Going to Calais - any tips?

Ianqv

Ianqv

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Hi All,

We are planning a trip to Calais at the end of July - So I thought I would start to brush up on our passage planning nice n early.
It all looks pretty much straight forward (I mean, what could possibly go wrong!!! :eek: ).

I haven't been in to Calais for a number of years. I hear the lock gates have gone!! Can you still only get in 2 hours before high tide / at high tide / and one hour after?

Any other tips would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Ian and Sarah
 
The lock gates have indeed been removed and a cill installed in their place. As before the Bridge opening times control when you can enter or leave the marina (http://www.cote-dopale.com/tourisme/ouverture-du-pont-henri-h2non-de-calais/)

When the cill was installed a couple of years back it was rather shallow on the visitors' pontoon but IIRC they have dredged the marina to improve the depths.
 
I was there last weekend, and the old visitors’ pontoon was a bit shallow at low water from what I could see, they say the mud is soft and you sink in, and to be fair I have not seen anyone struggle, but I cannot confirm this from personal experience

In any event pretty academic as there are a series of finger pontoons now just past this which are for visitors which you can generally get into

I also noticed that the lock times on the web site and the lock times on their paper they hand out when you book in did seem to vary by about 10 minutes, no idea why
 
Advice for a visit to Calais

My advice is based on a visit in a friend's boat many years ago.

If the only place available to tie up is against a fishing boat, do try to find one that looks like it hoses it's decks down from time to time otherwise you'll be near retching all night.

Don't stay up until 1am doing the passage planning for the next day's long trip.

When you are woken by the engine of said fishing boat firing up at 4am, don't worry about rushing on deck, with the skipper's wife in her nightie, ready to cast off, as the crew may then clear off again for three quarters of an hour leaving the boat engine running and an all night radio station blaring out.

Do not attempt to snatch some breakfast while they are gone, as the combination of rotten fish smell and dense diesel exhaust fumes will make it difficult to keep down.

When the fishing boat crew do return do not waste breath trying to greet, apologise to, or coordinate movements with them, because they may prefer to try to pretend you do not exist.

When you do finally give up and having got the harbour master's clearance to exit the port hear a garbled and incomprehensible message from the Tannoy as you pass the control tower, do not guiltily assume he is castigating you for your partially failed nav lights and take the time to radio to see if he has changed his mind or overestimated your speed as he may be trying to tell you that you are just about to encounter an impressively fast and wide incoming ferry, and that being squeezed between that and the harbour wall will be memorable.

Have a great trip!
 
Calais, actually one of my favourite trips from Harwich.

Navigationally, there's not much to trip you up. The Ridens de la Rade (sp?) sandbanks just outside the entrance are shallow and can create very rough seas if there's a strong W/NW blowing. In which case, rather than cut directly acress to CA6 you might be well advised to cross near to the western end (somewhere near CA2).

Obviously, keep a good watch out for the ferries.

If you like a good night, then the yacht club can get really busy on a Fri/Sat night as the locals use it as a venue. We've had some _very_ noisy nights in there :D:D. Best not to plan a return crossing the next day in that case... :rolleyes:

There used to bea great wine shop (now gone) that delivered you and your purchases to the marina. Other than a modest supermarket (on the square behind the seafront) we haven't found a proper warehouse arrangement within easy distance.

There are plenty of good eating / drinking places as you walk away from the marina into the town. The classic moules/frites is always a favourite with the crew.
 
A nice easy little hop over from Ramsgate of Dover, both ports I like.

There's not much to do in Calais but at least it's not a marina in the middle of no-where. Oh, and beware the dog mess in the street. Even those little rat-on-a-string handbag dogs manage quite a bit and no-one scoops.

Make sure you have plenty of empty water bottles to fill up with cheap plonk at the place on the left of the square as you go up. Go in the morning and he'll deliver it to your boat same day for no charge. And a very cheeky little red it was at 1.75 euro a litre.

Ther are some pretty good bars on the square if you like lively places.

Edit;;

What, the wine shop clsed down since last year!!??

Sacred blue and mon diu!

In that case, forget Calais and press on to Boulogne sur Mere.
 
Last edited:
bendyone said:
On the square just by the supermarket :confused:
Click to expand...

:confused: Indeed. I can only assume that it must have re-opened under new management. Last time I was there was Oct '10 and TBH we didn't bother with wine much. Maybe it was open then. Prior to that would have been Oct '09. Must be my bad...
 
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