Crossing the Channel

Most sailors want to expand their horizons, so at some point in your sailing career a first cross-channel crossing is likely. Our most recent crossing provided us with a salutary reminder of the six 'P's - Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

Channel crossings can vary from the short Dover - Calais hop to the much longer trip from Land's End to Brittany. It was the latter, from Newlyn, Cornwall to l'Aberwrac'h, Finisterre, that caught us off guard. We arrived in Newlyn around 1600 on a Friday and went ashore intending to have a quick meal, pick up a few groceries and then come back and do some passage planning. However, it was not to be!

We ended up returning to the boat around midnight with one crew member who had to be lowered to the deck, rather than running the risk of disaster inflicted by the quayside ladder. By this point, we lacked any inclination for detailed passage planning, so instead took our cue from the larger boats moored adjacent to our own, who shared our destination. They were all leaving at 0400, so we thought we could follow suit. Our loose calculations estimated that the 100 miles (approx) journey, would mean arriving at about 2100 local time, (when sailing at a steady 6 knots) - therefore leaving us with plenty of light to get us up the estuary and into the anchorage. We were so disorganised that no-one set an alarm.

Needless to say, we overslept, not getting away until 0530. We then decided to start planning the voyage en route, where it became clear that we would almost certainly arrive after dark as we were not making our 6 knot target. Thanks to the miracle of GPS, upon our stealthy night time arrival- we easily identified the first channel marker and made our way gingerly upstream, whilst hand steering against the powerful eddies.

Soon enough, we realised the error of our ways, when an extremely solid radar echo appeared dead ahead. As we approached it we found it to be a port marker with no illumination. A curse on the darkness and lack of alarm foresight! Travelling even further up the estuary we unearthed a similar starboard marker in an equally ad-hoc fashion. Upon our sudden arrival in the harbour we found it too dark to make out the pontoon layout or identify a vacant space. Luckily, there were no major mishaps, but the inconvenience of our arrival, when feeling slightly worse for wear what not ideal. Subsequent legs were better planned!

This anecdote is just one of many stories you will hear from a range of sailors from a plethora of different cruising backgrounds. Planning needs vary from trip to trip, but the basic principles remain the same throughout.

Foresight is more important on a long channel crossing and ideally you should aim to arrive with sufficient daylight hours so that delays to your plans can be accommodated. Going to France does have other specific requirements that you need to be aware of:

• Your need to have boat ownership docs with proof of VAT payment and registration documents: SSR is fine
• You also need to have your passport and ICC - International Certificate of Competence - endorsed appropriately for inland waterways as well, if you intend to explore them. The ICC can be obtained free of charge for members from the RYA.
• Make sure you fly a red ensign if UK based and a French courtesy flag from the outer starboard halyard

Of course we have never had to show any of these, but Sod's Law operates in France as well!

Note also, that while this may seem obvious to some, the weather can change on the longer crossings! So have a clear idea of what is acceptable to you and don't vary from it. Any mention of winds above force 5, for example may be your cut-off. Foggy conditions are also to be avoided in such a major shipping route, unless you have radar and are 100% confident in its use. Of course, you can't have everything worked out, but even for your own peace of mind make sure that you have some sort of trip outline.

As always, make sure you have all the safety equipment you need, including a liferaft, which can be borrowed or hired, a back-up GPS is always a good idea, and if you are being uber prepared, make sure you have a survival kit to take on board the liferaft in case of emergency.

The best tip of all is to have someone who is familiar with the route on board, and if that is not possible- seek advice before leaving as guide books are subject to change!

See the links below to find some of Ian's other articles- browse to find a personal account of port hopping, to a must-do guide to preparing food for trips on board.

	Ian Nixey

Ian Nixey has over 30 years of sailing experience. His sailing career was kickstarted in the Army, when he was ordered to go on a helmsman's course by his Commanding Officer who had just purchased a 27' sloop and needed someone to crew for him. Since then he has graduated from dinghies to owning a cat ketch and sails regularly on a friend's 31' Colvic motor sailer, mainly around Ireland and Scotland. He has crossed the Atlantic as crew on a 42' Moody, is a qualified Yachtmaster Offshore and wants to sail round the world. He lives in London with a cruiser on the Thames at Marlow and a 45' cruiser in a hire fleet in France, which he and his wife intend to cruise through the European canals for a year after their retirement.