So How Busy is the Channel?

Oldhand

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This AIS plot received in the Solent Saturday PM gives a good idea:
LoadsofAIS_2.jpg
 
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when you look at all those vessels on a small computer screen it looks very busy, but let's not forget the area is about 100miles by 80 miles (ish) in practice !!

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163 by 102 nm actually, most distant vessel was over 120 nm from Lymington, a great VHF ducting period.
 
What an excellent idea!
I can just picture it in my mind, with the lollipop pilot cutters marshalling the yachts across the sea-bra crossing in orderly formation - you never know, if the traffic gets more congested, it might come down to this - and Dogwatch can rightfully claim that he had the idea first...... !
 
It'll just cause the traffic to scoot round the ends of the crossing, it needs to be all the way across then you can press the green button on departure....
 
Brilliant!!

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Too right! We motorsailed back from Alderney on Saturday departing 0630, and there was an endless stream of ships going east once we got a few miles north, then nearly as many west-bound later on.

Then coming round Calshot we ran into the rush hour for the cruise liners, plus a coaster and a car carrier. The Hamble seemed almost quiet after that lot, despite the strays from Cowes and the Fastnet boats having a last training session.
 
also left Alderney 0700 motored whole way across and didnt alter course or slow once and was never closer than 1 mile and that was to the biggest tanker i have seen, any one else see the blue one with the helicopter land on it?
 
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