St Vaast-la-Hougue to Lymington 80nm
Saturday 26 July
The Dutch fleet that arrived last night decided not to raft up next to us as we are leaving at 10 am after the gate opens and when it’s deep enough to move out of the soft mud we are sitting in.
And a very helpful Dutchman helped us off the dock.
A cloudy but fair day with a steady Westerly force 4 carried us happily back over the Channel to England.
The seas were flat and the sun came out.
The wind increased as we entered the shipping channels. There’s no separation zone here which means we don’t have to pass them at right-angles, (although we do) however it also means they can come from any direction. Most were following the usual flow but there was the odd anomaly that you need to look out for.
It’s always a bit stressful crossing the path of these ships as many are the size of about 10 blocks of flats. When they are going quickly (16+ knots) it’s easier as you know they will be ahead if you can see them. But a lot were going only 10-11 knots, which is pretty much what we were doing, and so much harder to judge.
We use our AIS system to see what their bearing is from us and what their closest approach (CPA) will be. So long as the bearing changes over time you’re ok. If it stays the same you need to slow down or change direction. We keep the CPA over 1.5nm and preferably much more.
We usually have someone on the helm – me this time – and the other one checking the numbers on the AIS. As it had got windier and a bit choppy with the wind now against tide, it was good to be able to focus on sailing fast to get through the lanes.
We were averaging 10 knots which is pretty amazing, and winds were mostly 14-18 with the odd gust or lull. We made the crossing in 10 hours so we were tied up on our dock around 7pm.
The Solent is a lovely place to arrive with the spectacular Needles and getting through the narrows at Hurst.
Even better, Jess, Tony and Eme came for welcome home drinks on the dock.
We spent Sunday cleaning La Bamba so she’s ready for next time
Thank you for sailing with us vicariously; more sailing adventures will follow later in the year.