BarryH
Well-Known Member
......where would you head for. Spent loads of time "coasting", but this year determied to head for france. What would be the best port to head for leaving from Chichester? I've a couple of ideas but can't make up my mind.
First time across the channel.....
- Thread starter BarryH
- Start date
Ru88ell
Well-Known Member
Put your name down for the Scuttlebutt Cherbourg run in Sept.
BarryH
Well-Known Member
I haven't got the fastest boat in the world! %.9 knots hull speed......on a good, make that, perfect day!
VicS
Well-Known Member
Cherbourg for first time across without doubt. There is a well worn furrow from Chi to Cherbourg
Maybe not the nicest place to stay for long but easy to find , easy to enter sheltered and not a bad jumping off place for Alderney , CIs and Brittany .
Need to be confident with the approach re tides etc and have decent engine if heading for Alderney
Want to go east perhaps head for St Vaast but entry times are limited. Or Le Havre. Again easy entry etc but not a pleasant place to stay
Honfleur is a place not to be missed if you go that way.
Topcat47
Well-Known Member
The trick is to arrive uptide from Cherbourg. I plan on a 14 hour crossing from Nab or Yarmouth and time my departure so that I arrive with six hours of favourable tide. I've done it in 11 hours once but normally it's 14 - 16 unless I get the tides wrong. Secondary ports are St Vaast or Alderney but both take a lot longer if you get Cherbourg wrong. I use the Eastern Entrance if possible as it keeps me out of the way of the ferries, but only if it's the closer of the two when I close on the harbour.
Le Havre has a prohibited zone for small boats on the approaches and it's a major industrial port so you'll get a lot more big traffic. Fecamp would be better if you insist on going East from Chi although I'd recommend navigating the approaches in daylight, with a HH GPS and waypoints for a first attempt. I have problems identifying it until I get quite close in.
+1 for Honfleur but it can be a tricky approach for a small vessel even with the tide.
Le Havre has a prohibited zone for small boats on the approaches and it's a major industrial port so you'll get a lot more big traffic. Fecamp would be better if you insist on going East from Chi although I'd recommend navigating the approaches in daylight, with a HH GPS and waypoints for a first attempt. I have problems identifying it until I get quite close in.
+1 for Honfleur but it can be a tricky approach for a small vessel even with the tide.
capnsensible
Well-Known Member
Cherbourg. Definately. You will not regret that!
prv
Well-Known Member
colhel
Well-Known Member
The Schuttlebutt is organised in September. However there was suggestion of running one earlier in the season. Sailfree and Fergus organise the September one, I hope to catch up with them both soon to discuss an earlier run. Just waiting for the call to meet up in the Mallet.
greggron
Well-Known Member
Ok, as another person who is a cross channel virgin (with ambition) can I ask, from Portsmouth is it feasible to cross to Cherbourg via Nab or will I have to get some westing and leave the Solent from the Needles?
Small boat Sadler 25
Thanks
Small boat Sadler 25
Thanks
oldbilbo
...
'Tis certainly feasible. Lots do it each year. Some will be along soon to guide you when to leave with respect to tides, etc. Others will warn of the hazards regarding inadequate lookout and avoidance of close encounters with commercial shipping.
Both of these considerations are not to be worried about - simply deal with them sensibly. Enjoi!
ps. We're all cross-channel virgins at least once....
Bav34
...
Tide is everything.
If you arrive at Bembridge Ledge buoy at HW you will be swept down the IOW in a lovely SW direction. Setting off into a flood tide means you'll just get pushed back. Look at the shape of the IOW and you can see that the tide won't actually be on your beam ... you'll be punching into it.
As already said, you MUST arrive uptide of Cherbourg for the same reason.
I usually aim 5 miles uptide and bear away the closer I get ... you really don't know when you set off exactly when you'll arrive despite what your GPS says.
I, and many friends, have ended up down tide of the entrances at 2 on the morning and it takes HOURS at the worst point of the journey to get back uptide. Bearing away is easy.
Ideally aim for a neap tide crossing. Firstly the tide isn't so strong and you have the benefit of a '6 to 6' crossing as opposed to a 12 to 12 spring tide one.
Brilliant feeling when you arrive for the first time
If you arrive at Bembridge Ledge buoy at HW you will be swept down the IOW in a lovely SW direction. Setting off into a flood tide means you'll just get pushed back. Look at the shape of the IOW and you can see that the tide won't actually be on your beam ... you'll be punching into it.
As already said, you MUST arrive uptide of Cherbourg for the same reason.
I usually aim 5 miles uptide and bear away the closer I get ... you really don't know when you set off exactly when you'll arrive despite what your GPS says.
I, and many friends, have ended up down tide of the entrances at 2 on the morning and it takes HOURS at the worst point of the journey to get back uptide. Bearing away is easy.
Ideally aim for a neap tide crossing. Firstly the tide isn't so strong and you have the benefit of a '6 to 6' crossing as opposed to a 12 to 12 spring tide one.
Brilliant feeling when you arrive for the first time
Bav34
...
That's down to wind direction.
In a SW it can make a lot of sense to go down to Yarmouth and then leave via The Needles.
Any W or NW ... Bembridge.
Sailfree
Well-Known Member
Aim for neaps as with any E or W in the wind you get bigger waves with spring tides and a wind over tide situation. You are welcome to join the scuttlebutt Cherbourg cruise which is 14th September. Boats vary from 46' to 24' with the majority circa 30'. I send a spread sheet to personal e mail addresses which usually included mobile nos a VHF channel and departure ports and times. That way newbees (and we all were newbees once) can contact others and sail in contact with similar speed boats. You can also check your pasage planning.
On my first X channel my friend argued (wrongly) that we should aim to offset the tide - at that time I knew no better - when we were bucking the tide we made little progress across the channel. He posted on here after and got the correct advice! Work out a rough passage plan and add up strength and direction of tide for each hour. Tides are much stronger off the French coast hence the need to arrive up tide. If the aggregate of the tides would leave you say 5Nm to the West of cherbourg (if you had aimed directly for Cherbourg) then aim straight for a point 5Nm to the east of Cherbourg. Plot your anticipated course _ it will be a S curve as tide takes you E and then W and check actual course against expected position when half way across. From I of W its roughly 60Nm so if you can do a passage at 5kts its 12hrs which tends to balance the tides. In a 36' I planned at 5kts so I expect you will be slower. I prefer to plan pessimistically.
You could always state on Scuttlebutt forum in advance a day you want to try a x channel and ask if any other boats of similar size will be going from your port at similar time.
From Portsmouth I would go via Bembrige ledge (not as far out a Nab) and with tide round the I of W. If you want to make a longer duration trip, or there is a bit of S in the wind, go to Yarmouth and anchor/use buoy outside for the first night. Go out the needles with the tide and its shoots you out with an extra 5-6kts hull speed. Aim to arrive in a new port in Daylight.
Take note of weather and avoid any risk of fog. You will cross effectively two shipping lanes as ships are controlled at both ends of the channel. Personally I never cross in front of a big ship within 2mls of its heading but find most ships track you on their Radar and make a small deviation when they are a long way off but I have had to give way on a few occasions - sometimes as what the ship considers a safe distance I did not!
Sorry if my comments are teaching my Grandmother to suck eggs but other newbees may find them useful.
Good luck and enjoy - I can still remember my first x channel to Braye, Aldernay and the pride I felt.
On my first X channel my friend argued (wrongly) that we should aim to offset the tide - at that time I knew no better - when we were bucking the tide we made little progress across the channel. He posted on here after and got the correct advice! Work out a rough passage plan and add up strength and direction of tide for each hour. Tides are much stronger off the French coast hence the need to arrive up tide. If the aggregate of the tides would leave you say 5Nm to the West of cherbourg (if you had aimed directly for Cherbourg) then aim straight for a point 5Nm to the east of Cherbourg. Plot your anticipated course _ it will be a S curve as tide takes you E and then W and check actual course against expected position when half way across. From I of W its roughly 60Nm so if you can do a passage at 5kts its 12hrs which tends to balance the tides. In a 36' I planned at 5kts so I expect you will be slower. I prefer to plan pessimistically.
You could always state on Scuttlebutt forum in advance a day you want to try a x channel and ask if any other boats of similar size will be going from your port at similar time.
From Portsmouth I would go via Bembrige ledge (not as far out a Nab) and with tide round the I of W. If you want to make a longer duration trip, or there is a bit of S in the wind, go to Yarmouth and anchor/use buoy outside for the first night. Go out the needles with the tide and its shoots you out with an extra 5-6kts hull speed. Aim to arrive in a new port in Daylight.
Take note of weather and avoid any risk of fog. You will cross effectively two shipping lanes as ships are controlled at both ends of the channel. Personally I never cross in front of a big ship within 2mls of its heading but find most ships track you on their Radar and make a small deviation when they are a long way off but I have had to give way on a few occasions - sometimes as what the ship considers a safe distance I did not!
Sorry if my comments are teaching my Grandmother to suck eggs but other newbees may find them useful.
Good luck and enjoy - I can still remember my first x channel to Braye, Aldernay and the pride I felt.
Last edited:
Seajet
...
I usually get some Westing in to deal with the SW winds, so often set off from Lymington, Yarmouth or Studland.
jerrytug
N/A
Hello mate if you sail around the coast you won't find the channel a technical challenge. What you will find is massive fulfilment excitement pride and wanderlust which might become habit-forming! Have a nice one and remember the incredible history and what's occurred in our "narrow seas" all the best Jerry.
Giblets
Well-Known Member
I seem to recall "steer 180 from the Needles" at 6 knots for 10 hours gets one to Cherbourg.
Seajet
...
Giblets,
to be pedantic, if doing that one would ideally time it to have equal amounts of tide one way and the other...
laika
Well-Known Member
Not especially to add anything but just to agree with what others have said...
You want to aim to make the first crossing as short and enjoyable as possible. Cherbourg is not only closest to the solent, it's also a super-easy, all-weather all-tide entrance. Well lit, plenty of space to get the sails down and bars which stay open fairly late.
I'm with seajet on getting the west in the day before to minimise the actual crossing time (Edit: as per john_morris_uk's post #19, wind depending). Not only is cherbourg difficult from chichester in the prevailing south-westerlies, it's also further from the eastern end of the solent than from the western (meaure it!). Spend the night somewhere you can escape from quickly and reliably (ie not inside Yarmouth where a late night arrival may raft against you). Some people advocate anchoring in the lee of hurst spit. It's a slog in a small boat from chichester to studland but if you can do it, you might be rewarded with a better wind angle and more departure time options. You could also decide to head for Alderney from there if it wasn't for having to row ashore and find somewhere to post your darned C1331.
Old hands often advocate a night crossing and dawn arrival to take navigational advantage of lights, but for a first time I think there's a big psychological advantage in an all-daylight crossing. Consider waiting until towards midsummer when the days are long and the risk of fog is receding and aim to leave at or just before first light (tides permitting). If it all goes horribly wrong, Cherbourg is an easy night entrance.
You want to aim to make the first crossing as short and enjoyable as possible. Cherbourg is not only closest to the solent, it's also a super-easy, all-weather all-tide entrance. Well lit, plenty of space to get the sails down and bars which stay open fairly late.
I'm with seajet on getting the west in the day before to minimise the actual crossing time (Edit: as per john_morris_uk's post #19, wind depending). Not only is cherbourg difficult from chichester in the prevailing south-westerlies, it's also further from the eastern end of the solent than from the western (meaure it!). Spend the night somewhere you can escape from quickly and reliably (ie not inside Yarmouth where a late night arrival may raft against you). Some people advocate anchoring in the lee of hurst spit. It's a slog in a small boat from chichester to studland but if you can do it, you might be rewarded with a better wind angle and more departure time options. You could also decide to head for Alderney from there if it wasn't for having to row ashore and find somewhere to post your darned C1331.
Old hands often advocate a night crossing and dawn arrival to take navigational advantage of lights, but for a first time I think there's a big psychological advantage in an all-daylight crossing. Consider waiting until towards midsummer when the days are long and the risk of fog is receding and aim to leave at or just before first light (tides permitting). If it all goes horribly wrong, Cherbourg is an easy night entrance.
Last edited:
john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
I agree with lots of what others have said.
Except that whether you leave from the Needles of Nab depends on the wind and the forecast in my book.
Don't worry about waiting for mid summer, set out in the dark and go for it. If the weather is fair, don't be put off because its not neaps either.
Try and get some rest en-route. Just make sure that the crew know how to take bearings of ships and call you if anything starts to get them worried. Despite what lots of people say, most ships will avoid you - but that's no excuse for assuming anything.... I also don't want to open a can of worms with that comment!
Being up tide and up wind is a really good tip. A good tip for re-assessing how things are going is to review your course every time you half the distance to go. By the time you've halved it a couple of times (and had a look to see where the tides are likely to be taking you as you approach you will be much happier with your passage.
Notwithstanding the above remember that its a lot quicker to work out a course to steer for the whole passage and NOT to try and sail down the rhumb line. Just allow your boat to be set one way and another by the tide. Just because its usually about 12 hours DOESN'T mean that the tidal set will cancel each other out. The tide is stronger on the French side, so keep an eye on the tidal stream atlas for optimal results. Start out steering a steady course and just review how things are going every now and again. Sometimes I will admit to being lazy and setting out and working out the accurate course to steer once we're underway.
Don't let any of the above put you off. Just go for it with your sensible hat on and you will enjoy the trip.
St Vaast is certainly a good port or refuge to the East and Omonville is OK in settled weather to the West. But as I have already said. don't worry as with only a little bit of care, you will make Cherbourg. Whatever others might say about its lack of charm, its foreign for the first time and there's nothing like the feeling you get when breaking out the courtesy ensign for the first time on your own boat. I still remember it thirty or more years later.
Except that whether you leave from the Needles of Nab depends on the wind and the forecast in my book.
Don't worry about waiting for mid summer, set out in the dark and go for it. If the weather is fair, don't be put off because its not neaps either.
Try and get some rest en-route. Just make sure that the crew know how to take bearings of ships and call you if anything starts to get them worried. Despite what lots of people say, most ships will avoid you - but that's no excuse for assuming anything.... I also don't want to open a can of worms with that comment!
Being up tide and up wind is a really good tip. A good tip for re-assessing how things are going is to review your course every time you half the distance to go. By the time you've halved it a couple of times (and had a look to see where the tides are likely to be taking you as you approach you will be much happier with your passage.
Notwithstanding the above remember that its a lot quicker to work out a course to steer for the whole passage and NOT to try and sail down the rhumb line. Just allow your boat to be set one way and another by the tide. Just because its usually about 12 hours DOESN'T mean that the tidal set will cancel each other out. The tide is stronger on the French side, so keep an eye on the tidal stream atlas for optimal results. Start out steering a steady course and just review how things are going every now and again. Sometimes I will admit to being lazy and setting out and working out the accurate course to steer once we're underway.
Don't let any of the above put you off. Just go for it with your sensible hat on and you will enjoy the trip.
St Vaast is certainly a good port or refuge to the East and Omonville is OK in settled weather to the West. But as I have already said. don't worry as with only a little bit of care, you will make Cherbourg. Whatever others might say about its lack of charm, its foreign for the first time and there's nothing like the feeling you get when breaking out the courtesy ensign for the first time on your own boat. I still remember it thirty or more years later.
Last edited:
chubby
Well-Known Member
You can cut an hour or so off the trip by going to Bembridge first as a bit of a shake down from Chi then to Cherbourg, definately a good first destination and not a bad place to visit, if you leave at first light in the summer you should be able to do the crossing in daylight
