Passage Planning from La Rochelle to Kiel

[SFH]

Hi,

I am working on my passage plan for sailing my Jeanneau 53 from La Rochelle to Kiel during the first week of July.

Since this would be my first passage of the English Channel I am looking for recommendations and things to look out for.

So far I believe I am good from La Rochelle to Brest but I have some doubts on which strategy to follow from Brest to Dover and onwards.

1. Should I stay on the French side of the channel and thereby on the southern side of the TSS by port hopping to Guernsey - Cherbourg - (Dieppe) - Calais?

or

2. It is a better strategy to cross the Channel and the TSS to the Solent and then follow the English Coast to Dover before crossing the TSS again before moving on to The Hague and Den Helder?


3. Which one is the better option from a tidal and weather perspetive?

Thanks
Steen

[atoll]

it is a 60-40 question! since the wind is predominately southwesterly,and the tidal gates are more or less the same whichever route you take!

the tides are bigger on the french side,with more sandbanks,but the marinas are cheaper and you have good wine and cheese.

i prefer the english side as there are more all weather harbours,that you can enter easily at any state of the tide.

apart from crossing the tss you can take the inshore route on the uk side
( which is just outside the tss shipping lanes )

you also want to plan to be passing ramsgate at about hw slack dover so as to pick up the next favourable tide for the north sea,which is a few hours after the dover hw.

if you get it right you will have 2 favourable tides,almost back to back.

make sure your charts are up to date as there have been quite a few changes to the tss recently due to all the new wind farms offshore.

[SFH]

atoll,

Thanks.

Where would you do the first crossing: L'Aberwrath, Trebeurden or go up to Guernsey?

[atoll]

Originally Posted by SFH

atoll,

Thanks.

Where would you do the first crossing: L'Aberwrath, Trebeurden or go up to Guernsey?

my home port is falmouth,so generally from brest i would plan to be through the raz de seine with a favourable tide by nightfall,and crossing the finisterre tss heading north by midnight,then make landfall the next day in falmouth or points east if going up the channel.

the tss is really quite narrow,about 10 miles,so extra care is only really needed when crossing it at right angles,the rest of the time normal collision avoidance rules apply when crossing the channel.

my biggest concern would be the very strong currents and big tides on the french side.
so it would probably be prudent for a less experinced sailor to avoid the channel islands and french ports.

best bet would be once on the northen side of finnisterre TSS to head for a port on the south coast or brighton marina,then depart from there to be through the dover straights by hw dover.

[boatman61]

Atoll... I think you mean Ushant.
Finisterre is the Western most point of Spain..

[atoll]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Atoll... I think you mean Ushant.
Finisterre is the Western most point of Spain..

yeah ushant is the western most point of france,but finistere is also the name of the brest peninsula .
hence advising to pass between ushant and finistere,or the raz de seine.

finistere just means lands end!

hence the western most point of cornwall is also called finis tere,or lands end!

as are the french and spanish finis-terres.

see below google maps

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Fin...ce&z=9&iwloc=A

[boatman61]

Sorry.. not trying to be smart..
Just one is Finisterre Traffic and the other Quessant Traffic for the TSS.. I tend to listen closely to the controllers when passing these headlands.. know whats coming..
Also.. if I was him I'd sail out of Brest and take the Passage du Fromveur by Isle de Quessant at the low of the tide rather than try the inshore passage.. easier to time it right from Brest leaving at HW.. but then.. I'm Chicken Little..

[atoll]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Sorry.. not trying to be smart..
Just one is Finisterre Traffic and the other Quessant Traffic for the TSS.. I tend to listen closely to the controllers when passing these headlands.. know whats coming..
Also.. if I was him I'd sail out of Brest and take the Passage du Fromveur by Isle de Quessant at the low of the tide rather than try the inshore passage.. easier to time it right from Brest leaving at HW.. but then.. I'm Chicken Little..

no you are quite correct in reference to ushant Tss and finisterre Tss,just i am quite familiar with brittany and refered to it by its french name...finistere.