Way
Well-Known Member
Can't tell you how useful I find this forum. So following a recent first cross-channel trip with my fiance I thought I'd share some thoughts for anyone doing something similar. I used the forum really just as much as the Channel Pilot and Almanac in the end. Just over 300nm, taking in Yarmouth, Totland Bay, Cherbourg, Sark, Carteret, Alderney and Lymington on the way home.
Cross Channel - something I've pondered for a while. I guess my over-arching feeling now is you know when you're ready. Both myself and partner were seasick going over there - me for 10 and her for 14/14 hrs. But we coped and got there. Safely. No hitches, no close calls with ships. I guess the lessons I learnt were don't anchor the night before a x-channel unless absolutely guaranteed of a good nights sleep. And dont assume to get the first meal on passage. By the time we were thinking of food c.5am (after 4am start) we were already too ill to eat. Ploughed on and got there though!
Cherbourg - easy to find, easy to enter. Young lass in a RIB guided us to birth. Cheap birthing, no customs to sort, decent facilities. Nice atmosphere amongst people doing similar trips. couple of nice meals in town as well.
Cap de la Hague - timing/weather everything. Although having got there at the prescribed HWDover -0.30hrs (Slackish water) was still surprised to look at GPS and see 9kts SOG. Coming off average springs and with a NE 4 to 5 and there were quite a few overfalls/cross sea. Have read some that say that it's best to stick north and go into the Race in the middle. We did the latter but did take the book-mentioned Back Eddy along the coast. (as did every other boat).
Alderney Race - I guess like Portland Bill/Race, get there at the right time, right conditions and it really is nothing to talk about. But you have to make the decisions that put you there in those conditions. As I say, NE 4 to 5, with mild springs and wind-with-tide meant we loved it. Dramatic coastline and broadreaching down waves at up to 10kts SOG. dreamy stuff. We stuck south to get to Sark and eventually a few miles down the race wasnt running particularly hard it seemed.
Sark - something else. You have to go there to appreciate just how different. No cars, no police, locals walking across their land (as were we) to stop you getting too lost and to direct you to the village via the main road (a gravel track). The most stunning night sky I've ever seen. Overfalls and approaches worth thinking and reading lots about but the anchorages are worth it.
Carteret - lovely again. Fun going in at HW+2 knowing you're on the limit, grounding and with the fast running tides being at 20 degrees in c.2mins. RIB helped us off along with the aforementioned 2 crew hanging off the boom (!!) and second attempt much more successful! Nice marina, lovely town, beach is superb, great people and as per below, cheap. Think half UK marina costs.
Alderney - probably our favourite. A quiet slice of british countryside whilst being nothing like Britain. People say hello to you walking down the highstreet. More interested in asking how your ride was than your apology for bringing the hired bikes back over an hour late. Interesting stuff to see. Worth doing lots of planning as with C de la H and the Race to get it right - tide runs hard past the Harbour wall. In calm conditions anchored in Braye bay is absolutely fine if there are no visitors Buoys free. Harbour staff are really helpful and pleasant.
Marinas - one and only negative observation is how much we pay in Solent/S Coast marinas. Carteret was literally half what we paid in Lymington. Not knocking lymington, love the place and I guess it's simply supply/demand, but it makes you realise what some of these places must make.
A mild negative for what was a trip of a lifetime. Like I say I guess when you know you're ready you know. I read and planned in my head for weeks maybe months before and then on paper before crossings and bigger trips. But a story in Yarmouth harbour office really made me take the jump and go further afield (plus the fiance's constant encourgement/nudging!). The Smith brothers - crossed the atlantic in the 1940's together in a 20 footer, that they built themselves - Darmouth Canada to Darmouth Devon. Only an old aeroplane compass and some knowledge of the stars for navigation. Noone would encourage running before you can walk or recklessness, but in an age where a child falling over is perhaps something to sue for rather than learn from, sometimes it's good to just take a bit of a leap.
Back to work now, dreaming of an atlantic circuit and circumnavigation...!
Cross Channel - something I've pondered for a while. I guess my over-arching feeling now is you know when you're ready. Both myself and partner were seasick going over there - me for 10 and her for 14/14 hrs. But we coped and got there. Safely. No hitches, no close calls with ships. I guess the lessons I learnt were don't anchor the night before a x-channel unless absolutely guaranteed of a good nights sleep. And dont assume to get the first meal on passage. By the time we were thinking of food c.5am (after 4am start) we were already too ill to eat. Ploughed on and got there though!
Cherbourg - easy to find, easy to enter. Young lass in a RIB guided us to birth. Cheap birthing, no customs to sort, decent facilities. Nice atmosphere amongst people doing similar trips. couple of nice meals in town as well.
Cap de la Hague - timing/weather everything. Although having got there at the prescribed HWDover -0.30hrs (Slackish water) was still surprised to look at GPS and see 9kts SOG. Coming off average springs and with a NE 4 to 5 and there were quite a few overfalls/cross sea. Have read some that say that it's best to stick north and go into the Race in the middle. We did the latter but did take the book-mentioned Back Eddy along the coast. (as did every other boat).
Alderney Race - I guess like Portland Bill/Race, get there at the right time, right conditions and it really is nothing to talk about. But you have to make the decisions that put you there in those conditions. As I say, NE 4 to 5, with mild springs and wind-with-tide meant we loved it. Dramatic coastline and broadreaching down waves at up to 10kts SOG. dreamy stuff. We stuck south to get to Sark and eventually a few miles down the race wasnt running particularly hard it seemed.
Sark - something else. You have to go there to appreciate just how different. No cars, no police, locals walking across their land (as were we) to stop you getting too lost and to direct you to the village via the main road (a gravel track). The most stunning night sky I've ever seen. Overfalls and approaches worth thinking and reading lots about but the anchorages are worth it.
Carteret - lovely again. Fun going in at HW+2 knowing you're on the limit, grounding and with the fast running tides being at 20 degrees in c.2mins. RIB helped us off along with the aforementioned 2 crew hanging off the boom (!!) and second attempt much more successful! Nice marina, lovely town, beach is superb, great people and as per below, cheap. Think half UK marina costs.
Alderney - probably our favourite. A quiet slice of british countryside whilst being nothing like Britain. People say hello to you walking down the highstreet. More interested in asking how your ride was than your apology for bringing the hired bikes back over an hour late. Interesting stuff to see. Worth doing lots of planning as with C de la H and the Race to get it right - tide runs hard past the Harbour wall. In calm conditions anchored in Braye bay is absolutely fine if there are no visitors Buoys free. Harbour staff are really helpful and pleasant.
Marinas - one and only negative observation is how much we pay in Solent/S Coast marinas. Carteret was literally half what we paid in Lymington. Not knocking lymington, love the place and I guess it's simply supply/demand, but it makes you realise what some of these places must make.
A mild negative for what was a trip of a lifetime. Like I say I guess when you know you're ready you know. I read and planned in my head for weeks maybe months before and then on paper before crossings and bigger trips. But a story in Yarmouth harbour office really made me take the jump and go further afield (plus the fiance's constant encourgement/nudging!). The Smith brothers - crossed the atlantic in the 1940's together in a 20 footer, that they built themselves - Darmouth Canada to Darmouth Devon. Only an old aeroplane compass and some knowledge of the stars for navigation. Noone would encourage running before you can walk or recklessness, but in an age where a child falling over is perhaps something to sue for rather than learn from, sometimes it's good to just take a bit of a leap.
Back to work now, dreaming of an atlantic circuit and circumnavigation...!
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We were a bit early rather than late, so we lifted off in no time. Anyone thinking of visiting might like to note that there's less depth in the approach channel at the moment than specified. The depth over the sill was 2.3m when we went in having run aground only about 50m short of it (we draw 1.7m). Reeds gives a slightly greater drying height for the sill than for the approach. I'm sure locals will be able to find the deepest water better than I could, but next time I'll plan to arrive a bit nearer to HW!
