Ferries; actual routes

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pcatterall

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We will shortly be doing our first channel crossing ( Solent to Le-Havre)

Crew are rather concerned about all the shipping ( we are based in a quieter area!!)
We should have AIS and most of the trip will be in the daylight.

Apart from crossing the shipping lanes there is also concern about the many Ferries.
Is there info available in chart form which shows the routes actually taken by the ferries when out of the channels. Or can I just draw a straight line between channel entrances at either side of the channel!! I was thinking of an AIS based track plot or similar.
I do have my road map of course!!

Yes I know that there is no substitute for MK 1 Eyballs but I want to demonstrate to the crew that we have all the info available.
Cheers
 
pcatterall said:
We will shortly be doing our first channel crossing ( Solent to Le-Havre)

Crew are rather concerned about all the shipping ( we are based in a quieter area!!)
We should have AIS and most of the trip will be in the daylight.

Apart from crossing the shipping lanes there is also concern about the many Ferries.
Is there info available in chart form which shows the routes actually taken by the ferries when out of the channels. Or can I just draw a straight line between channel entrances at either side of the channel!! I was thinking of an AIS based track plot or similar.
I do have my road map of course!!


Yes I know that there is no substitute for MK 1 Eyballs but I want to demonstrate to the crew that we have all the info available.
Cheers
Click to expand...

Just go & enjoy it, we first crossed with
charts
compass
log
& dividers protractor & a pencil
 
I think their exact track tends to vary with tide and weather, so it would be a mistake to expect them to be too predictable. They will also be 'deconflicting' with the channel traffic.
Near land they will obviously follow channels, but may not use the really deep channels for the big container ships and VLCC's.
It can be worth noting that certain times are much busier than others, but in good vis, it's not too much to worry about.
 
X-ing times

Further to the the earlier post above about busier and quieter times, I always try to plan my crossing to be mid crossing at slack water. That way I miss the big group of down-channel traffic that rides the ebb tide down from Rotterdam; likewise missing the up-tide traffic that rides the flood tide up to Rotterdam etc.

It was only recently that I realised just how much fuel is saved by VLCCs by doing this. I'm sure it was ever thus, but the cost of fuel has exacerbated the need to find economy!

Enjoy it and have a great trip.

J
 
sailorman said:
Just go & enjoy it, we first crossed with
charts
compass
log
& dividers protractor & a pencil
Click to expand...

Ditto + thick fog closing Le Havre! :eek: Now that WAS interesting but I'm not sure that my crew-mate standing on the bow blowing his little brass fog-horn was too impressed! :D
 
In reality, unless you're up the Dover end, there aren't that many of them. A few a day from Newhaven, Portsmouth, Poole. Get hold of the times for your nearest ferry ports and you'll know when to look out for them. The only really sneaky one I'm aware of is Brittany Ferries Spanish service, which comes along the SE coast of the IOW and pops up quite close inshore in the vicinity of Dunnose.

Where are you going from and to?
 
Last edited:
pcatterall said:
We will shortly be doing our first channel crossing ( Solent to Le-Havre)

Crew are rather concerned about all the shipping ( we are based in a quieter area!!)
We should have AIS and most of the trip will be in the daylight.

Apart from crossing the shipping lanes there is also concern about the many Ferries.
Is there info available in chart form which shows the routes actually taken by the ferries when out of the channels. Or can I just draw a straight line between channel entrances at either side of the channel!! I was thinking of an AIS based track plot or similar.
I do have my road map of course!!

Yes I know that there is no substitute for MK 1 Eyballs but I want to demonstrate to the crew that we have all the info available.
Cheers
Click to expand...

If you are going out the eastern end you really only have two routes to worry about - Portsmouth/ Le Havre and Caen, both of which will be following a similar course to you (or reciprocal). The ones that give most frights are the Portsmouth Cherbourg/St Malo/CIs/Spain, as they go diagonally, but once you are clear of the Solent they won't bother you.

The Up/down channel traffic is very predictable and easily avoidable. Like many others did it for years with just eyeball. AIS is good confirmation of eyeball
 
Ferries are very much a fact of life on the Firth of Clyde, and plough across pretty predictable bits of sea on very frequent crossings. They aren't constrained by narrow channels in the Clyde, nor is there a vast amount of other commercial traffic, and tidal streams are slight. Despite this, they DO vary their tracks quite significantly; often to avoid small-craft.

Is this the time to wish for a setting on the chart-plotter that says "Don't tell me about AIS targets that I already know about"? The CalMac ferries are the main cause of the AIS alarm going off, and I know when to expect them!
 
Hazymoonshine thank you writing that it's one of the most obvious points about crossing the TSS which I had never thought of and I haven't seen it elsewhere. Is it in books like the Shell Channel Pilot etc? If not it should be! Well done any more tips? Cheers Jerry
 
jerrytug said:
Hazymoonshine thank you writing that it's one of the most obvious points about crossing the TSS which I had never thought of and I haven't seen it elsewhere. Is it in books like the Shell Channel Pilot etc? If not it should be! Well done any more tips? Cheers Jerry
Click to expand...

I'd be more concerned about getting the tide I want from my point of departure, rather than it being slack mid-channel.
 
Get the risks into proportion. The ferries might be big but the sea area is huge by comparison. Even completely blind ( and I dont suggest you try it) you would have to cross the channel many many times before hitting one.

You dont need AIS and I'm not even sure that it is better than eyesight and a hand bearing compass. Either way, dont increase your stress by wittering about collisions with ferries - keep a good look out and ferries are a non risk.
 
wotayottie said:
Get the risks into proportion. The ferries might be big but the sea area is huge by comparison. Even completely blind ( and I dont suggest you try it) you would have to cross the channel many many times before hitting one.

You dont need AIS and I'm not even sure that it is better than eyesight and a hand bearing compass. Either way, dont increase your stress by wittering about collisions with ferries - keep a good look out and ferries are a non risk.
Click to expand...

That's right.
 
Solent to LeHavre is quite a trek compared to Solent to Cherbourg or St Vaast. I'd consider breaking the journey, not least because I like St Vaast, if I was not confident of getting enough rest on the way over. Depends on the crew really.
 
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