stu9000
Well-Known Member
I'm currently sitting in a cafe un Boulogne sur mer old town. Its true pride comes before a fall but I think I've earned a bit of satisfaction having navigated my way around northern France and the Channel Islands. The strong currents are fine as long as you do your homework on the tidal gates. And I shower my engine with love.
Although I have paper charts my go to sources were Navionics and Tom Cunliffe Shell Channel Pilot, which had me chuckling at the little asides he hid in between well presented key information.
With strong crew i was able to do some big hops initially. Ramsgate to Dieppe. Dieppe to Cherbourg. Then onto the channel islands. Guernsey was a highlight as was staying the night at anchor at Herm. Dieppe and Cherbourg are easy to get into with all the water, fuel and electricity you might need. I read that the war flattened parts of these towns but you can still find the old Town streets with their little cafes and restaurants.
Homeward bound and now solo i have enjoyed hopping along the coast. Marinas at each port add to the cost and i now have a new appreciation of the rivers and anchorages in the UK east coast. No complaints though especially after 10 hours at sea. Each port has been a gem with its own character.
Ouistreham was serene and one should not be worried by the industrial lock you have to navigate to get there. Staff are on hand to take your lines.
Fecamp was bigger than I expected but no worse for that with plenty of cafes and French charm.
St Valerie en caux seems hard to get into on paper and I nearly passed it over. But I was a bit jaded and entry was fine assuming arrival at lock opening times( + - 2h15 hw). It is small and quiet.
Boulogne was touted as being somewhat industrial but it really isn't. It is a working port but my sleep was not disturbed by endless fishing vessels and what have you. The old town is gorgeous. Note their fuel pontoon isn't working at the moment so if you need diesel it's a hand carry from the nearby station.
As mentioned I had crew for the first part of my trip but so did a long hop from Ramsgate to Dieppe which was about 17h. This was my port of entry. Passport stamped by the dfds staff at the ferry terminal an 8 min cycle away. Having two folding bikes on board made a big difference allowing us to complete chores and explore further even when bit tired. Amazing what you can buy in ebay. Exiting the UK means e making the e1331 form to various addresses.listed in the 3rd tab of the spreadsheet . Not a problem, although they did politely send the form back to me a couple of times for further information.
As always with things like this the forest time involves a bit of head scratching but look at the key to terms and just sent what you have and all will be well. Everyone knows all of this is a bit of a halfway house until they get in port qr scanners installed.
Noe knowing where the Duoane is I used Dieppe as my port of exit too as Boulogne seemed unclear with some suggestions online id have to go to Calais to get the passport stamped. Even at Dieppe there was a minor wrinkle . They would not stamp it unless it was the same day. There I was at 2200 the night before with a plan to leave at 5am. However they are open all night except from 0630 to 0830 so I thought no problem . Biked over at 0545 and all was closed. Grr . They didn't reopen until 0900 which meant I missed a tide and wind window . Next time I will be a bit more forceful in my protestations. They are good people but geared up for passenger ferries and do not have the yachtsman perspective. My guess is if I had argued a bit more forcefully they would have stamped it the evening before.
Not sure how legitimate it is to get stamped at dieppe and then go to Boulogne. A direct jump to Eastbourne was being considered but when It came to it I felt it was a bit much to do solo when tired. Similarly I didn't stamp out when I went from cherbourg to the channel islands but we were back in France within 3 days. Anyway, that's how I did it and there was minimal hassle. No French destinations asked me for my passport . In channel islands you just fill in a form and put in the box. I'm sure all this data goes somewhere and probably can be cross checked against my ais signature by the big destroyer like vessels i always see hovering about. But I've broadly complied and I'm sure they've other things to be dealing with. The point is that although the current system has the potential to become a kafkaesque nightmare it does not. Every port has been a joy with fellow yachtsman ready to take my lines and helpful staff that out up with my truly awful French and then switch to English when I run out of steam. Anyone thinking of doing this should not be put off by the current regs, strong tides and language barrier. Boulogne sur mer is only 2 hours further away than Calais.
I was in two minds as to whether the channel islands was too far with the 2 and a half weeks available. Sometimes less is more. In the event i was very glad we did it. The islands have their own charm, lovely locals and fantastic restaurants. Cheap it was not in spite of the lack of vat. But it was worth the extra mes and the weather was broadly on our side, albeit with a few miles under engine at times.
Next time, perhaps with family on board, I might forgo the channel islands and just take my time hopping up and down the French coast, being flexible with the weather and enjoying those short hops between fecamp and Ouistreham. Lpaded up with folding bikes and paddle boards im sure the kids would love it.
As someone suggested to me on here i say to those considering a trip to France that they just go! I strongly recommend this trip as it is not far all this g a co sidereal but provides that feekibg of bwibg abroad. There are lots of safe ports in a storm, although watch out for strong northerlies that will close some ports. I'm not sure id want to try and get out of Fecamp with that shelving coastline and big rollers coming across the bar. As ever with sailing you are the master of your own destiny. Do your homework and invest time in ensuring the old donk can run for 10 hours plus without dropping you in the cr#p (keep looking g after me girl).
All that eaeky springtime anti fouling, endless job lists and head in engine bay is all worth while when sipping a demi carafe on sunny cobble stone Street in an old French Town. Having g done it once I will definitely be back to inflict the local populace with my appalling O level French.
Although I have paper charts my go to sources were Navionics and Tom Cunliffe Shell Channel Pilot, which had me chuckling at the little asides he hid in between well presented key information.
With strong crew i was able to do some big hops initially. Ramsgate to Dieppe. Dieppe to Cherbourg. Then onto the channel islands. Guernsey was a highlight as was staying the night at anchor at Herm. Dieppe and Cherbourg are easy to get into with all the water, fuel and electricity you might need. I read that the war flattened parts of these towns but you can still find the old Town streets with their little cafes and restaurants.
Homeward bound and now solo i have enjoyed hopping along the coast. Marinas at each port add to the cost and i now have a new appreciation of the rivers and anchorages in the UK east coast. No complaints though especially after 10 hours at sea. Each port has been a gem with its own character.
Ouistreham was serene and one should not be worried by the industrial lock you have to navigate to get there. Staff are on hand to take your lines.
Fecamp was bigger than I expected but no worse for that with plenty of cafes and French charm.
St Valerie en caux seems hard to get into on paper and I nearly passed it over. But I was a bit jaded and entry was fine assuming arrival at lock opening times( + - 2h15 hw). It is small and quiet.
Boulogne was touted as being somewhat industrial but it really isn't. It is a working port but my sleep was not disturbed by endless fishing vessels and what have you. The old town is gorgeous. Note their fuel pontoon isn't working at the moment so if you need diesel it's a hand carry from the nearby station.
As mentioned I had crew for the first part of my trip but so did a long hop from Ramsgate to Dieppe which was about 17h. This was my port of entry. Passport stamped by the dfds staff at the ferry terminal an 8 min cycle away. Having two folding bikes on board made a big difference allowing us to complete chores and explore further even when bit tired. Amazing what you can buy in ebay. Exiting the UK means e making the e1331 form to various addresses.listed in the 3rd tab of the spreadsheet . Not a problem, although they did politely send the form back to me a couple of times for further information.
As always with things like this the forest time involves a bit of head scratching but look at the key to terms and just sent what you have and all will be well. Everyone knows all of this is a bit of a halfway house until they get in port qr scanners installed.
Noe knowing where the Duoane is I used Dieppe as my port of exit too as Boulogne seemed unclear with some suggestions online id have to go to Calais to get the passport stamped. Even at Dieppe there was a minor wrinkle . They would not stamp it unless it was the same day. There I was at 2200 the night before with a plan to leave at 5am. However they are open all night except from 0630 to 0830 so I thought no problem . Biked over at 0545 and all was closed. Grr . They didn't reopen until 0900 which meant I missed a tide and wind window . Next time I will be a bit more forceful in my protestations. They are good people but geared up for passenger ferries and do not have the yachtsman perspective. My guess is if I had argued a bit more forcefully they would have stamped it the evening before.
Not sure how legitimate it is to get stamped at dieppe and then go to Boulogne. A direct jump to Eastbourne was being considered but when It came to it I felt it was a bit much to do solo when tired. Similarly I didn't stamp out when I went from cherbourg to the channel islands but we were back in France within 3 days. Anyway, that's how I did it and there was minimal hassle. No French destinations asked me for my passport . In channel islands you just fill in a form and put in the box. I'm sure all this data goes somewhere and probably can be cross checked against my ais signature by the big destroyer like vessels i always see hovering about. But I've broadly complied and I'm sure they've other things to be dealing with. The point is that although the current system has the potential to become a kafkaesque nightmare it does not. Every port has been a joy with fellow yachtsman ready to take my lines and helpful staff that out up with my truly awful French and then switch to English when I run out of steam. Anyone thinking of doing this should not be put off by the current regs, strong tides and language barrier. Boulogne sur mer is only 2 hours further away than Calais.
I was in two minds as to whether the channel islands was too far with the 2 and a half weeks available. Sometimes less is more. In the event i was very glad we did it. The islands have their own charm, lovely locals and fantastic restaurants. Cheap it was not in spite of the lack of vat. But it was worth the extra mes and the weather was broadly on our side, albeit with a few miles under engine at times.
Next time, perhaps with family on board, I might forgo the channel islands and just take my time hopping up and down the French coast, being flexible with the weather and enjoying those short hops between fecamp and Ouistreham. Lpaded up with folding bikes and paddle boards im sure the kids would love it.
As someone suggested to me on here i say to those considering a trip to France that they just go! I strongly recommend this trip as it is not far all this g a co sidereal but provides that feekibg of bwibg abroad. There are lots of safe ports in a storm, although watch out for strong northerlies that will close some ports. I'm not sure id want to try and get out of Fecamp with that shelving coastline and big rollers coming across the bar. As ever with sailing you are the master of your own destiny. Do your homework and invest time in ensuring the old donk can run for 10 hours plus without dropping you in the cr#p (keep looking g after me girl).
All that eaeky springtime anti fouling, endless job lists and head in engine bay is all worth while when sipping a demi carafe on sunny cobble stone Street in an old French Town. Having g done it once I will definitely be back to inflict the local populace with my appalling O level French.
