North Sea,

[alecsmart]

I am
> writing because I am taking my first long cruise in June
> next year. My partner and I have a 1982 Bavaria 808 in
> Holland. It is in Lemmer. The boat length is 8 metres and
> is of the old and solid GRP type that Bavaria started
> building. Anyway, we lack experience but have paper
> qualifications. I have the Yachtmaster shorebased and
> passed the DoT coastal skipper practical exam sometime
> ago. I was very nervous and still am as we intend to sail
> it back to Liverpool via the Caledonian Canal. We may
> leave it on the west coast of Scotland for 1 year however.
> I believe that the best route is from Deflzil to the Moray firth (450 miles). The boat is in lemmer. The reasoning is that the east
> coast is bereft of places to stop with a fin keeler and
> that much of it is sand bars with busy traffic. Further a
> shorter route say Den Helder to Hull is full of oil
> rigs.and shipping lanes. How would you you approach this?
> The problem is lack of experince in making a
> fundamental decision. I hope to have including myself 4 crew. I have had some advice from Roger Oliver ( see this months PBO) and I commend his website and article to you all.


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[Bergman]

Den Helder to Humber sounds reasonable to me. Oil rigs and shipping are a fact of life in Nth Sea. If you want a shorter leg perhaps Den Helder to Lowestoft, Lowestoft to Hull.

Suppose choice will depend on weather given a SW wind direct to Humber will give an easier sail.

Once North of Humber plenty of stop overs at least as far as Forth, a bit thinner on ground from there upwards.

Don't have chart in front of me but I suspect direct from Den Helder to Moray Firth will save very few miles against Den Helder - Humber - Moray.

Have a good trip




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[AndrewB]

Anyone facing a passage like this for the first time in their own boat is going to be nervous, it wouldn't be normal to be otherwise.

On the whole I would aim for coast hopping rather than a direct passage. For a crossing like Den Helder to Hull (180 nm?) you can pick your moment to be sure of decent weather all the way. You don't have the problems of provisioning, sleeplessness, possible weather deterioration, you get with a passage of several days. It should not be too daunting a passage in summer with your yacht. But you have to make sure that the boat is properly prepared. A common problem with an older 'new' boat is that there can be a lot of teething problems with things going wrong, specially if it has been laid up for a while. I would recommend that you spend a several days beforehand sailing the boat locally, checking not only that all the main things are working but also that they keep working, and allowing time afterwards to get them fixed.

You are right that your experience is still marginal for skippering your yacht on this passage, whichever way you decide to go. It should not be difficult to find someone more experienced prepared to help for at least the shorter passage. Joining a yacht club is a good way of getting in touch with people who may be prepared to help out. Otherwise, it is quite practicable to hire a professional delivery skipper, and sail with him/her. It's always possible to ask here, and probably someone would volunteer, but I would be wary about accepting this sort of help from someone of whom you have no knowledge.

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[Chris_Stannard]

Agree with the other posts, I brought a boat from Ijmuden to Dover last May. The weather can turn quite nasty quite quickly so suggest you aim for a close reach rather than trying to beat or motor to windward. You should find rather less shipping being farther North but I would recommend you make an early start in the day to get out of the shipping lanes as far as possible in the daylight. And keep the open water passage to as short as possible.

Strongly agree with the post about checking the boat out, I bought a boat in Brighton and sailed it for the first time back to the Hamble, not a long trip but quite long enough to make me aware that there were things that were not right and I should have corrected.

<hr width=100% size=1>Chris Stannard

 

[heerenleed]

Road transport may be cheaper!

I agree with the posts that state you should sort the boat out before leaving on a trip like this. However, you will have to have repairs done locally, far away from your own 'network'. Also, if anything breaks down en route, you will have to have it fixed by someone who happens to have his business in the nearest port, something I found out once when I needed the propshaft replaced and the P-bracket re-fixed.

The result was a repair that was about twice as expensive as it should have been, and on top of that, they knew they would never see us again and so did a lousy job, one that needed doing all over again when we reached our home port.

If major things are suspect, or more correctly, if there are major things that are not definitely OK, confirmed by someone who knows, it might be cheaper to have the boat transported to your home port by road. You can then take your time sorting her out, and use people you know and trust to do any necessary repairs. Not only would you save lots of money, but it would buy you a lot of piece of mind. Road transport should not be much more expensive than have a delivery skipper do the job.

Nothing can be more off-putting than forcing yourself into a trip you do not yet feel up to, especially if there's also the risk of important gear breaking down.

Anyway, this is what we did when our boat had to be brought from Greece, and I never regretted it.

good luck

<hr width=100% size=1>Peter a/b SV Heerenleed, Steenbergen, Netherlands

 

[extravert]

There are places to stop and stay afloat on the East Coast, but what you are most interested in are places you could get in to if the weather is grotty from the East. You could aim for

Humber
Tees
Tyne
Forth

and maybe Aberdeen and Peterhead if you had too.

Why not set off aiming for one of these safe havens? If the weather turns poor or you are getting tired and have had enough you head in for shelter, or if it is going well you carry on to the next one.



<hr width=100% size=1>One day, I hope to own a real boat.

 

[squidge]

Hi, you didnt say how much time you have got? IMHO it sounds like a very long cruise for a first trip.Have you considered heading south to narrow the crossing? then you could hop across in day light if far enough south(flushing or Oostend)heading for Harwich in 12/14 hours.
There are some wonderfull stop overs as you proceed down the coast from Den Helder and some more on this side as you venture back up again all with water for a fin.
Short hops are also a lot kinder on the boat and the crew unless they are into marathon stuff.Should something go wrong (boat/weather/crew)you are not far from help/safe harbour/ferry home .
Isnt this supposed to be fun?/forums/images/icons/smile.gif
regards


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[ianwright]

Think about coast hopping down to Vlissingen and then cross to Harwich or there abouts,,,,,,,,
Other than that, everbody had to have a first time and very few of us drown.
Do your planning just as you have been taught and be obsesive about keeping a good lookout. You'll be fine,,,,,,,,,,,,

IanW

<hr width=100% size=1>Vertue 203, Patience

 

[Strathglass]

Trevor.

I daysailed in a fin keeled Impalla 28 from the canal at Inverness down to the River Forth (Port Edgar) a few years ago. Wo did it in an easy four days and there were enough safe harbours places to moor each evening. The only problem was a sea fog a mile of Peterhead which forced us to turn back and weight till it cleared one morning.
Costal hopping up is quite feasable.

Iain

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[seaesta]

Coming from the South I recommend stopping with the Humber Cruising Club at Grimsby -nice people. Once you get North of Scarborough the North Sea is great. Lots of good ports (Whitby, Hartlepool, Sunderland, Newcastle, Blyth, Amble, Holy Island, Eyemouth and Dunbar. The sea life is really prolific and a night at anchor in the Farnes is not to be missed and the Bass Rock and entrance to Dunbar is worth a 100 mile trip.
Going further North I would recommend a passage from Dunbar or Eyemeouth direct to Stonehaven and a stop at Peterhead.
The sea gets messy off Rattray Head - be careful here
Do your planning -especially contingency bolt holes and dont let timidity prevent you from enjoying yourself. Last year I circumnavigated Scotland in a 7 m bilge keeler and i'n no Captain Cook - IMHO just do it


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[TheCount]

We made our first major trip across the North Sea last August with the Humber Cruising association based in Grimsby on their annual regatta. We returned through the oil fields direct from Den helder. With no wind and in thick fog for 20hours or more. If it is any consolation we were very apprehensive but all went well. You are not alone in the North Sea and the rigs have you all the way on radar. One of our singlehanders lost his engine and was adrift. The rigs spotted this as his course became erratic and not only communicated with him on VHF they sent a supply vessel out with a tender to drop an engineer aboard who fixed the problem( his rocker shaft had come loose) while he was entertained in the comfort of the supply boat! They also towed him 12 miles in the right direction while this was being done. Excellent..

If you don't have radar in poor vis you can always give out a Pan Pan at regular intervals warning shipping of your position as they should have you tracked and it gives them more info.
As already has been mentioned come to Grimsby for a warm friendly welcome.

Good Luck Andy


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[LeonF]

I made my first crossing from the Thames estuary-Gravesend- to Ostend via Ramsgate in 2002. I was-am- relatively inexperienced in offshore nav. as I spend most of my time buoy hopping. With no wind and my crew getting frustrated at motoring we played around for a while and lost a fair amount of time. My radio was temperamental and the engine stalled when running at low revs--turned out to be a fuel line blockage. Keeping the revs up we motored in the dark and when within range phoned the harbourmaster who was reassuring. We got there safely then sailed up the coast the next day and cleaned the blockage in Middleburgh. On the return trip we encountered thick fog off North Foreland. With just a single crew member we motored from waypoint to waypoint and then anchored in Margate Hook. I can't wait to make the trip again but will certainly work my passage plan in greater detail and not rely on the GPS. I believe I had beginners luck. Far better to be nervous than overconfident. But go for short hops as suggested

<hr width=100% size=1>L.A.R.Ferguson

 

[PeterGibbs]

Re: North Sea, in bite sixed pieces

Long trip! For a first time I would strongly recommend not pushing it but taking it in bites. Fatigue is not a possible, it is a definite: errors and inability to cope with unexpected weather changes, or vessel failings etc, add to the strain.

Get lots of sleep along the way, lots of drinks (most people stint themselves and suffer from dehydration trying to avoid using the heads!) and have faith in the crew - most skippers have none! (take it from me)

The east coast of England is not over-endowed with stopping places, but it is shelter and help. The N Sea rigs are easy to spot and avoid in all but a pea souper - you won't be out there in those conditions will you? Forget Delfzijl - miles through the canals for no gain: go to den Helder and launch from there. Have a nice meal before you leave - light on the cals, sauces and beer! Make your landfall as circumstances permit!

Do it in bites and enjoy the experience.

PS Lemmer is a smashing place no? And Bavarias are great vessels!

PWG

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