UK bound, which way

[jonjo]

Bruinesse, Flushing, Zeebrugge should be easy with the inland stretches giving me an opportunity to confirm the state of the engine.

If it was mid summer and my stomach was in mid season condition I would not hesitate to leave Zeebrugge then aim for England.

Southampton is the destination but I am unsure whether it is practical to coast hop down Belgium and France until I see the white cliffs. The coast between Zeebrugge and Boulogne looks horrible with sand banks all over the place.

I have never sailed east of Brighton/Honfleur before.

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[kingfisher]

I'm berthed in Terneuzen (TZ). From the Westerschelde:
Flushing: yes, if you can go in the Michiel De Ruyter-Haven
http://www.montparnasse.nl/
Quite busy in the season, and a 1,5m ridge on entry

Breskens sucks big time, but can take big boats. Terneuzen is great, but not as idylic as Flushing.

A typical 3-day crossing is TZ- Oostende-Ramsgate and back.

But if Southampton is the destination, maybe do the reverse what I did two years ago (TZ-UK south coast-Darthmout-Brest-French Normandie coast - TZ)

Terneuzen

Oostend/Blankenberge -Zeebrugge is your last option. Dead-ugly port. But only option in NW +8 bft. That's its oly use, as storm hole. And a very good one at that. Nieuwpoort offers nothing for the yachtie as well, except a marina. Blankenberge is somewhat smaller, but again a 1.5m sill at LLW. Oostend takes time (locking procedure makes you lose at least an hour on arrival and an hour on departure)

Dunkerque, the first french port

Boulogne, try to skip this as it is industrious/smelly/busy. I left my boat there for a month and it was coverded in rust coloured dust from the steel plant.

You're right the Belgian/French coast up to boulogne is hideous: compare to toremolinos/benidorm/Lloret de mar

Watch for the flemish banks of dunkerque. In NW +8, stay well to leeward of any bank.

Dieppe: new boardwalk, great atmosphere

Fécamp: dirrrrrrty toilets. Even to franch standards. Nice town

St-Peter Port (Anchresse bay to the north of Guernsey)

Cross from Guernsey, or continue to l'Aberwra'ch (go upriver, past marina, and take a moring at the first bridge. It's beatifull and still.

Crossing to Darthmouth took about 28 hrs

This is not for the unitiated or SWMBO: it's 50 Nm/day, against the predicted SW wind. It took us 10 days, so take out at least a fortnight, unless you do overnight bits.

Honfleur is beautifull, but a bit out of the way.





<hr width=100% size=1>Group of people on the pontoon: skipper is the one with the toolbox.
http://sirocco31.tripod.com

 

[AndrewB]

Yes, coast hop.

It is quite practicable to coast hop down the coast between Vlissingen/Zeebrugge and Dover, many first timers do this every year. If you have sailed around the entrance to the Seine into Honfleur then this is a doodle. An up-to-date chart is a must though.

What you won't have appreciated is that in most winds the inshore passage is relatively calm, well protected by the sand-banks outside, and this means the shallowness is less of a worry than it might otherwise be. Also the whole passage is extremely well buoyed, and you will be buoy hopping the whole way.

There is however one point where care is necessary - the short Passe de Zuidecoote on the Belgian/French border. Make sure you identify this on the chart. As you sail past Nieupoort the buoyage leads you gradually further offshore until you reach the Passe, a sharp turn to port and inshore again until you pick up the Dunkerque channel buoys. The Passe is very shallow, down to 3½m LWS at one point, and its position shifts, so rely on the buoys you can see (which are regularly maintained) which may be in a different position from your chart. There was quite a big shift to the east in 2002. Good binoculars desirable, and do it in daylight. What usually helps though is that during the season there is a steady flow of yachts through the Passe which give you the direction. Sometimes the Dover-Ostend ferry goes that way. Don't follow a fishing boat though as they go over the top of the banks!

After the Passe, simply follow the buoys down the Dunkirk channel. You should sail just OUTSIDE the deep water channel west of Dunkerque West Port, but keep very close and watch the depth sounder. Finally you'll reach Dyke LANBY and the container ship anchorage, from there head across to Dover, taking great care in the Traffic Separation Scheme.

Blankenburge, Ostend, Nieuport and Gravelines are all interesting ports, though the first and last are strictly tidal. Dunkerque is well placed for an overnight stop en route, if you want a break, but the only convenient restaurant is in the yacht club at the starboard side marina.

All in all, its an interesting passage, with plenty to keep you occupied. The alternative is to come down from Zeebrugge all the way just outside the deep water channel, buoy hopping (they are every 5 miles or so). Far less interesting (unless you are a connoisseur of container shipping) and generally much rougher water and stronger tides.

One warning though: do not attempt this passage in strong NW or N winds (F6 or more) when the whole of this coast is a lee shore and can become very rough indeed, with all the harbours except Dunkerque difficult to enter.

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The passage from Dover to Southampton is mostly straightforward, but usually much rougher, with a prevailing on-shore wind and the notoriously tricky tidal regime that mean no passage plan avoids getting stuck on at least one of the headlands (Dungeness, Beachy Head, Selsey Bill). The Owers (Selsey Bill) needs considerable care in strong winds and I would say is by far the most dangerous point of the whole passage - but you know that already. Brighton is a conveniently placed overnight stopover.

 

[DeeGee]

Re: Yes, coast hop.

Perhaps NOT going to Dover but Boulogne (smelly marina, yes, but interesting old town part and good food) then hopping on to Dieppe, Fecamp, Le Havre, Cherbourg and then home from there. Maybe more miles, but nice ones?

<hr width=100% size=1>Black Sugar - the sweetest of all

 

[Twister_Ken]

Ditto

But Honfleur rather than le Havre, and Soton from there.

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[janie]

Fecamp

Fecamp now has new toilets and showers - very nice. Thoroughly recommended.

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[westhinder]

Re: Yes, coast hop.

Quite right about the inshore passage along the Belgian coast: it is perfectly feasible. Take account of the prevailing SW-wind though, which is dead on the nose. When coming from Flushing/Breskens, you will carry the ebb-tide up to Ostend or Nieuwpoort, both of which are convenient. If you put into Ostend for the night, there is no point in locking into the Mercator basin, the RNSYC pontoons in the Montgomery basin are all right, except if there is a heavy swell running into the harbour.
Take care in the Zuydcoote Pass, do not go outside the buoys to westward, because of very shoal patches immediately W of the pass. Taking this passage against the tide is a pure waste of time, always time your journey to carry the favourable tide.
If W-bound, forget about Calais, Nieuwpoort or Dunkirk are the most convenient points of departure. From Cap Gris Nez you have the choice: the English side of the Channel, with Dover, Eastbourne and Brighton, or stay on the French side, with Boulogne (not the nicest place, but conveniently placed), Dieppe, Fecamp. If you start from Nieuwpoort when the tide turns favourable, you will have it against you as you round Cap Gris Nez, making it a slow passage towards Boulogne. Heading for Dover means that you go cross-tide, which is less unfavourable.
Mind you, May or June often have prolongued periods of Easterly winds. If you're lucky enough to pick one of those, it is one great reach towards the Solent. The odds are greater though that you get SW or W winds all the way, in which case you will have more time to enjoy the scenery.

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[jonjo]

Thank you for the responses, all sailing notes will be printed and taken to Holland. I even got an offer of an extra crew member who I might promote to skipper!

Going offline for a week.

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[colvic]

Safe Trip.

Phil

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[Twister_Ken]

Enjoy. nm

`

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[vyv_cox]

I have heard/read that Boulogne now has better facilities for locals, with the result that many have moved there, leaving the old marina (?) almost exclusively for visitors. It's still a very tricky place to berth at certain states of the tide, mustly the early ebb, so watch the water carefully.

Otherwise, I would support all the suggestions regarding coastal hops. It's a very pleasant way to travel the route you intend, day-sailing all the way. Tidal flow rates are quite fierce in the Dunkerque channel and approaching Calais. Shipping is busy off Zeebrugge and Wester Schelde but you can avoid most of it by keeping to shallows. Tide is extremely strong between Vlissingen/Breskens and Zeebrugge.

Enjoy it!

Vyv

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[roger]

We've done it each way as Vlissingen, Zeebrugge, Dunquerque, Dover, Eastbourne (Sovereign Harbour) - do check with the harbour on water depths the entrance silts up, Brighton, Solent.
Dunquerque is a much more convenient port than Calais but has poorer wine shops. Somewhere in Belgium you should stock up with beer.
Obviously the food would be better in France than on the English side and English Marinas are appallingly expensive.
My most expensive marina in 4400 miles up to the Baltic and Norway was Haslar at Gosport.
Do make sure you know and abide by the regs for crossing the separation zones at right angles. You are watched on radar and both French and English authorities are tough on transgressions

<hr width=100% size=1>Roger

 

[heerenleed]

Re: Yes, coast hop.

That's a good piece of advice you have given here. Looks like you've done it before.
Some more about Blankenberge. It is not as strictly tidal as you say. If you take the tide coming from the Netherlands or from France you will find that it turns at approx half-tide. So the only reasonable moment to stop here (when you run out of tide) you will find you'll have plenty of water in the entrance. The only moment to really take care is just after winter but before the season has started. They dredge, but do it sometime in spring and you never know when. You can call Blankenberge Rescue (don't have the channel here but it certainly appears in the Reeds-McMillan's Almanac) and they will tell you if you can get in yes or no.

If the ferry Oostende-Dover takes the inshore route through the Zuydcoote-Pas it is no weather for any sensible yacht skipper to be in that place, but otherwise the whole stretch along the Dutch and Belgian coast is pretty straightforward as long as you have the right charts.

But then again, locals will probably say the same of Wells-next the Sea into which I would venture.

Happy sailing

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

 

[heerenleed]

If you wish to shop in Dinkirk, do not go to the town of Dinkirk but go to Malo-Les Bains. It is a shorter walk from the Marina "Grand Large", the first one on your port-hands side when getting in, and the marina will borrow bicycles if you wish.

Also, the town of Malo-Les-Bains offers much more for eating out along the beach at very reasonable prices and the centre offers any shop you might want.
Anyway, Dunkirk was heavily bombed during the war and the centre mostly rebuilt in the fifties with the bad taste this period is known for. They are doing their best to do it up now with very modern architecture, but until they are ready it is (I think) the ugliest town of France. Having said that I must admit that I have grown to appreciate it as we always seem to end up waiting for a weather window here.

happy sailing


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