How rough is rough?

[PaulR]

Last thursday we came north through the Alderney race on our 34' Dehler having left Dielette at 0600 with the aim of carrying the tide as it turned to run North from Diellette through the race and then round the corner to Cherbourg.
Have been through the race several times over past few years but on thursday it was "horrible".
Wind Easterly 3/4 but seas alarming with solid water being swept along the deck to and over the sprayhood repeatedly and rough area taking us over 45 minutes to get through despite peak speed over ground of 14.9knots.
Might have found it worrying but exciting with crew of adults but with wife and 3 children found it alarming and worrying and hope I haven't put them off!!

Without question for us the roughest nastiest sea we have experienced (have found St Albans race rough in past but all over in a matter of minutes).

Difficult to time slack water in Race going North and whilst we realised was only 2 days before springs certainly did not anticipate being in waves so rough for so long.

What have others found there?

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[Twister_Ken]

Wind easterly 3-4, but to the sea which was moving into the wind at 6kts or so it was probably an apparent F5. So bound to be rough at springs.

Difficult to know what else to do, apart from stay in port playing cards, or grin and bear it. A longer trip, out around the back of Alderney perhaps?

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[Robin]

Smug Grin

We were in St Peter Port and wanting to call in at Cherbourg on the way home for a last stock up, but decided against after listening to Jersey Radio forecasts for winds from NE4/5 up to 6/7. On the outer pontoons in St PP we had all the fenders out and were heeling well in some of the gusts too, though I cannot remember if that was Thursday or Friday last week without looking at the log. The French VHF forecasts were similar and Cap De La Hague was reporting NE5 most times. The tides were sizeable springs too and from Dielette you can hardly avoid passing close in off Cap De La Hague where the tides are the strongest and the race roughest. We have gone through here going north with NE6 (NE3/4 was forecast) and it was NOT nice, in the end opting to almost stop through the water whilst still making 14kts over the ground, there was an air and sea search for a missing fishing boat in the Race also going on around us which listening to on the VHF did not help give reassurance especially when they located wreckage!

From choice I would avoid wind against tide in the Race (especially northbound) in anything more than F4 unless I could contrive to be there at slack water. The problem of course is that timings are forced by the ability to leave where you start from as well as making ground in the right direction either before or after passing through. Southbound from Cherbourg you can use the back eddy tide to arrive at the Race at slack (best is to go 2/3rds of the way to Alderney before heading down. Northbound you are almost certainly going to hit the Race on the fly, flat calm with a tailwind and diabolical with a headwind of any strength - F4 plus 9/10kts of tide and 4kts boat speed is pretty close to F7 over the deck.

We went through by the way on Sunday, SOG hit 14 kts, lots of swirls but flat calm, the wind was then NW but only F1/F2.

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[summerwind]

It always seems to me that the Channel is rougher after a few days of easterlies.

We crossed from Ushant to Dartmouth Monday/Tuesday. By that time the wind had increased F5, gusting 6 at times. Even heard a report that boat off Fowey experienced winds over 35 kn! Yes, we were punching into the wind and seas, but it seemed to be rougher than I would normally expect for those wind speeds.

Maybe it is all just our perception?

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[robp]

Yes we had an "interesting" trip on 14th August from Carteret. Forecast 4/5 NE, wound up with constant 28 knots NE. The Race was bad and I thought I would give the Cap a wide berth but that was worse! It was Horrible! Then right in the middle of it all I picked up the second fishing net of our cruise!! After messing about for a time giving bursts in astern I managed to get some boat speed but not without vibration and noise. Then wound up punching the tide into Cherbourg, (what fun that was), where I cleared the net. A number of crews were in Cherbourg shattered from the trip and I met one poor guy who lost his brand new towed Rib the following day.

Interesting that I saw a couple of boats keep close in to the French coast all the way up and round the Cap. It seems that they arrived much earlier too. So what's best?

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[Chris_Robb]

The area just north of Ushant - Iroise- is always much rougher than further our in the channel.

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[Gunfleet]

I'm sure it's not just perception. The Thames estuary can also get bumpy when the are winds further up the north sea and the condition is notorious around the N Foreland, even when local conditions are pretty calm.

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[david_e]

Re: SOG

< We went through by the way on Sunday, SOG hit 14 kts, lots of swirls but flat calm, the wind was then NW but only F1/F2. >

What was your speed through the water?


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[Robin]

Re: SOG

Around 6.5 to 7 kts under engine, we passed through at half tide 1/3rd of the way from Alderney to Cap De La Hague before turning North for Poole. There would have been more tide nearer the French corner.

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