How long takes to Sail from Cork (IRE) to London (UK)?

[AntarcticPilot]

Give me a break. The issue of sailing veracity has been raised, fair enough. There are other veracities, too. Anyone absolutely having to get from Cork to London by boat in three days, for a reason weighty enough to merit a film, isn't going to give a stuff about the TSS. Next you'll expect car chases to be conducted at legal speeds...

Except that TSS zones are monitored by radar, as by definition they are busy sea areas, and a boat that violates it CAN be tracked and prosecuted. There are real cases of this for the Dover TSS; don't know about the Lands End one.

 

[johnalison]

It took us 24hrs motoring against the swell of a dying depression to motor from Cork to Tesco in a 34ft boat. The next day with a fair wind might have taken us past Dartmouth and from there maybe a day and a half to get somewhere approaching London. My boat takes 72hrs of fuel in theory, so mooring much of the way wouldn't be a problem. What I don't think has been mentioned is that progress East in the Channel is greatly helped by the tides. You can carry th tide for 10 or more hours in the eastern part, so 7 knots may be quite easy to achieve for a decent boat.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

It took us 24hrs motoring against the swell of a dying depression to motor from Cork to Tesco in a 34ft boat. The next day with a fair wind might have taken us past Dartmouth and from there maybe a day and a half to get somewhere approaching London. My boat takes 72hrs of fuel in theory, so mooring much of the way wouldn't be a problem. What I don't think has been mentioned is that progress East in the Channel is greatly helped by the tides. You can carry th tide for 10 or more hours in the eastern part, so 7 knots may be quite easy to achieve for a decent boat.

The protagonist will not be motoring, see Post#1.

 

[macd]

Except that TSS zones are monitored by radar, as by definition they are busy sea areas, and a boat that violates it CAN be tracked and prosecuted. There are real cases of this for the Dover TSS; don't know about the Lands End one.

Many road traffic offences can also be tracked. Doesn't stop people committing them, often habitually. The world in which everyone complies with rules is the improbably one, whether in fiction or in fact.

Clearly we don't know the reason for the character's boaty rush to London, but I doubt it's to have a haircut.

 

[flaming]

To do that what you want is a class 40 and a bucket of SW breeze that slowly tracks to the S or just east of South to coincide with your arrival at Dover. And a skipper who has experience in pushing such a boat quite hard. You could probably do it in 2 days then... Less if he talked the full race crew into coming with him and "sending it".

Perhaps your protagonist just happened to want to leave when the Round Ireland race had just finished and a Class 40 had just arrived back in cork which he steals or borrows, or talks the crew into taking him... But as it's just finished the race there's almost no fuel on board. Would need a little bit of artistic licence, as the Round Ireland doesn't actually start and finish in Cork.... Or maybe it's a fastnet year and the Class 40 has retired into Cork with damage...
Or something more like a conventional cruiser racer which would fit in with Cork Week rather than the Round Ireland race. But take a touch longer.

As for adversities the biggest one would be fatigue as others have mentioned, unless he's not singlehanded. Halyard breaking is always a good one, as is picking up fishing gear. If he's supposed to be incognito then the border force cutters can be pretty active in the Thames Estuary (many of us have been boarded).

 

[shaunksb]

Hi everybody, Thanks so much for all replies and ideas.
I see that my question generated debate so let’s try to get more specific without giving up the main plot of the story.

a) Its Summer, date would be 19/20/21/22 of June 2017/2018 no matters.

b) He is not alone, there are 2 (1 woman 40’s/ 1 man 50’s) experienced sailors, two other adults who like me, without any experience sailing, would they be able to quick learn and sail in turns? (Yes, the two experienced sailors would work in turns having one none sailor with them each) And a 12-years-old girl (daughter of the two experienced sailors).

c) I liked very much the idea of make the use of a Catamaran, but in my story there’s an “Easter Egg”(Hidden reference) to a classic one hull boat, however if there no way one hull boat to make the journey in 3 days tops, then I would change the boat to a Catamaran. Would a 2012 Leopard 46 make it? (Two good sailors with two helpers could manage it in three days with a sporty 40' monohull boat)

d) I’ll mislead you but the result will be all the same: Let’s say they passed thru an interdenominational portal and in this process every single ELECTRONIC equipment is FRIED DEAD! No mobile phones, no GPS and No boat’s electric/electronic systems, they have only the sails and the good old magnetic compass. Would be possible to make the boat’s engines run without any electronic equipment support? (Smaller older boats could be started by hand but newer bigger ones can't. - If the engine was already running when the elecy went off it would stay running)

e) Previously I’ve thought to them sailing a straight line to Wales and then, like some of you suggested, they would hit the road to London, but for the story line sake that would not work. So, they would be sailing to London, but again, after my writings last night they will leave the boat in Margate(UK) and from there hit the road to London. (I was only joking about Margate )

Again, thanks for your help, I’m overwhelmed with your interest.

I will take time later tonight to reply each one of your post (and I see I have a PM too) individually.

Talk later,
Mark.

 

[john_morris_uk]

No mention so far of the Traffic Separation Scheme off Lands End.

Sailing from Cork to London the boat would encounter first a South-going lane 3 Miles wide and later a North-going lane also 3 miles wide.
Those lanes must be crossed with the boat's heading exactly east, not its track but its heading.

Thus, when approaching Lands End, the skipper must know where his boat is, either by using GPS, or a log, or by dead reckoning.

Ahem. See my post No 7 above

 

[john_morris_uk]

Hi everybody, Thanks so much for all replies and ideas.
I see that my question generated debate so let’s try to get more specific without giving up the main plot of the story.

a) Its Summer, date would be 19/20/21/22 of June 2017/2018 no matters.

b) He is not alone, there are 2 (1 woman 40’s/ 1 man 50’s) experienced sailors, two other adults who like me, without any experience sailing, would they be able to quick learn and sail in turns? And a 12-years-old girl (daughter of the two experienced sailors).

c) I liked very much the idea of make the use of a Catamaran, but in my story there’s an “Easter Egg”(Hidden reference) to a classic one hull boat, however if there no way one hull boat to make the journey in 3 days tops, then I would change the boat to a Catamaran. Would a 2012 Leopard 46 make it?

d) I’ll mislead you but the result will be all the same: Let’s say they passed thru an interdenominational portal and in this process every single ELECTRONIC equipment is FRIED DEAD! No mobile phones, no GPS and No boat’s electric/electronic systems, they have only the sails and the good old magnetic compass. Would be possible to make the boat’s engines run without any electronic equipment support?

e) Previously I’ve thought to them sailing a straight line to Wales and then, like some of you suggested, they would hit the road to London, but for the story line sake that would not work. So, they would be sailing to London, but again, after my writings last night they will leave the boat in Margate(UK) and from there hit the road to London.

Again, thanks for your help, I’m overwhelmed with your interest.

I will take time later tonight to reply each one of your post (and I see I have a PM too) individually.

Talk later,
Mark.

Assuming the boat is tramping along under autopilot, the two inexperienced adults could easily be taught to watch out for shipping and call one of the more experienced sailors as appropriate.

The 12 year old might be able to stand watch by herself as well. (Ours could when they weren't much older.)

Sailing to London from Cork without any electronics except a magnetic compass is entirely feasible. Let them drag an old mechanical "Walker Log' from the back of a locker. It's how people navigated all the time until a few years ago. I still have one on our boat 'just in case'. They look like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Walker-Knotmaster-Mk-IIIa-KDO-trailing-Log-/263831286306 and work entirely without batteries.

 

[Rafiki]

Now we understand that this isn't singlehanded it all becomes a bit more plausible and a non-stop dash with good winds would make it possible , but suggest you stop at Dover where there is now a fast train to London using the same route as Eurostar. AS others have said a strong SW wind to blow the yacht along the channel isn't ideal once you round the corner to go up the Thames Estuary hence the decision to stop at Dover ( where there is a large yacht marine for visitors)
I know you said no-motoring, but yachts either use their engines or a separate generator to re-charge batteries. It would be entirely believable for their to be a fuel blockage caused by the so-called diesel bug which caused engine to stop and batteries to gradually go flat, then lights, fridge etc have to be turned off to save the batteries for the instruments - this raises the spectre of another boat hitting you as your lights are off............... all this happened to me en route from Cork to the Scillies!

 

[AngusMcDoon]

The number of crew (3 experienced, 3 not) makes the passage much more feasible. The inexperienced, even the 12 year old, would very quickly pick up enough to be useful when on watch with an experienced person. However, to do the passage in a monohull in 3 days it will have to be a fair size, say 13m, & helpful brisk or strong winds. That kind of weather in June for 3 days continually is not unheard of, but not normal, & not this year!

With 3 inexperienced people on board with the seastate from the strength of wind required to make the passage some seasickness will be inevitable.

A cause of total electric & electronic failure could be a lightning strike. Whether the engine would be usable after that I don't know. A lightning strike to a boat in UK or Irish waters, while rare, does happen.

 

[flaming]

Assuming the boat is tramping along under autopilot,

Except apparently our hero's have just come through an interdimentional portal and have no electronics at all, so they're hand steering the whole way.

So if we've got the sort of wind that's going to be necessary for the time, and the sort of fast boat necessary, then I think the 2 experienced sailors are going to be watch and watch driving, unless the 12 year old is up to driving a 40+ boat downwind in decent wind and waves. That's doable... But tough.

And of course the 2 sailors will also be trying to navigate in a fairly old school way...

I guess one thing to consider might be - when they come through this portal, do they actually know their exact position? If not, then heading off towards Lands End without an accurate fix in relatively sporty conditions runs a reasonable chance of coming a cropper on the Scillies..

 

[AntarcticPilot]

d) I’ll mislead you but the result will be all the same: Let’s say they passed thru an interdenominational portal and in this process every single ELECTRONIC equipment is FRIED DEAD! No mobile phones, no GPS and No boat’s electric/electronic systems, they have only the sails and the good old magnetic compass. Would be possible to make the boat’s engines run without any electronic equipment support?
.

A conventional, non-common rail diesel, such as is fitted to nearly all sailing boats, does not require electricity to run, and many can be started by hand, thus avoiding any need for electricity. The fuel, cooling water and injector pumps are all mechanical. There are no essential electronics at all; the starter motor and solenoid are pretty ancient technology!. However, most will not be fitted with a crank handle for manual starting, and even more would require something built like a gorilla to stand a chance of being hand-started! However, there are work-arounds. It is feasible to start an engine by wrapping the end of the main-sheet round the flywheel and then gybing! I think Moitessier first used this trick, but others since then have done it.

So, even without electricty, you CAN get the engine running, and it will run as long as you've got fuel.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Except apparently our hero's have just come through an interdimentional portal and have no electronics at all, so they're hand steering the whole way.

So if we've got the sort of wind that's going to be necessary for the time, and the sort of fast boat necessary, then I think the 2 experienced sailors are going to be watch and watch driving, unless the 12 year old is up to driving a 40+ boat downwind in decent wind and waves. That's doable... But tough.

And of course the 2 sailors will also be trying to navigate in a fairly old school way...

I guess one thing to consider might be - when they come through this portal, do they actually know their exact position? If not, then heading off towards Lands End without an accurate fix in relatively sporty conditions runs a reasonable chance of coming a cropper on the Scillies..

I'd assumed that 'autopilot' covers wind vane steering systems...

But to be more explicit to the OP, the boat will need some means of steering itself and there are various wind vane systems available. They are often found on 'serious' cruising boats. I have one for our boat... Several makes are available and none require electricity to run them.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Except apparently our hero's have just come through an interdimentional portal and have no electronics at all, so they're hand steering the whole way.

So if we've got the sort of wind that's going to be necessary for the time, and the sort of fast boat necessary, then I think the 2 experienced sailors are going to be watch and watch driving, unless the 12 year old is up to driving a 40+ boat downwind in decent wind and waves. That's doable... But tough.

And of course the 2 sailors will also be trying to navigate in a fairly old school way...

I guess one thing to consider might be - when they come through this portal, do they actually know their exact position? If not, then heading off towards Lands End without an accurate fix in relatively sporty conditions runs a reasonable chance of coming a cropper on the Scillies..

People managed the same & many other similar passages for millennia with no electronic aids.

What's probably unlikely is to lose every source of position, seeing that every smartphone has GPS on it. Even without any specific nautical navigation software installed Google maps would get you pretty close to where you wanted to go. And the 12 year old would be an expert

 

[AngusMcDoon]

A conventional, non-common rail diesel, such as is fitted to nearly all sailing boats, does not require electricity to run, and many can be started by hand, thus avoiding any need for electricity. The fuel, cooling water and injector pumps are all mechanical. There are no essential electronics at all; the starter motor and solenoid are pretty ancient technology!. However, most will not be fitted with a crank handle for manual starting, and even more would require something built like a gorilla to stand a chance of being hand-started! However, there are work-arounds. It is feasible to start an engine by wrapping the end of the main-sheet round the flywheel and then gybing! I think Moitessier first used this trick, but others since then have done it.

So, even without electricty, you CAN get the engine running, and it will run as long as you've got fuel.

With 6 people on board & averaging 7 knots over 3 days it's probably going to be a 40' or more sized boat. Chances of hand cranking a diesel in that sized boat is not good. Chances of doing a Moitessier is probably not much better.

If you had an engine you couldn't start on that passage in an otherwise functioning sailing boat with a very handy wind shoving you in the right direction & you were in a hurry what would you do? If it were me I think I'd just put the sails up & sail rather than fiddling with gybes & sheets round the flywheel, à la Moitessier.

 

[LittleSister]

It took us 24hrs motoring against the swell of a dying depression to motor from Cork to Tesco . . . .

I got the impression, though, that the protagonists were more Waitrose types.

 

[guernseyman]

Ahem. See my post No 7 above

How did I miss that?

I also agree with you about fatigue.
On night passage from Cork to Penzance a few years ago, I went up for my watch to find the skipper in total disarray, trying to steer by the projected course on his plotter. No point in discussing it, I sent him down for some sleep.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I suppose in this world where all the electronics have failed, no modern cars, planes or trains will be running. An older Diesel engined vehicle could be bump started. Eg an old Land Rover.

 

[shaunksb]

So in summary,

Yes, two sailors with two helpers could do this trip in three days in a modern sporty leisure yacht with just a compass.

My choice of boat would be a Dufour 44.

_______________________________

 

[LittleSister]

So in summary,

Yes, two sailors with two helpers could do this trip in three days in a modern sporty leisure yacht with just a compass.

. . . but only if the weather gods smiled on them.