DGH crew
New Member
Just for the sake of providing food for thought in the e-Borders "debate", I thought I might share an account of the two Channel crossings we made this Summer; this is an entirely bona fide account of the decisions we made... and we find ourselves wondering just *how* cruising sailors like ourselves are going to fit into the future e-Borders world where international voyages have to be notified to the agencies 24 hours in advance?
We like to spend our summers cruising our beloved 8-ton Hillyard around the Channel Islands and Brittany, so our aim is always to cross the Channel as soon as we comfortably can. This Summer, we set out from Yarmouth on the 23rd of July, and headed out via the Needles with the intention of heading south to the Cherbourg peninsula if the sea looked good for a long crossing, or heading for Poole if going south looked like being uncomfortable. In the event, it was Poole we headed for, because the wind was both more southerly and somewhat fresher than the forecasts had led us to hope for. The point is, that the decision to 'abort' the crossing was made quite a few miles out to sea, and not 24 hours earlier in the comfort of Yarmouth harbour...
Once in Poole harbour, anchored under Brownsea Island, we were conveniently out of mobile phone reception, let alone internet availability, and if we *had* filed a passage plan earlier, would have been completely unable to notify any agency that we had not left the UK after all. (Choppy conditions in Poole harbour would by the way have made an early trip ashore uncomfortable if not hazardous.)
In the event, we actually made our Channel crossing two days later, with no obvious opportunity to notify the agencies 24 hours before departure. If we had needed to notify e-Borders of our destination, we might have told them it was to be Cherbourg... but in fact, our intention was to make a decision, once within about 20 miles of Brittany, of whether to go to the better shelter of Cherbourg itself, or if the sea was settled and the crew fresh enough, we would anchor overnight at Omonville or Anse St Martin and have a shorter, easier-to-time passage to the Alderney race. As it happened, we plumped for Omonville. Surprise, surprise, no mobile phone reception, let alone internet availability, until we arrived the following day in St Peter Port, rather too late to notify anyone of our intentions in advance!
So, rather later in the Summer, time to head for home. Come the 18th of August, we were in Camaret, and decided to head that day for l'Aber Wrac'h, and cross to Cornwall the following day. The thing is, once we had had a lovely easy run in near-perfect conditions through the Chenal du Four, we thought we might just as well stay out at sea and get the long crossing over with... so that is just what we did, although 24 hours earlier we had no idea that we might do so. Arriving in the early hours of the following morning in the Helford River... surprise, surprise, no mobile phone reception, let alone internet availability to advise anyone of our spontaneous return to the UK.
The thing is, we are very ordinary cruising sailors, having very ordinary family holidays aboard our very special family boat, and I don't quite understand how the e-Borders notification system is planning to take account of people like us. I hope the RYA training types will not purse their lips too severely at our apparently haphazard, spur-of-the-moment navigation decisions. I don't happen to think that any of our decisions and changes-of-mind represented poor seamanship; many of them were made out at sea, and in the light of actual sea conditions and developing weather forecasts... but are we to be permitted to make such decisions in future?
The legislation as it stands at the moment "requires data to be submitted in an electronic format" -- it may be that a means of filing passage-plans (and changes of plan) via VHF through the coastguard operators might be offered, but otherwise, where do we all go from here? I fully understand that the UK Border Agency has no wish to place an undue burden on cruising sailors -- just wondering how on earth it will all work in *real life,* ten miles out to sea, potentially in sea conditions where spending even a few minutes down below to make a VHF call could be pretty uncomfortable?
Happy sailing,
Piers Snell.
We like to spend our summers cruising our beloved 8-ton Hillyard around the Channel Islands and Brittany, so our aim is always to cross the Channel as soon as we comfortably can. This Summer, we set out from Yarmouth on the 23rd of July, and headed out via the Needles with the intention of heading south to the Cherbourg peninsula if the sea looked good for a long crossing, or heading for Poole if going south looked like being uncomfortable. In the event, it was Poole we headed for, because the wind was both more southerly and somewhat fresher than the forecasts had led us to hope for. The point is, that the decision to 'abort' the crossing was made quite a few miles out to sea, and not 24 hours earlier in the comfort of Yarmouth harbour...
Once in Poole harbour, anchored under Brownsea Island, we were conveniently out of mobile phone reception, let alone internet availability, and if we *had* filed a passage plan earlier, would have been completely unable to notify any agency that we had not left the UK after all. (Choppy conditions in Poole harbour would by the way have made an early trip ashore uncomfortable if not hazardous.)
In the event, we actually made our Channel crossing two days later, with no obvious opportunity to notify the agencies 24 hours before departure. If we had needed to notify e-Borders of our destination, we might have told them it was to be Cherbourg... but in fact, our intention was to make a decision, once within about 20 miles of Brittany, of whether to go to the better shelter of Cherbourg itself, or if the sea was settled and the crew fresh enough, we would anchor overnight at Omonville or Anse St Martin and have a shorter, easier-to-time passage to the Alderney race. As it happened, we plumped for Omonville. Surprise, surprise, no mobile phone reception, let alone internet availability, until we arrived the following day in St Peter Port, rather too late to notify anyone of our intentions in advance!
So, rather later in the Summer, time to head for home. Come the 18th of August, we were in Camaret, and decided to head that day for l'Aber Wrac'h, and cross to Cornwall the following day. The thing is, once we had had a lovely easy run in near-perfect conditions through the Chenal du Four, we thought we might just as well stay out at sea and get the long crossing over with... so that is just what we did, although 24 hours earlier we had no idea that we might do so. Arriving in the early hours of the following morning in the Helford River... surprise, surprise, no mobile phone reception, let alone internet availability to advise anyone of our spontaneous return to the UK.
The thing is, we are very ordinary cruising sailors, having very ordinary family holidays aboard our very special family boat, and I don't quite understand how the e-Borders notification system is planning to take account of people like us. I hope the RYA training types will not purse their lips too severely at our apparently haphazard, spur-of-the-moment navigation decisions. I don't happen to think that any of our decisions and changes-of-mind represented poor seamanship; many of them were made out at sea, and in the light of actual sea conditions and developing weather forecasts... but are we to be permitted to make such decisions in future?
The legislation as it stands at the moment "requires data to be submitted in an electronic format" -- it may be that a means of filing passage-plans (and changes of plan) via VHF through the coastguard operators might be offered, but otherwise, where do we all go from here? I fully understand that the UK Border Agency has no wish to place an undue burden on cruising sailors -- just wondering how on earth it will all work in *real life,* ten miles out to sea, potentially in sea conditions where spending even a few minutes down below to make a VHF call could be pretty uncomfortable?
Happy sailing,
Piers Snell.
