Cruising in The Cannel, Brittanny etc.

V

veber

New Member
Joined
16 Oct 2007
Messages
5
Location
Sweden
Visit site
Dear Everybody,

My wife and I own a 34' Olle Enderlein mahogany sloop build in 1950. It looks like most of the yachts from that time, with low freeboard and overhangs.

We live in Sweden, but plan to take half a year of to cruise down the European coast - Southern England, France and Northern Spain. We plan to cruise near the coast and be on anchor/in harbour most nights.

People do not advise us to do that in our kind of boat because of the rougher seas, tides and currents and only a 7hp engine installed. People also think that it is a problem that our yacht do not have a self bailing cockpit.

But I think that there must be a lot of local boats in these areas which look like ours. And these boats are probably cruised intensively in the Channel, Brittanny etc.?

I would like to hear from people who cruises in this area - is it insane to cruise an old, wooden boat here?

Best regards,
Thomas Veber
 
Not at all.

I am planning to go to Brest from East Anglia in a 22foot classic with no self-bailing cockpit!

An Enderlein is a pedigree yacht. OK low freeboard, low overhangs, but plenty of keel - and that is the reasuring bit.
I would not think twice about doing it on a yacht like yours.
 
Absolutely! I second Roache's comments entirely, go for it! What do these critics of yours think that folk did before the advent of plastic fantastic....stay at home and paint their boats?? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Thank you for your answers. These areas are new to us and probably very different from the Baltic. Cruising in the Baltic between all the islands in Denmark or in the Swedish archipelagos (Skärgård) means no tides, almost no currents and moderate waves. Ideal cruising areas :-)

Best regards,
Thomas
 
I would agree with the comments so far posted. However the conditions you may encounter in the North Sea and Channel my challenge your boat, equipment and experience.

Not to say that any are not up to the conditions, more that it is difficult to make judgements about how a crew may fair when there is very little information to go on!

1000s of people cruise the areas you mention safely, but usually build up to channel crossings gently...and in boats that are fairly suitable..What I am saying is that if you are fit and reasonably experienced and your boat is not some lightweight inshore flyer (!) you will find it an interesting experience..however if this is not the case these areas could be a bit of a suprise!! The tides alone alter passage planning hugly and their effects around headlands etc can be dramatic..

People cruise in all sorts of small yachts with all sorts of engine sizes and so long as your boat sails well it is usually better to 'keepsailing' rather than 'start motoring' when the going gets rough...entering and leaving port is another matter and with only 7hp I guess we are talking more about passage planning to ensure you do not arrive at the time of the maximum ebb.

Having said all this I once lived for 6months and sailed several 1000 miles on an 18ft boat with almost no equipment at all..but then I was young and very fit and that makes up for a great deal...

Good luck..Nick
 
I am fully aware of the differences between the waters in the Baltic and in the Channel etc. But even though that I have sailed for 25 years, including one Atlantic crossing and several months in the Caribbean, I have no experience in coastal cruising in England, France etc. But that is also one reason for my posting here; you people who sail there every day must have a lot of experience. And as I posted earlier, our "Anna Lisa" is probably not the first 60 year old wooden boat to cruise these areas :-)

/Thomas
 
Thomas

Certainly in the Solent, Chichester, Pooole etc you will be among familiar craft. Why don't you post again once you have a rough itinerary and we can all see if we can help with local knowledge.

Look forward to sighting Anna Lisa some time in 2008.

best wishes

Chris
 
Andrillot, a Normandy Class, was cruised by Humphrey Barton in Brittany, without an engine, just after the war. It was his experience in this yacht that made Giles design the slightly larger Vertue Class.

Read "Yacht Cruising" by Claude Worth, and you will see that he cruised Britanny and during the time Germany declared war on France - The Great war that is.

Cruising Brittany is not a new thing, as some Plastic yacht owners tend to forget. I would go one further. I am pretty sure doing it in your Enderlain will gain you very much respect in France, especially if she is close planked varnsihed Mahogany.

Might see you around if you are planning to this next Summer.
 
Thomas

From what you say I'm sure you will find the experience a good one...It is common on these forums for everyone to say..'Go on and have a go' but in your initial thread you mentioned nothing about your experience.

The Channel coast (where I sail) is excellent but it is serious waters with tides even in mid channel up to 4kt and tidal ranges down near the Channel Islands of 10mtrs, and needs to be treated with respect.

Good luck,

Best regards Nick
 
by the way if this is the kind of boat we are talking about

1) I would be confident of sailing her in the southerne North Sea/Channel (presuming cockpit drains anad the like are up to the job
and
2) I want one too

Nicoly.JPG
 
[ QUOTE ]
1) I would be confident of sailing her in the southerne North Sea/Channel (presuming cockpit drains anad the like are up to the job


[/ QUOTE ]
His cockpit drains quickly but straight into the bilge.Because of that and the fact that she is an elderly wooden boat.Presuming she is well equipped and maintained I wouldnt hesitate to cruise British /French waters in her but I would want at least two large capacity pumps.

I dont think that the 7 hp engine is a problem. Modern yachts have more hp partly because they have much more windage to push. In calm water I bet she will do 4 or 5 knots.If there is any wind she will sail like a witch.
 
Dear Thomas,
1950 is hardly old for a wooden boat! If she has sound hull, spars and rigging and all ballast is fixed down, the most likely weak point is the crew. The overhangs should give her reserve buoyancy at the ends and help to avoid being pooped. Clearly, Biscay will need a good forecast but apart from that, most passages can be fairly short and the tides can be worked to your advantage. I personally worry more about fog than wind in the Channel.
The shipping lanes may be busy but the combination of radar reflector, AIS and a mega-candela torch should help. If all else fails, there are always the EPIRB and the liferaft.
If you consider the 1979 Fasnet, many of the boats may have have more questionable seakeeping qualities than yours. The endurance capabilities of the crews seem to have been the limiting factor for some as abandoned boats were subsequently found afloat.
You will know best the combination of your crew's personal endurance and the boat's capabilities and should be able sail within these. An old family friend (female) has sailed the Channel from Ireland with all three crew well beyond retirement age in a 23 foot bilge keeler.
Fair seas,
William.
 
To be honest I think that self-draining cockpits are over-rated, and often enthusiastically endorsed by owners of plastic yachts with no real understanding of wood.

If your cockpit can drain quickly into the bilge and you have good pumps, there is much to be said for the water going into the bilge if pooped - This stops the stern being held down and equalises the weight across the yacht. I think it is common knowledge that to really have effective self-draining you really need two crossed-over 2" diameter sea-cocks - and many new yachts don't rise to this specification.

The disadvantage off such large seacocks on a wooden boat is that they seriously weaken the plank they are in, unless well fitted, with a substantial chamfered backing pad. The main advantage would be having rain water drain out, but then a good cockpit cover will sort that out without the worries of failing jubilee clips that could sink you.

Wooden yachts usually have lower freeboards due to their sheers, and as such seacocks need to be very close to the level of the cockpit sole - which means when loaded the cockpit can back-fill. The good thing is that classic yachts have much smaller cockpits than the Jacuzzi efforts on modern yachts - so if popped it takes less water will fill them. They are closer to the waterline, so if filled, they will be safer. Generally I have always felt safer in a classic yacht cockpit than say a lofty cockpit in a new Bav for example.

All in all I am quite happy to cruise my yacht without a SD cockpit. But then again I am aware of the limitations and have two Whale pumps, one inside the yacht and the other in the cockpit, together with an electric back-up pump and one pump mounted on a board. Atleast I don't worry about weakend planks or my jubilee hoses failing (and they DO fail!)
 
You're right. I was using it as an example. I could have written 'make sure your chain plates are up to it, make sure everything lashes down.' I'm sure a small enough cockpit would be just as safe as drains fitted. As someone who has owned both wooden and grp I should add that I've never had enough water in the cockpit to make it an issue anyway - but my experience in the North Sea is limited to F7. Frankly, I'd rather keep my experience limited to F7 in the North Sea too. It was like being in a washing machine! My bruises had bruises.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top