Sailing to Guernsey - what electronic safety equipment is recommended

[Piers]

I am planning a sail to Guernsey from Devon this summer. I do have a VHF and Chart Plotter but do not have Radar, AIS or a Radar Reflector.

Bearing in mind the shipping lanes and risks of fog etc what would you recommend I fit? It goes without saying I carry life raft, flares etc

Hi Picardy,

The bottom line reason to think of extra kit is if you find yourself in restricted vis which can happen in the channel and the CIs even in high summer on a hot day. If vis is good, you don't need anything else. But if your vis is impaired in any way, I recommend two additions. Radar & an active radar reflector.

Why radar? You have the best opportunity of seeing anything out there. Keeps you in control. AIS only shows who's transmitting and the data can be inaccurate as well as late.

Why active radar reflector? Simple - you want to stand the best chance of others seeing you on their radars. Passives are next to useless.

So, provided you have a compass, depth sounder and a chart plotter that's set up correctly, cast off and have great fun.

Come and visit us in Beaucette Marina, the most beautiful marina in the CIs (shameless PR here!): www.beaucettemarina.com

Piers
Play d'eau
Beaucette Marina

 

[picardy]

Dear all thanks very much for the very helpful comments which are much appreciated.

Piers - can I book a berth in advance at Beaucette Marina?

 

[Piers]

Dear all thanks very much for the very helpful comments which are much appreciated.

Piers - can I book a berth in advance at Beaucette Marina?

Hi Picardy. Pre-booking isn't poss, but if you call Ricky (marina manager - his mobile number is all over the Beaucette website) just before leaving the UK and then again on the approach, he'll get you a berth. Any idea of the month/dates you may be coming over?

 

[[70521]]

I am planning a sail to Guernsey from Devon this summer. I do have a VHF and Chart Plotter but do not have Radar, AIS or a Radar Reflector.

I may see you en-route as I am planning a few hops over.

I have a radar reflector, VHF, GPS and a set of eyes.

The passage is usually dooable during daylight hours you will be fine.

 

[ghostlymoron]

Are we getting too timid? Previous generations had no electronic aids yet still navigated widely using charts and compass and possibly sextant. Did they enjoy their adventures less? or more.

 

[Piers]

Are we getting too timid? Previous generations had no electronic aids yet still navigated widely using charts and compass and possibly sextant. Did they enjoy their adventures less? or more.

Good question. But I don't think it's anything to do with 'enjoyment', but safety, given there's so much more traffic around than yesteryear. It's rare not to have to avoid another boat during a crossing, and 50mph fog is a CI speciality!

 

[Appledore]

I've sailed my 22 footer from Plymouth to Guernsey three times in recent years. First time without a chart plotter, and circumstances soon made me purchase one!

I now actually have 2 plotters just in case one fails. Also have 2 batteries in case one fails, as happened when approaching Alderney last year. A good plan is to buy an Imray C10 chart, usually available on Ebay for a few ££'s, reduce it to the size you need and put some Fablon over it. Each hour of your journey you can mark your position on the chart along the course line you will have marked. It's then easy to see where you are and where you've been.

I don't really have space of radar, but do have a reflector attached to the mast. You will notice that some ships do obviously alter course for you, but many don't even when you actually have the right of way (but I never argue with them!!). Fishing vessels seldom alter course, so watch out for them near each coast. When crossing the actual shipping lanes (TSS) or the Approaches, the best thing to use is the Mark 1 Eyeball!

Depending from where in Devon you are departing from will determine your passage time. I usually maintain 5 knots in my heavy displacement Macwester, and take around 20 hours for the trip, so obviously that will include a night passage.

Good luck and just make more than one passage plan.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Are we getting too timid? Previous generations had no electronic aids yet still navigated widely using charts and compass and possibly sextant. Did they enjoy their adventures less? or more.

Good question. But I don't think it's anything to do with 'enjoyment', but safety, given there's so much more traffic around than yesteryear. It's rare not to have to avoid another boat during a crossing, and 50mph fog is a CI speciality!

We sailed all round the channel and France without even a GPS or Decca for many years. I seem to recall having and maintaining a healthy fear of fog as shipping was common then as well.

We don't even have a plotter now, but we do have a GPS and some charts.

FWIW I still believe the essential aids to Nav are a compass, log and echo sounder. (None of these HAVE to be electronic, but I don't fancy many people use a lead line in anger much..!). GPS is so cheap and accurate, you'd be a fool to not have one, but you definitely don't need a plotter.

So the answer to the OP is you don't NEED any of the fancy plotters and gizmos. Radar is nice and AIS is helpful but you can get round the channel isles perfectly well without.

PS One side benefit of AIS is that it's quite good at showing you that 99% of ships DO take action to avoid sailing boats, so ignore the comment that many don't! Just be sensible and keep a good look out and you will be fine.

 

[VO5]

We sailed all round the channel and France without even a GPS or Decca for many years. I seem to recall having and maintaining a healthy fear of fog as shipping was common then as well.

We don't even have a plotter now, but we do have a GPS and some charts.

FWIW I still believe the essential aids to Nav are a compass, log and echo sounder. (None of these HAVE to be electronic, but I don't fancy many people use a lead line in anger much..!). GPS is so cheap and accurate, you'd be a fool to not have one, but you definitely don't need a plotter.

So the answer to the OP is you don't NEED any of the fancy plotters and gizmos. Radar is nice and AIS is helpful but you can get round the channel isles perfectly well without.

PS One side benefit of AIS is that it's quite good at showing you that 99% of ships DO take action to avoid sailing boats, so ignore the comment that many don't! Just be sensible and keep a good look out and you will be fine.

Seconded...couldn't have put it better myself.
Compass, lead and log..I have a depth sounder and a paddlewheel log but I still carry a hand lead marked in fathoms and a trailing log, just in case.:encouragement:

 

[john_morris_uk]

Seconded...couldn't have put it better myself.
Compass, lead and log..I have a depth sounder and a paddlewheel log but I still carry a hand lead marked in fathoms and a trailing log, just in case.:encouragement:

Thank you.

However I realise I ought to have said I wouldn't be comfortable setting off anywhere much without a VHF as well. Even pre Decca and GPS we always had a 25W fixed VHF with aerial at the masthead.

 

[sailorman]

Thank you.

However I realise I ought to have said I wouldn't be comfortable setting off anywhere much without a VHF as well. Even pre Decca and GPS we always had a 25W fixed VHF with aerial at the masthead.

we didnt the only radio was the very very expensive seavoice. our first radio was in 1984 our first X channel was 1978

 

[Uricanejack]

Good question. But I don't think it's anything to do with 'enjoyment', but safety, given there's so much more traffic around than yesteryear. It's rare not to have to avoid another boat during a crossing, and 50mph fog is a CI speciality!

50mph fog. ?

 

[sailorman]

50mph fog. ?

Sea Cat

 

[john_morris_uk]

we didnt the only radio was the very very expensive seavoice. our first radio was in 1984 our first X channel was 1978

Fair enough. When I first started sailing boats with cabins and heads in the Milford Haven and round S Wales in the late 60's and early 70's we had no VHF, but my first channel crossings as skipper were in the 80's and we had a Husan VHF and thought it was very posh!

I would still suggest that a VHF might be designated as an 'essential safety item'.

(The latter phrase covers nearly any expenditure on our boat and is a recognised standing joke in our family.)

 

[Piers]

Sea Cat

Agreed. I've told the story before, but a few years ago I was on a sea cat en route to Cherbourg from Portsmouth. I was on the bridge talking with the skipper about radar and fog, and asked at what stage he slows down. 'Never' was the reply, 'not even if we can't see the bow'. He then told me he'd been a delivery trip of the cat to New Zealand and was rounding the Brest peninsulas in thick fog when a 36' yacht went by his stbd sponson some 50m away. Nothing had been seen on radar. He made the comment that it made them all jump, that not everything can be seen on radar, and that one day there would be a terrible accident. Prophetic telling of the Minquiers fatal incident?

Hence, have an active radar responder plus a radar. To be seen and see is good safety advice not the least in areas where fast traffic operates.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Agreed. I've told the story before, but a few years ago I was on a sea cat en route to Cherbourg from Portsmouth. I was on the bridge talking with the skipper about radar and fog, and asked at what stage he slows down. 'Never' was the reply, 'not even if we can't see the bow'. He then told me he'd been a delivery trip of the cat to New Zealand and was rounding the Brest peninsulas in thick fog when a 36' yacht went by his stbd sponson some 50m away. Nothing had been seen on radar. He made the comment that it made them all jump, that not everything can be seen on radar, and that one day there would be a terrible accident. Prophetic telling of the Minquiers fatal incident?

Hence, have an active radar responder plus a radar. To be seen and see is good safety advice not the least in areas where fast traffic operates.

Or do what sailors always used to do and try to avoid sailing in fog? I know we've all been caught out; the possible fog patches that were forecast turns into 50 metres viz after setting out in bright sunshine, but passage planning always used to take into account weather and conditions in a way that modern electronics encourages us to ignore.

My argument would be that you don't NEED radar and AIS, but you have to ensure your common sense and semanship is turned up to max if you sail without these 'aids'. To suggest that every small boat has to have radar is OTT IMHO.

However I would suggest that a decent radar reflector is a must. Despite the doom and gloom of some reports, a decent Octahedral based reflector is considerably better than nothing.

 

[wrr]

Reflecting on our Channel passages in terms of frequency of use of instruments, a steering compass comes first, followed by a cockpit GPS and a good hand bearing compass. The latter removes the guesswork about passing vessels. Next is an AIS receiver, followed by AIS transponder and DSC VHF. A hand-held GPS with the option of independent battery power is very comforting insurance against electrical failure, as is a hand-held VHF set. We have both active and passive radar reflectors but any safety benefits of these are entirely dependent on the quality of the watch on other vessels. If you read MAIB accident reports, you may come the conclusion that it is not always unreasonable to regard the watch on other vessels as absent, asleep or otherwise sedated. Hence the reliance on measures that allow us to take early evasive action. The AIS gives one the name, speed etc. of approaching vessels which can assist in alerting the watch, as can a 2 million candela spotlight, sometimes, maybe perhaps... Radar would be a nice addition but the power requirements and weight aloft are limiting. We just try to avoid sailing in fog!

 

[lw395]

From my most memorable channel crossings, one thing I would prioritise is a means of getting good forecasts.
I've been sat in France, finding hard to get guidance on whether the thick fog extends 1nm or 100nm.
So a humble smartphone with a sim and contract set up to give you internet access via France is probably more use than most of the approved toys.
But a VHF will also give you forecasts as well as comms.

It seems to me that the number of times an active radar transponder will get you seen when a 12inch octo won't is really relatively small, but the people who've bought into them are quite vocal.
An AIS receiver is very helpful IMHO. I had an early NASA AIS radar, but have not used one for a couple of years.
If you have the cash, radar is the proper way forwards.

Time spent making sure the crew can use the gadgets, and use them the way you do is well spent.
Also time spent preparing waypoints and checking them, and making sure everyone knows what they are, is time well invested.

 

[VicMallows]

From my most memorable channel crossings, one thing I would prioritise is a means of getting good forecasts.

How true! .... and certainly an element that has improved dramatically in the 30 years I have been sailing the channel. However even the best forecasting has not eliminated the "must get back for work on Monday" factor which results in so many 'unpleasant' crossings. (fortunately a thing of the past for me).

 

[alant]

I've sailed my 22 footer from Plymouth to Guernsey three times in recent years. First time without a chart plotter, and circumstances soon made me purchase one!

I now actually have 2 plotters just in case one fails. Also have 2 batteries in case one fails, as happened when approaching Alderney last year. A good plan is to buy an Imray C10 chart, usually available on Ebay for a few ££'s, reduce it to the size you need and put some Fablon over it. Each hour of your journey you can mark your position on the chart along the course line you will have marked. It's then easy to see where you are and where you've been.

I don't really have space of radar, but do have a reflector attached to the mast. You will notice that some ships do obviously alter course for you, but many don't even when you actually have the right of way (but I never argue with them!!). Fishing vessels seldom alter course, so watch out for them near each coast. When crossing the actual shipping lanes (TSS) or the Approaches, the best thing to use is the Mark 1 Eyeball!

Depending from where in Devon you are departing from will determine your passage time. I usually maintain 5 knots in my heavy displacement Macwester, and take around 20 hours for the trip, so obviously that will include a night passage.

Good luck and just make more than one passage plan.

"but many don't even when you actually have right of way"

Perhaps you can explain, when this situation arises, when channel crossing.