Holland to England - advice needed

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I am buying a Jaguar 25 in Holland and will sail it back in the spring, I will be coming back with an experienced skipper, but I hear various routes, the boat is on the Isselmeer and will be coming to the Thames Estuary, I am told that the best way is canals to Flushing coast to Ostend, then Ostend to Ramsgate or straight onto The Thames Estuary. The skipper has said it is better to sail down to Calais for a much quicker crossing, but then it must be an extra 6 hour from Ostend, to Calais - opinions please

Many thanks.
 
Came back direct from canal exit to Queenborough earlier this year, albeit in a 34 footer. Given the right conditions I can't see any problems with that direct route. Yanita's your man though.
 
Amsterdam > Vlissingen 3 to 4 days, the Haarlem route will be easier than the Amsterdam night passage.
the Gouda rail bridge can be a hold-up so check the opening times carefully
there is a "Nautic Ring" chart that gives the mast-up routes that is more that adequate for navigating the canal sections of the trip
Vlissingen > Oostende generally to windward could well take you 8 > 10 hrs ( a shorter distance might be better & stop-over in Blankenburge ) then miss-out Oostende & proceed to Niewpoort, this will give you a shorter leg to Ramsgate.
i don't think you will achieve speeds to get from Oostende to Calais in 6 hrs as its almost certainly s/westerly winds i.e windward.
anyway if you haven't "done Holland" before why rush it as the boat is already there.
have a really nice trip
roger
 
Whenever I've done Holland and back I've always gone from Harwich to Ramsgate to Calais to Breskens/Vlissingen or Ramsgate direct to Breskens/Vlissingen. Coming back I've always gone direct from Breskens/Vlissingen to Harwich. If you look in the Brian Navins book of teh North Sea & Holland he gives several alternative routes.
 
Every route you have been told will be a possibility depending on wind direction/strength and sea state.......... so plan for all.
Your skipper's prefered option down to Calais will not be pleasant in prevailing SW as already stated. If SW then Breskens/Vlissingen to Ramsgate, from memory, may be a close-hauled option if you time the tides to give you an overall southerly push. But, again from memory, this is approx. 90 nM so 18 hour option if you can make VMG of 5 knots. Only ever done this in boats 29ft plus so can't comment on feasibilty in a 25 footer.
I hope the wind gods are kind /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Paul.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I am told that the best way is canals to Flushing coast to Ostend, then Ostend to Ramsgate or straight onto The Thames Estuary. The skipper has said it is better to sail down to Calais for a much quicker crossing, but then it must be an extra 6 hour from Ostend, to Calais - opinions please

[/ QUOTE ]

Would opt for the Ostend-Ramsgate route any time. Continuing on to Calais will take at least an extra six hours, but it will only shave about 4 hours of your crossing time.

Also, Ostend is a good run ashore, Calais' a bit of a sh*thole.
 
I've taken a 23 footer from the Orwell to Den Helder single handed for 30 hours. A bit tiring at the end. Returned from IJmuiden straight into the Crouch, only 24 hours - a bit easier. Unless you really want to go down the Dutch/Belgian coast I can't see the problem with coming straight across. If you do come straight across be aware of the oil rigs and treat the Deep Water route as you would the TSS.
 
Agree with all comments. But being Dutch, I know that many Dutsch yachts have a mast that can be easily lowered. If that's the case forget the mast-up route if you really want to go to vlissingen. There are plenty of other, easier, and much faster canal routes to choose from. If you need any advice on this, just send PM

cheers and have fun
 
In an unfamiliar boat the coastal skip would be my option at least if you have a problem you are closer to help .The short legs as suggested by Sailorman sound just the ticket with a small change and head for Dunkirk, a little closer and not as busy as Calais. A short crossing to Ramsgate then up to the Crouch.
You will enjoy the trip much more than a 100 mile slog.

NAS has suggested an East Coast Jolly over to Oostend in May, you could always tag on to the return trip.
 
Depends what sort of a cruise you have in mind. Your biggest problem by a wide margin is the amount of shipping you will encounter, much more worrying in the dark.

There is a distinct advantage in crossing direct from Ijmuiden to Lowestoft or a little further south. That is that the traffic separation scheme finishes south of the line you will follow and more than 50% of the shipping is going into the Maas, so your route will be considerably quieter. There are 'recommended routes' for shipping going north of the Maas and they mostly seem to stick to these. I have crossed Schevening - Lowestoft, Stellendam - Calais and Stellendam - Ramsgate and almost all took something like 20 hours.

My preference for the inshore route is from Stellendam head for the Fairy Bank, giving you a long leg in shallow water where there is no shipping. We normally did this in the dark. From the Fairy buoy cross the shipping channel into the Westerschelde at its narrowest point, to Bergues Buoy. You can then run right down the edge of TSS outside the Ruytingen bank and cross to Calais. Alternatively, from Fairy cross to Hinder and thence to Ramsgate.

If your preference is for coastal cruising and visits, leave either Oostende or Dunkerque and head down the buoyed channel until you can make Sandettie light safely. From there head east of the Goodwins to Ramsgate or into the Thames.
 
Depends entirely on what the forecast wind is.

A lot of good advice here.

If you are lucky enough to get a "slant", with the wind anywhere between NNW and SSE - go straight across from Ijmuiden to Harwich. The route is well lit and you have the great advantage of being North of the shipping lanes into Europoort, although you will still be crossing the Germany/Baltic traffic.

If you are stuck with something between South and West then I would do as I and most of us here have done - get to windward using the canal system - down to Vlissingen, make a day sail to Oostende, and then cross Oostende/Ramsgate for the southern Thames estuary or Oostende/Harwich for the northern Thames estuary.

Allow 3-4 days to get down to Vlissingen. You may as well enjoy it.

I agree that Vlissingen-Oostende is a matter of 8-10 hours and Oostende-Calais is likely to be a good deal more than six hours - but I see no point at all in goimg to Calais!

I agree that you should try to avoid Calais and Dover. Entering and leaving these very busy commercial ports in a small yacht is far more nerve-wracking than making a longer passage away from ships and the land, and neither of them are very lovely, though Dover has made a real effort in recent years.
 
Depends on your crew - how many and how experienced. We did Holland and back this year and with two of us (the other being my missus who's not experienced enough to take a lone watch) the 20 hours from Blackwater to Ostend (and reverse) was too much. We vowed to go to Ramsgate next time and do the trip in shorter hops.

In a 25 footer you'll want to pick a good weather window and sometimes if you have an unfavourable wind for a crossing you can use it to reach down the coast to make the eventual crossing shorter
 
Last time I did that route a few months ago we were in a 42ft brand new racing boat, which didnt have radar and the fog came down mid way having left Rotterdam, so we decided to head for Calais. Had quite a close encounter with a ship!
 
If the weather is fine, go from Amsterdam via the north sea canal direct across, if not via Gouda (the Bridge times changed this year, it opened at 10.30 am and caught me with my trousers down!! so check) the mast up route is a sweat and going your way doesnt start until nearly 3am, whatever way its a long slog to Vlisingen, you are better to go across weather permitting.
 
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Calais' a bit of a sh*thole.

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Second that.....

If you can avoid it, do so.... not only is the town dirty and unpleasant, the only sensible place to tie up is behind a lifting bridge/gate that only opens at certain times of tide (usually dead inconvenient times!) and the port control staff work hard to win the prize for the rudest in Europe....

Picking up on Squidges comments (although I'm not organising it... its the second year... and its kind of self organising.... I was just publicising it)... why don't you tag onto our return trip.... Oostende back direct to the Thames estuary... various locations, including Ipswich, Shotley and Burnham
 
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