Needles to Alderney

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Nemo

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Good afternoon chaps.
Planning a crossing from Needles to Cherbourg on Saturday 15th.
Now, I've done quite a number of crossings to France and back; France to the CI's, CI's Back to Blighty; however never actually to the CI's directly in a yacht.

Plan is to leave Yarmouth at 05:30 and slip out via the Needles and take some advantage of the ebb down. Guess the run of 62 miles is anywhere between 10-12 hours getting me there at approx slack.

Any tips for a run to Alderney would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.:)
 
Yarmout to Alderney should be no problem but try to time your trip to arrive at slack water as the tides are very strong around there and there is danger of being swept down the race or the swinge, neither of which are pleasant with wind against tide either on flood or ebb.
 
As above, shipping is usually the only excitement. As with Cherbourg, don't arrive downtide of your waypoint.

Recent news is that the mooring buoys in the harbour are too close together for comfort.

A bike ride round the island is time well spent.
 
Nemo said:
Any tips for a run to Alderney would be greatly appreciated.
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Listen out on the VHF to check if the C.I. coastguards are offering guidance to small boats stuck in fog. This will forewarn you of trouble ahead, (trouble which can descend in minutes).

If when you arrive you see a working platform slung down the side of the breakwater that is where the pneumatic drill will fire up in the morning as they repair the wall. Moor far away.
 
Thanks!

Appreciate your input.
Taken note of the moorings and wall repairs! Could be fun.
My ETA in Braye around 17:00 so according to the tide stream data gives me a couple of hours slack/low streams to get in without ending up in Guernsey!!

Thanks again and have a good weekend!
 
If you're sailing from the Needles to Alderney directly, you'll be leaving the EU from the UK and should fill in a customs form C1331 before you depart.

If you're planning to go to Cherbourg straight from the needles you don't have to worry about this.

However if you are leaving the CI and coming into the UK without travelling through France first you should fill in Part 2 on your return to this fair land, fly the Q flag 12 miles out and phone up the Yacht line number 08457 231110, speak to the nice person on the end, answer the questions and then take the Q flag down....if you come back from France you don't have to worry about this

If you're going from Cherbourg to Alderney, you need to be arriving at the Bray or at least past the east end of Alderney for HW Dover (or HW cherbourg +3). If you don't make it past the gap by that time, you'll be going to St Peter port whether you want to or not :)

It's neaps at the mo, so you won't be going near the race at it's worse, and tidal streams west out of Cherbourg shouldn't be too strong. if you can keep into the coast for a bit as you leave Cherbourg at around Cherbourg HW -1/2 (if you allow a boat speed of 5 knots) and then head for the N cardnial (basse Brefort) you'll be against a bit of tide to begin with but then you'll pick up a bit of tide...Aim to be roughly 1 mile to 1.5 miles from the La Plate mark.

The further north you go from CDL Hague the calmer it will be, It can get pretty rough, but just remember it will calm down eventually, from the north point of CDLH just head west, you'll be lifted by the last of the stream coming from the south, which is what you want :)

Keep to the north of Alderney using the casquettes light visible to the North of Berhou. When you can identify the breakwater next to the beach seen as a long patch of sand surrounded by green, the b/w mark on the end of the breakwater is visible, now look for the leading lights or the day mark on the bottom of the quay to the cone on the skyline you'll be on a good line in, look at the chart and see that 1/2 the visible length of the breakwater carries on and is under the water, and make sure you're not swept too far west as you go down towards the harbour, pick a a yellow buoy in lots of space, and break open the beers :D

If you haven't got the Leisure folio for the Channel Island it's worth the £40 and will get you there and back with all the details you need
 
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Approach Bray from the NW and not the West, play safe with the tides by not getting swept South down The Race......as/Snooks not too serious in neaps but once in the Race you will be on your way South.
Last time I was in Braye there were some rough old visitors buoys with rusty metal loops on top that badly chaffe the lines... if still there, recommend some form of short chain +rope to go through or an old plastic pipe to cover the rope in the area of chaffe. I saw 2 boats that had double lines where one had worn through on each.
If there is a NW blowing with a swell then you may want to stop the mooring line from snatching by using some form of snubber.
A couple of good restaurants on the island near the harbour otherwise you may be excused for thinking you were back in the depression of the 1950's on a gray day, otherwise if weather is fine it is a peaceful and relaxing place with basic facilities.
If the wind and sea conditions are not favourable and you don't catch the tide right I would allow an extra couple of hours minimum.
 
[QUOTE As with Cherbourg, don't arrive down-tide of your waypoint.
If you do end up in that situation, then it is possible - but hairy -to approach Alderney South about, anchoring in Longy Bay to wait the first of the N flood up the Race at Dover +3 thensqueeze round Quenard Point close inshore.
Have fun!
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Scotty_Twister said:
Last time I was in Braye there were some rough old visitors buoys with rusty metal loops on top that badly chaffe the lines... if still there, recommend some form of short chain +rope to go through or an old plastic pipe to cover the rope in the area of chaffe.
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+1

if you don't have a snap hook on a rope, you can do what I did. Having just replaced one of the sink pipes I had some tube left over....Get the rope, thread it through the tube, tie a fig of8 at one end of the pipe and another at the other end then just thread the line through the buoy and cros over the ropes so the pipe won't move

Also don't assume that every buoy has room to swing...(I was on bouy 14 earlier this year and in the calm of night the boat next door swung into us...we were there first, therefore it was his fault!! :) ) if it looks too close it probably is. It's possible to raft, if you can find someone friendly to lie against
 
snooks said:
+1



Also don't assume that every buoy has room to swing...(I was on bouy 14 earlier this year and in the calm of night the boat next door swung into us...we were there first, therefore it was his fault!! :) ) if it looks too close it probably is. It's possible to raft, if you can find someone friendly to lie against
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Some years back, the harbourmaster told me to motor over the mooring and move it back to where it "should" be!
 
robp said:
Some years back, the harbourmaster told me to motor over the mooring and move it back to where it "should" be!
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In france this year (Odet Rver) I complained that my allocated buoy had obviously dragged near another boat, so the 25 year old assistant used his Dory to pull it to a better position!
 
Guapa said:
A local replied on here that the moorings are no closer together than they were last year.
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The harbout master will tell you that the fixings for the buoys are in the same positions as they have always been. Like men the boats are getting larger!
 
Last time we visited Braye, the bouys were all full, it would have meant rafting. Young lady in the HM boat approached us as we were looking for an empty bouy and in a very plummy voice said "Oh! Your English (seeing the ensign I assume) follow me". She took us to a bouy well out of the way and instructed us to use it, "It's my mooring, but my boat is out of the water, you can use that", she said (bless her).

It turned out she was the daughter of the Commodore of the sailing club. I suspect a job as a berthing master is a top job on Alderney.
 
There is usually room to anchor if all the mooring buoys are full, and it is a lot cheaper, not free though. Watch for rocks.
 
I fact if I remember correctly someone suggested that to anchor, then lay a kedge to keep the bows of the boat into the swell, makes it much more comfy, less rolly.
 
if buoys look close, also remember that different hull types are likely to swing at very different times.
e.g. a long keeler may swing at a different time to fin keeler and they will also both tend to swing differently to a stink pot.
A long keeler will often be more influenced by tide, the fin keeler a little more influenced by a strong wind as well as the tide, and the stink pot, with far more windage, will be influenced by the wind rather than the tide in certain circumstances.
On my own swinger, my neighbour having a fin, has just changed this season and his boat will often swing near the end of the tides being influenced by the wind, where mine being a long keeler, is still feeling the influence of the last bit of tide. Yet the other neighbour being the same boat type as mine has less windage than mine which has dodgers, again swings slightly differently.
 
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