Of course 90 divided by 6 = 15 hours to sail across the English Channel and through the shipping lanes. So we gave ourselves an extra period of daylight and we set off at 04:00 ( Sunrise 05:00)
Navigational twilight through to civil twilight and into daylight … So how does one pass the time of 15 hours sailing on one long long starboard tack ?
05:00 Winds 270°(W) and COG (course) 145°. The winds came over our starboard quarter and the sails were set quite flat to sail on a beam reach. This was sufficient to point towards our destination however it also restricted pointing eastwards and the possibility of an accidental in gybe.
06:30 Breakfast aboard was prepared and then a pod of dolphins broke the surface and played about on either side and disappeared under the keel only to reappear on the other side. They were having fun…
07:00 Zeus Glass Helm – a sophisticated electronic navigational system and the perfect opportunity to learn all about it. Touchscreen display covered tides, charts, vessels, AIS, autopilot, course, weather, navigation, laylines and radar etc.
11:00 Shipping lanes and separation zones control the movement of all vessels. Rules are set and sailing vessels in theory have rights of way over motorised ships. We checked our navigational screens and identified the vessels with the nearest TCPA and CPA. With gaps of just 2NM between oil/cargo tankers it was a tight squeeze however we were able to sail straight through the first lane.
13:00 Zeus identified everything coming towards us along the second lane and with 1:30 hours of advance notice. One even adjusted their course ahead of our arrival – for us ? Again straight through.
15:20 Winds remained steady f5 with only slight shifts between 270°-285°. A direct course to our destination was prevented and we remained on course for Sark ready to gybe at Guernsey.
18:43 The tidal streams between the Channel Islands are strong and everyone has heard of the Alderney Race. Crossing over the top of the Big Russell proved problematic with 3.5 kts against. Although this would gradually reduce, our sailing ETA became 23:00. Engine on for the last 30 minutes and arrived in La Greve de la Ville – a sheltered cove with moorings. We anchored in 7.5m depth ( tidal range 5m) near the top of a falling tide.
20:00 Exhausted but elated, we finally ate a simple meal. Throughout the passage, Zeus provided safety information, autohelming, and navigational guidance to the highest level of accuracy. And the newly calibrated anchor chain dropped down with equal precision.
Logged 15 hr 53 min, average speed 6.3 kts, distance 100.0 NM
Until tomorrow “good night” zzzzz
Experience Sailing 