Paper Chart and 3 months from the Solent

Stemar said:
Some friends of ours did the French canals down to Sete, up the Canal du Midi and home round Brittany in under 3 months. They enjoyed it, and want to do it again, but Madame and I think they're mad. We'd want to take three years and enjoy it.

Round Britain would be the same, but with weather to mess with the schedule.
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I have three trips I would love to do :

Volga River ...... need a lot more than 3 months !!

North Holland waters where Riddle of Sands was based ... starting from Den Helder

French Canals ....

Doubt I will do any. But can hope.
 
onesea said:
@Concerto thanks for input, as my message hinted one dog (the smaller one) is getting more accustomed to being on the boat for longer periods, it’s the larger one that becomes needy and struggles, one of various reasons we are splitting them.
I have sailed various bits of the Irish Sea and Scotland over the years just on boats already in the location. We are keen for a break from the usual south coast haunts and try waters new.
Well aware of the passage back to lands end being a windward passage. It could be tough solo particularly if I cannot tuck in to ports on the southern Irish east coast.

There is even a thought to getting lost in the Thames estuary and SE corner of the uk for 3 months. Although people would think we are mad. Possibly better weather Easier weekend/ short visits for SWMBO, potentially easier for the dogs, possibly less busy than the SW, and an area I have spent little time.
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I have sailed the East Coast for decades and is no where near as challenging as some comment. A large draft (over 2m) can restrict you entering some places. I sail with a 1.6m draft and rarely have any problems. There are plenty of small places to visit that will require a dinghy to get ashore, but the peace and tranquility of the area are such a change to the South Coast. There are plenty of anchorages and moorings that are either free or low cost, many with pubs nearby. Many harbours have good facilities and shops for supplies. Some of the marinas are not that close if wanting supplies. The one big difference you will find is the colour of the sea water as there is far more mud particles suspended and causes a brown hue.

The trip up the Thames is worth doing, but be warned that London marinas are even more expensive than the cream of the South Coast. Other rivers like the Medway, the Crouch, the Roach, the Blackwater, Hamford Water, the Stour, the Orwell, the Deben, and the Alde all have their own attractions with plenty of sea birds and wildlife to watch. The number of seal colonies has increased over the past half century as the water has become cleaner.

If you wnt to research the East Coast then have a look at the East Coast Pilot. The web site is very useful and the book worth having onboard.
Home | ECP

You can also ask more questions on the East Coast Forum and several participants are extremely knowledgeable, even more so than me.
East Coast Forum
 
Stemar said:
Some friends of ours did the French canals down to Sete, up the Canal du Midi and home round Brittany in under 3 months. They enjoyed it, and want to do it again, but Madame and I think they're mad. We'd want to take three years and enjoy it.
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I was made redundant in 1995, the package was very good, paid off my mortgage, so decided to 'do' the French Canals. I enjoyed it so much that I did it again in 98. You couldn't wish for anything more relaxing, I had a shallow draft 22 footer, perfect for the job. Something I would love to do again, maybe do a boat swap with someone for the summer.
The first time, I turned right at Port St Louis and headed for the Midi, the 2nd time I turned left, visited Marseille (Îles du Frioul was better and more welcoming), the Calanques near Cassis (see pic, not to be missed) and Porquerolles on the Îles d'Hyères, unforgettable 😍

Cassis1.jpg
 
MontyMariner said:
I was made redundant in 1995, the package was very good, paid off my mortgage, so decided to 'do' the French Canals. I enjoyed it so much that I did it again in 98. You couldn't wish for anything more relaxing, I had a shallow draft 22 footer, perfect for the job. Something I would love to do again, maybe do a boat swap with someone for the summer.
The first time, I turned right at Port St Louis and headed for the Midi, the 2nd time I turned left, visited Marseille (Îles du Frioul was better and more welcoming), the Calanques near Cassis (see pic, not to be missed) and Porquerolles on the Îles d'Hyères, unforgettable 😍
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I always intended to do it with my 25ft motor sailer as its Bilge Keeler on 1m draft. But she's in Baltic now and the drag round would be a bind.

I have the 38ft - but she draws 1.85m - so would need planning for canals ... she's also in Baltic ... but would be a much more comfortable boat to do it ..
 
I suppose I am lucky ... Covid forced my operations to devolve out to local sub's ... so the amount of travel and physical reduced substantially .... I still keep tight hold on reins - because business I do relies on personal reputation / contacts.

Having moved over to remote working - as long as I have phone connection and log into emails 2x a day - I can do what I want ...

This will allow me to indulge in the boats ... lets me spend a lot of time with 3D printing ... Laser cutting .... creating / building and setting up models ..

It took time to get the subbies to complete work as needed - but now - they do an excellent job ... and clients are appreciative ... this shows on market and business is on a steady upline ... slowly but surely. Already easily surpassed pre covid levels ...
 
lustyd said:
Just bear in mind every location on that map has been stripped of all lobster and crab life so don't expect to catch dinner 😂
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I do admire the effort they have put into that site but i'm not sure of it's longevity. It needs more contributors / locations but too much to maintain for 1 couple otherwise. it reminds me of the stories about the early years of the YM East Coast Pilot
 
jac said:
I do admire the effort they have put into that site but i'm not sure of it's longevity. It needs more contributors / locations but too much to maintain for 1 couple otherwise. it reminds me of the stories about the early years of the YM East Coast Pilot
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I did briefly think the same, but look at all the pilot books out there. Traditional authors like Tom Cunliffe will eventually be replaced by something and someone, and it’s likely to be video and web based given current trends. The ones who succeed will be those who spend years creating content by personally visiting places such as Cadoha if they keep it up.
My only worry is they’ll never go beyond the Scillies or Solent, but even then that’s more than any single pilot book right now offers other than TCs channel pilot.
 
onesea said:
First off a paper planning chart/ map for the UK, one for dreamers showing prime harbours and anchorage’s. Any suggestions? Something we can write notes on and plan stops on.

Where would you recommend for mini cruises on the way? Milford? Scilly isles? Anglesea? IOM? Channel Islands?
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All of those are worth a look and west of Scotland too; as others have said don't try going too far/too fast, it'll just become hard work and see you sailing on days when you'd be happier tucked-up with a book in a secure anchorage reading about going sailing.
For passage planning/dreaming I would recommend downloading Open CPN and a copy of the CM93 charts onto your computer, they're both free and even now I keep one to hand on my laptops. Give them a Google; you'll definitely find Open CPN available and if you can't find the charts then drop me a PM and I'll send you a set = they cover the whole world and while dated have proved surprisingly accurate..
 
@BobnLesley thanks for the message, allot of the distance comes down to weather, also how the first few passages go.
Although I frequently do 8-12 hours solo, it’s rarely more than weekend sailing. Often just for the pleasure.
I would rather be at anchor reading a book than slogging along under engine, if that’s been used for more than berthing or confined waters I am doing it wrong. Unless it’s dead up wind the boat sails quicker than it motors.

The challenge when it comes to electronic Nav is we are android based I don’t plan on taking Windows with me, I will drop you message re CM93.

Although I am aware that Open CPN is poor on Android, they may well help with planning.
My thinking is mainly good old Navionics, and possibly visit my harbour so I have Rasta charts as well.

Any paper charts (I am kind of old fashioned on that front) will be either bought adhoc or NV Charts.

The idea of small ish scale paper chart is to just have a planning notes as to hours along coast. So we can easily visualise what approximate times and distances and tidal gates are for various passages.
 
Your being Android really puts one definite candidate on the table :

Navionics App and the annual subscription service ....

I know a lot use OpenCPN .. but TBH - once I installed Boating and Lakes / Navionics on my tablet / phone .... it was all over for OpenCPN for me ...
 
onesea said:
@BobnLesley thanks for the message, allot of the distance comes down to weather, also how the first few passages go.
Although I frequently do 8-12 hours solo, it’s rarely more than weekend sailing. Often just for the pleasure.
I would rather be at anchor reading a book than slogging along under engine, if that’s been used for more than berthing or confined waters I am doing it wrong. Unless it’s dead up wind the boat sails quicker than it motors.

The challenge when it comes to electronic Nav is we are android based I don’t plan on taking Windows with me, I will drop you message re CM93.

Although I am aware that Open CPN is poor on Android, they may well help with planning.
My thinking is mainly good old Navionics, and possibly visit my harbour so I have Rasta charts as well.

Any paper charts (I am kind of old fashioned on that front) will be either bought adhoc or NV Charts.

The idea of small ish scale paper chart is to just have a planning notes as to hours along coast. So we can easily visualise what approximate times and distances and tidal gates are for various passages.
Click to expand...
Another Android based electronic charting option for UKHO raster charts is Memory Map - which is also useful to run the essential detailed Antares Charts if you ever reach Scotland. These UKHO raster charts are good for rough route planning.

You won’t get very far (literally) with NV paper charts. I don’t think they go beyond the Channel. So it is either Imray or a print on demand set of UKHO Small Craft Charts (unless find UKHO Small Craft Folios second hand).
 
MontyMariner said:
It's the old saying, Work to live or Live to work.
After my redundancy I started contracting, when I had enough funds I took the summer off and went sailing, around September/ October I would look for another contract.
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I've also realised that most people continue to work because they don't understand how much money is enough money. I have more in my pension than many will ever have, yet advisors tell me I need to increase contributions or I'll suffer. Most of my outgoings are due to my working lifestyle. I eat out, get takeaways, maintain a car - none of which I would need if I retire and have time on my hands. I pay a mortgage because I have to live in a house to get to customers when necessary, if I retire I can live aboard and reclaim my equity before it's useless to me.
 
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