides around Guernsey too - using the boat as a base rather than a sailing holiday - just as well as there wasn't a lot of wind!
 
With a planing boat it's fairly easy to plan wind with tide for the crossing, and slack water through the races and approach to CI's. That way the sea wont build too much even if the wind picks up a bit higher than forecast.
 
Kittycarter said:
Ok, time booked off in June.

time to plan everything needed for first cross channel crossing to Guernsey, Jersey and France. Any advice on things to look for, or best way to plan trip etc would be very helpful from those with experience would be great.
Click to expand...
Ok 40ft.. a bit more practical, then !
Well, first, it is bloody boring, I am afraid, though there is some trepidation if you are on your own for the first time. Cherbourg is the obvious one as it is close and a massive all weather entrance, so you can chill out when you are inside the main breakwater and have plenty of time to get yourself together etc. There are also usually plenty of berths, so you are not going to be worried about your French on the VHF and being sent back out again ;)
Downside is it isn't very interesting, but worse you have Cap De Hague to deal with on your way round the corner. Expect to find yourself in messy water. However, if you go to Cherbourg, it is a good opportunity to drop into Alderney (a must, at least once).
As an alternative, just go outside the Casquettes and straight to Guernsey. I do this route almost every time. There is a bit of a kick up out there, but for most purposes you are not tide bound, as you are with Alderney Race-in other words, you can almost set off from UK at any time in good weather and not worry about tides. Needles/Guernsey is about 3-3.5 hrs for us in most conditions. Guernsey harbour is all tide access, and you can just drop onto one of the new pontoons if you can't access Vistoria Marina right then.
Plenty to do around CIs, but if you come back out and turn right for a couple of hours you will come to rivers on north Brittany! Boating from there and east is pretty easy with plenty of all tide access marinas. One big differnce to UK is that many of the Normandy and Brittany marinas are tidal access only. That is fine with a little planning (gate times are all on the web these days), but it does mean you can't nip out for the day in the same way you can over here. West from Lezardriuex is perfectly fine, but I still find it a little more daunting with rocks and reefs miles offshore. Sure, these are on the charts, but they cause some really grim seas around them when it blows a bit.
Fantastic boating;big tides and you really don't want it starting to blow.
 
Since it's your first crossing, I try and make it as easy and as stress free as possible. Therefore I'd choose Cherbourg as the first port of call.

Depending on tides, I'd probably nip out of Chichester the night before, and tie up on the Itchenor pontoon. That way there's no messing about with the lock etc.

I'd leave early the following morning, as you often get a flatter crossing in the earlier part of the day.

Cherbourg is about a three hour run from West Pole around the east side of I O W, so you'll be there in time for a late breakfast.

It's dead easy to get to in and plenty of visitor pontoons, although many have very short springy fingers.

It is also better to tie up at the far end of the pontoons as it deters the locals from nicking your ensign.

From there you can plan a trip around Barfleur to St Vaast & Cateret etc or venture round to Channel Islands and beyond. All are easily do-able from Cherbourg.

And if the weather goes bad, as can often happen in June, you can come home on the ferry :-)
 
Get the tides right and if you start early enough, you can do Alderney for lunch and dinner in Guernsey.
I would pick Beaucette as a first Guernsey destination - a rewarding challenge.
The marina staff used to meet us on the outside and escort us in - just some careful navigation on the approach.
Once inside - you won't regret it.
 
Choose good weather for a first crossing.

Avoid strong tides and wind against tides in the Swinge Or Alderney Race

With a mobo Cherbourg is quite a diversion if CI is your destination.

From the point of view of access it does not matter what time you arrive in Guernsey or Jersey as Jersey has a walk ashore waiting pontoon outside marina and in Guernsey the Swan pontoons in the Pool of St Peter Port are also now walk ashore in the summer.

Alderney, Guernsey and Jersey are great destinations but don't forget Carteret in Normandy, St Cast in Brittany etc.

Fuel at St Sampsons, Fuel Suppplies (Rubis) tel 01481 200800 a chunk cheaper than the alternatives price in the 55p ish per litre at the moment.

Give me a pm if you wish to discuss details

If weather goes pear shaped rather than give crew a hiding by air to Southampton or Condor to Poole and come back next weekend.
 
Ok my two penneth...
Forget what people say about timing your arrival so as not to have to wait to get into P P.! The crucial bit is crossing the channel & getting the tides right for the race or casquettes.
We generally went into Cherbourg first, very good moorings & a very good restaurant in the Marina (great steaks done over a wood fire). You can then leave Cherbourg at any time to get the best tides heading down to Guernsey. Have a good trip & enjoy.
Regards
MM 1.
 
Yes good weather is the key, and also good info, and for that I always direct prospective visitors to the Digimap Marinas Website.
Cherbourg is probably a pretty good stop over, and normally you get a few other boats leaving for Guernsey every day.
I have been followed before !!
 
Do you subscribe to the motorboat owner online magazine?

If you want the comfort of travelling in a group they are planning a 2 week trip to France & the Channel Islands in the first two weeks of June.....
 
jmw said:
Do you subscribe to the motorboat owner online magazine?

If you want the comfort of travelling in a group they are planning a 2 week trip to France & the Channel Islands in the first two weeks of June.....
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That is the weather ruined then !
 
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