cmckesson
New member
Hi.
I am an American, sailing a 1968 Columbia 36 sloop. In 2007 we plan to sail to Ireland, and then tour the UK for a couple of years.
As part of our planning we have obtained a copy of the Shell Channel Pilot secondhand, and are just beginning to get the “flavor” of sailing in your waters.
As a bit of background, we are currently on the Pacific coast. We have sailed extensively in Puget Sound. We have cruised the boat from Canada down to Mexico. In the next few months I will ship the boat overland to the Chesapeake Bay. (Work related move.) We used to live on the Chesapeake with a much smaller boat, and feel we have some comfort with those waters as well. We’ll spend a couple of years there before heading across.
Our boat has no engine, and has not had for many years. Instead she has a small electric drive, which we use to get in and out of marinas. We can make about 3 knots under power, and have a range of about 10 miles. We do not have enough power to steam against a 20 knot headwind, but when we have 20 kts of wind we always sail. (or wait!)
As we read the Channel Pilot we are amazed at the amount of thin water and narrow channels you have. I look at illustrations like River Hamble and I try to imagine having to beat up the river in 20 knots of breeze, and probably with a foul current as well. The photo I have shows lots of anchored boats in and flanking the channel, making such a sail something of a dodge-‘em game. … Or here’s a photo of Newtown River…Wow. Yarmouth looks OK, easy to deal with. Lymington looks not too bad, if you can avoid the ferry. Christchurch looks tough. And I can’t imagine making it up the River Frome to Wareham.
My hope is that a lot of this is because I don’t know the waters. I say all these names as if I know the places they refer to, but I assure you that they are just names in a book to me at present. I’d bet that if I were to look at charts of my own waters, with no firsthand knowledge of them, I’d reach the same conclusion. I mean, I didn’t have any trouble in San Francisco (which is very shallow, and has a fair amount of wind.) And I don’t have any trouble up here (Puget Sound) with our 5 meters of tide and 4+ knot currents.
I don’t quite know what I’m asking for. I guess I’m hoping you will say “it’s not hard to sail here, you get used to it.” Or that one of you will say “I have sailed my 8 tonne Watchamacallit for 27 years without an engine, and only had to be towed off once.” But let ‘em roll fellas – I’ve never met a sailor who didn’t have an opinion or two (or three!) Share yours with me. What’s it really like to sail in the UK?
Thanks!
Chris McKesson
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I am an American, sailing a 1968 Columbia 36 sloop. In 2007 we plan to sail to Ireland, and then tour the UK for a couple of years.
As part of our planning we have obtained a copy of the Shell Channel Pilot secondhand, and are just beginning to get the “flavor” of sailing in your waters.
As a bit of background, we are currently on the Pacific coast. We have sailed extensively in Puget Sound. We have cruised the boat from Canada down to Mexico. In the next few months I will ship the boat overland to the Chesapeake Bay. (Work related move.) We used to live on the Chesapeake with a much smaller boat, and feel we have some comfort with those waters as well. We’ll spend a couple of years there before heading across.
Our boat has no engine, and has not had for many years. Instead she has a small electric drive, which we use to get in and out of marinas. We can make about 3 knots under power, and have a range of about 10 miles. We do not have enough power to steam against a 20 knot headwind, but when we have 20 kts of wind we always sail. (or wait!)
As we read the Channel Pilot we are amazed at the amount of thin water and narrow channels you have. I look at illustrations like River Hamble and I try to imagine having to beat up the river in 20 knots of breeze, and probably with a foul current as well. The photo I have shows lots of anchored boats in and flanking the channel, making such a sail something of a dodge-‘em game. … Or here’s a photo of Newtown River…Wow. Yarmouth looks OK, easy to deal with. Lymington looks not too bad, if you can avoid the ferry. Christchurch looks tough. And I can’t imagine making it up the River Frome to Wareham.
My hope is that a lot of this is because I don’t know the waters. I say all these names as if I know the places they refer to, but I assure you that they are just names in a book to me at present. I’d bet that if I were to look at charts of my own waters, with no firsthand knowledge of them, I’d reach the same conclusion. I mean, I didn’t have any trouble in San Francisco (which is very shallow, and has a fair amount of wind.) And I don’t have any trouble up here (Puget Sound) with our 5 meters of tide and 4+ knot currents.
I don’t quite know what I’m asking for. I guess I’m hoping you will say “it’s not hard to sail here, you get used to it.” Or that one of you will say “I have sailed my 8 tonne Watchamacallit for 27 years without an engine, and only had to be towed off once.” But let ‘em roll fellas – I’ve never met a sailor who didn’t have an opinion or two (or three!) Share yours with me. What’s it really like to sail in the UK?
Thanks!
Chris McKesson
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