Channel or bust

[Goodtimegirl]

Any advice for first timers across the Channel from Chichester to Cherbourg? My hubbie and I are relatively new to sailing (1 year). He really wants to go across the channel this summer, however I'm a real woos, and reading all these scare stories in the yachting mags are not helping. First thoughts are to go across at night, and take an expert as crew.


<hr width=100% size=1>Annie B

 

[tcm]

Re: channel/bust

oh it's just bound to be fine. Unless, er, of course it isn't, erm...in which case you're just bound to be in the yottie mags.

Note that have to sink loads of yachts every year ON PURPOSE just for decent "don't let this happen to you!" photos in YM so you shouldn't get too worried...



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[Sybarite]

First of all welcome to the madhouse.

I think a night time crossing is a good thing provided you have good conditions, especially visibility, for the first time. This way you arrive during the day time and, in case of GPS failure, you can check your position in the early morning from the light houses. Bringing an experienced sailor with you is a good comfort factor.

When you have done it once you will wonder why there was all the apprehension to start with.

John

<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Sybarite on 26/02/2004 13:48 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Evadne]

A sound plan. If you know the basics (e.g. a YM course: how to use a hand-bearing compass to determine a vessel's track,) and you have someone who has done it before as a skipper then, day or night, you are as safe as any of the other thousand or more boats that do it every year. Don't forget ships papers and passports, hoist the radar reflector, take lots of tea and biscuits for the tediousness of the crossing, a mackeral spinner to catch breakfast and just do it.
There are only three exciting bits on your route: the two main shipping lanes to cross and getting into Cherbourg when you're all completely knackered. I did my first crossing in my first year of boat ownership, but from Rye to Bologne, half the distance and twice the shipping.
If you're going for more than an overnight, consider St Vaast La Hougue. Much nicer, no ferries or Navy and really hardly any longer. Anchor in the spot marked in the pilot book and wait for the gates to open before following the fishing boats in.


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[tome]

Welcome to the forum Annie

My wife and I quite often cross from Chichester, but she remarked recently that she would never have dared if she had read all the scare stories.

For a first crossing Cherbourg is a great destination and easy to find and enter. I would advise against a night crossing to start with. Get yourself up to a mooring by the entrance and have a good nights kip ready for a 5 am start. This should get you to Cherbourg in daylight - much easier. The night on the mooring will help to get you used to a bit of motion also!

Chose a neap tide avoiding springs when you will much get bigger seas. Set your course allowing for the fact that the tides are stronger on the French side, and don't try to stay on track. The tide will take you one way and then the other. When you are about 25 miles from Cherbourg or so you need to concentrate on the nav a bit more, making sure you stay up-tide of Cherbourg.

Crossing the shipping lines make use of your h/bearing compass or radar ebl to assess whether a collision risk exists. Avoid forecasts of fog - you'll have enough on your plate for a first crossing.

Above all, enjoy it! You'll have grins from ear to ear when you arrive safely and will enjoy the French wine & cuisine. Be aware that you'll find it quite tiring on your first trip and that a touch of anxiety is perfectly normal!

Best wishes
Tom

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[zefender]

Re: night, not right

I would take advantage of lovely long Summer daylight and leave nice and early and then you're sure of arriving by day too. If you've done lots of night stuff before then that's fine but I think night sailing is very different and if you're not entirely confident, it's much better to see everything around you on a first long hop. Time your trip for neap tides so the calculations are easy. If opting for St Vaast, do be sure you time arrival to hit gate opening times if possible. Take a long weekend to have plenty of rest before returning back. The crossing's not difficult (pretty much due South), just a bit longer! For all the hundreds of scare stories there are thousands of rather less editorially interesting successful passages.

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[chriscallender]

I did this trip (but out of Portsmouth) for the first time 2 years ago and again last year. I have crossed both daytime and night and personally I found the day crossings easier... got annoyed with the shipping that had so many deck lights that you couldn't see the nav lights and work out the aspect.

First crossing I had F5-6 from the SE so charged across, and then on the way back (returning from Alderney) with a similar wind from the SW, how lucky was that. On the next trip it was dead calm, about 30C and motored the whole way (and the whole week around the channel islands).

With 1 year of experience your idea of taking an "expert" may not be so bad, although a better idea where you might feel a bit more of a sense of achievement could be to go in convoy with another boat skippered by someone thats done the trip before.... maybe there is someone at your marnia/mooring who is planning the trip and you could tag along with them?

The real hazard is of course the shipping and the fact that this area suffers from a lot of fog that can descend quickly without being well forecast. I ended up in unforecast fog in the Alderney race once, its not much fun and although there is the textbook routine which I followed its quite a frightening experience.

Otherwise you need to remember the big tides on the other side of the channel, and don't allow yourself to end up downtide of the destination, or you will have a fustrating time at the end of your crossing! Another thing about arriving in Cherbourg the land there is quite low lying so you are quite close to land before you start to see France so don't doubt your GPS and NAV if it seems like land isn't appearing!!!

In good weather the crossing is easy and the boat doesn't really know if its heading 12 hours across the channel or down the coast. The sense of achievement in getting there on your own devices when you step off and everyone speaks a different language is quite something. Afterwards you will think of the Solent on a completely different scale than you did before, Chichester to Yarmouth will feel like nothing.

Another option you have in the crossing is to go via the Solent and spend a night in Yarmouth. The crossing from Needles -> Cherbourg is of course shorter, but you have the shingles/Needles channel to think about on that route.


Chris

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[ianwright]

Without GPS plan the trip to arrive an hour or so after dawn. That way you will be able to see the lights you need.
With GPS go for a daylight crossing. Take a spare.
If you invite an expert make him Skipper for the trip and try to be a good crew... ie do what he says, no argument .
You could always stay at home until Hubby is up to the standard you require,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

IanW

<hr width=100% size=1>Vertue 203, Patience

 

[robp]

I think you'll enjoy your first crossing more in daylight. Actually watching the shipping and fellow yachts on the way is interesting. Leave at first light (tide permitting) and watching the summer sun come up behind you (ish), is magical. Pick up a buoy near Hayling or anchor at East Head the previous evening, as others have said.

Why don't you consider joining Chichester Yacht Club? There's always "cruises in company", and definitely other boats going over every week, that you can enjoy the company of. Also, they will be delighted to give you the benefit of years of experience. There's usually one at the end of May Bank holiday but you might prefer to wait till mid summer for more settled weather first time.

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[tcm]

Re: Channel Crossing: what it\'s really like

1. Work out loads of passage plans, and then go at a different time completely and sort of try and use the same passage plan, which works a bit but not quite altho it's nice and calm so motor in to cherbourg no prob, ahem.

2. Take far too many spare things.

3. Half way across the channel stand on the foredeck and say yes, you can just about make out the headland 30 miles away. Two hours later it comesinto view and you say "See?!! - i was right!"

4. Prat about with a handbearing compass on the ships in the shipping lanes, but even if it looks as tho you might easily cross in front that massive tanker you chicken out anyway and go behind.

5. Work out a watch rota and then completely ignore it cos it's far too exciting to go to sleep . Crash out for 11 hours kip in Cherbourg.

6. Make very sure all the documents are absolutely sorted, passports, insurance everything . Then take them to the harbour office and they smile and say nah we don't care about all that guff.

7. Decide to buy loads of wine, but then forget about it after a long sesh at the Cafe de Paris.

8. Nearly (or actually) fall in the water due to crappy wobbly finger pottoons in Cherbourg. Then seceretly laugh at everyone else who nearly falls in as well.

9. Decide to wash the boat cos the water is nice high pressure (6 bar) in France instead of poxy 1.5 bar in the UK. Realise you have forgotten your hosepipe cos you have to supply yerown in france and/or yours has got the wrong end and bodging it won't work (cos othe aforementioned high pressure blows the damn thing off)

10. Book ahead in dodgy french and confirm by fax. Arrive to find there's loads of space after all.

11. On the way back, not very much happens really. Crash out asleep again. Get to work a bit late the next day.

12. Later, tell loads of boaty mates about your fab trip, most of whom have not been very far at all and are dead impressed, apart from one or two old gits who advise that cherbourg is a total dump compared to blah blah blah blah...

 

[chriscallender]

Re: Channel Crossing: what it\'s really like

Spot on!!!!

Chris

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[ROSSCO]

tcm seems to have got it about right - We did our first crssing 3 years ago with our 2 children - Chichester to Cherbourg we had intended to leave about Midnight from Chichester Marina but ended up leaving a little later waiting for a high wind warning to cease (a little foolhardy in retrospect) Had a lot of fun going out over the bar (kids waking up being bounced out of their forcabin bunks shouting ' make it go higher daddy') made it to Cherbourg with no real problems apart from exhaustion and seasickness - have done it another 2 times since and each time left at dawn - much better idea - you don't start your holiday off exhausted. as said start off from close to the entrance, last year we booked into sparkes for the night. Its a little nerve racking first time but a wonderfull sense of achievement , prepare it well and don't take too much notice of all the horror stories, its more dangerous driving down to the boat. Above all enjoy it

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[tome]

Chris

Sounds like you went over around 5th July (as we did). Bloody hot and motored around Chbg/CI/St Malo for a week before we had any wind.

We were eventually rewarded with a fast passage from Lezardrieux to Dartmouth.

Tom

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[billmacfarlane]

If your that new to sailing I'd make my first crossing a daylight one. As Robp said, anchor at East Head overnight, and leave after the morning shipping forecast, assuming it's OK. This'll give you about 15 hrs daylight to get to Cherbourg which will be more than enough, and the only nav advice I'd give you is don't finish downtide of Cherbourg. The tide runs strongly along the coast and it seems to take an inordinately long time to get back again. Yes, I've done it.

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[jimi]

Sounds about right! Last April had booze cruise to Cherbourg .. arrived sat am had breakfast .. thought "oh a glass of wine would be nice" .. finished all the booze on the boat .. and then it was too late .. erm had difficulty explaining to SWMBO why we had an inverse booze cruise.
Check the weather and aim about a mile uptide from about 15 miles off. Handbearing compass (or compass binocs) essential. I work out a course to steer by halfs ie initial, then rework when halfway, then next halfway so usually after 6 hrs, 9 hrs and then check every hour after that. Carry a large torch (steamer scarer) and have lots of cheap little torches if going overnight.

<hr width=100% size=1>.. whit way roon should it be again ..

 

[Robin]

These days I like to arrive around midnight UK time, or 1am French so I can say with real honesty 'we arrived this morning' when the delightful young ladies come for the dues. It also give a nice bit of night sailing (I like it) without being totally knackered next day and cocking up the booze shopping. Its easy for us, off Poole around 1500, Cherbourg West at 2330/0000. Of course it needs a good AWB, others of more traditional syle might need to leave at first light as has been suggested! Just joking of course :0)

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[Fill]

TCM is right, he's just not got all of them.

The skipper, unless kept under control, will navigate every mile of the way across;

there'll be a mad panic when he finds himself within the 2 mile exclusion zone of the channel buoy ECM until reading the small print that says it doesn't apply to yots;

You'll be amazed at what a big ship actually looks like when it's right on the horizon;

if you're as lucky as we were the charming people on the boat next door will insist you join them for drinkies to celebrate your first time across.

If you are thinking of a night passage why not split the difference and go very early in the morning? Say 0200 ish, you'll have a few hours of darkness but when past the Nab it should start getting light. Only do make sure no-one has put an unlit marker in the channel out of chichester to the bar.

Go for it, we did Solent first year, like you wanted an experienced skipper, but every date we tried they were busy. So said, xxx it, we've done the RYA shorebased, let's go for it - and did.

Don't do a Jimi and forget the wine, when you unload this side of the channel everyone knows where you've come from and you don't have to boast!

<hr width=100% size=1>Fill

 

[jimi]

Other thing I meant to say is, if night sailing try and pick a night with a some moon. Its bluidy dark when there's none at all. Surprising the difference!

<hr width=100% size=1>.. whit way roon should it be again ..

 

[tome]

Jim

This has now happened to me 3 times in succession and SWMBO was none too pleased last time with my 2 guilt bottles of Rioja from Waitrose on the way home. Come to think of it, the forum meet has been our only successful booze cruise for quite a while...

Tom

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[robp]

Try coming back from a week (father & son) in LeHavre/Honfleur etc and coming back with one bottle of red! SWMBO came out to car and said "do you need a hand?" "Er, yes here it is!"

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