A ROUGH sail across the Channel! We start our big adventure! Ep 30
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- We're finally leaving the UK and sailing across the channel to France! After weeks of waiting, we've finally got what looked like a decent weather window to sail across the Channel, except it wasn't quite as forecast. We had stronger winds and choppier seas than expected, which made life onboard extremely uncomfortable. But we made it to France and set about eating as much French food as possible during our first week, with a visit to a creperie, a big supermarket trip and our first French food market.
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Re crossing the shipping lane, your responsibility is to sail straight and steady and as perpendicular to the traffic flow as possible. This makes it feasible for the big ships to predict your track with their equipment and adjust slightly to avoid you. Whereas, if you dodge and weave, you'll drive them nuts, increase the chance of problems and get in trouble with the traffic police who are watching on radar and AIS. If in doubt about a big ship's intentions, call them on 16 and follow their instructions on switching to another channel for a short discussion. The traffic police will be listening but they only intervene if necessary. Good luck! 🙂
Hi SnowGum, my understanding is that only applies in actual TSS zones? Because of the TSS zones off Normandy and Brittany the shipping lanes are still very defined.
That said, we did not have to adjust course once to avoid shipping. All the ships close to us adjusted course slightly to widen the gap either behind or ahead. Seems they were comfortable with about half a mile CPA.
If feeling sea sick - go on the helm and hand steer for a bit. It takes your mind off it and focussing on the horizon is something that the brain can compute I think! A round the world clipper skipper told me this and I have seen it work.... Then stay on deck for a bit - looking up and out to the horizon. Only go down below to lie down or very briefly e.g. to do the log. I hope that helps! Certainly feels great to have achieved a channel crossing.
Age old tip of being busy and hand steering! Laura's not found it too effective for her in the past unfortunately. Thanks for the tips though
Rissotto > Laura. Good job Stu!! Plus it's crazy how much the boat lists!
Yeah it does lean a bunch! Really makes it hard to do anything down below
Glad you both are still sailing,I’ve been a subscriber from the start 👍👍
Thanks for your support! Anything you'd like to see more of / less of on the channel? :)
Just found your you tube and subscribed immediately good luck in France -we used to own a home there few years back brings back great memories now I sail around Milford in wales .looking forward to to your further passages Bon voyage -Malc uk 🇬🇧
Thanks for subbing and welcome! Glad to hear you're enjoying it
Ahhhh... The food... I've been looking forward to your sojourn to the Continent... Bumpy trip there but hey... Chocolate crissont thingy s... yum...
Ha hopefully we do the food justice. There is so much good food in France and it is so varied. But we'll do our best.
Enjoyed that. Ta.
Loving the new videos guys, thank you. What was the issue with the alternator? I’m contemplating an upgrade to Balmar.
In the end it was actually a problem with the solar MPPT and the Cyrix Li-Charge that we had in place. Long story short but the Li-Charge (a relay) was not opening and the MPPT was pushing the voltage on the charge bus up to 16v. This was causing the BMS to shut down the charger system entirely! We have now switched to a Smart Battery Protect to do this job and changed up the way the alternator is wired (downstream of the smart battery protect with a dedicated solid state relay to disable the alternator in the case of BMS charger shutdown).
I have to say, the Balmar has been awesome (we've got a 120A alternator) but it does get hot which makes me worried about how it will perform in warmer climates. It was also a real pain in the backside to wire up properly
@@DelfinoDiscovers thanks so much for that reply, makes sense but frustrating at the time. Thanks also for your thoughts on the alternator. Our engine room is pretty big so hopefully not too much of an issue and I can always add some cooling. Fair winds.
Great vid guys well done 👌 looking forward to the adventure unfolding 🙏 I was in Brittany last month in my motor home France was amazing enjoy 😊 your cooking is far superior to what we lived on 😅
Thanks and glad you're enjoying it! We spent some time in a campervan and really loved it to be honest. You might see more of that content on the channel :)
@@DelfinoDiscovers sounds great would love to see it, we are hoping to go from northern Spain to southern Portugal in September, vanlife is so less stressful than saillife as you guys will know 😅 I’m just going to try get to the Isle of Man and back in my boat this year and hopefully follow a similar route you guys have taken next year if all goes to plan 😅
Oh no I had to watch this in the morning and endure watching you eat my favourite chocolate croissants!
We'll have to add a disclaimer next time!
"I'm guessing you don't want a bowl" 🙂
Haha I 100% did not want a bowl!
Hello Laura. Was there a cost for the 6 months long stay tourist visa in France? Would it allow you to move to other countries in that time, covered by that visa? Thanks. Rick. p.s. Oh, the food! You've made us want to get back to France. 🙂
Yes there was a cost, I think in total it came to about £150 per person. If you go to other countries I believe that the normal Schengen 90 day rules should apply, but if you travel to and from France you are unlikely to be stamped into or out of the other country
Thanks for this Laura.
Re seasickness, my wife Carolyn had some problems, but me - not. Here’s some thoughts. Susceptibility is very much related to two triggers: how good your balance is, with the other being anxiety. They’re not interrelated but can compound. As a young woman your balance is most likely very good, which means your brain is still paying close attention to the signals it gets from eyes and ears. This is the reason why the simple act of helming the boat makes such a difference, compared with being inside. When helming, your brain can make sense of the movement your body is feeling and seeing, with the horizon being the best, unmoving reference point.
At night or downstairs it gets difficult, though land lights, distant ships and stars can help. A key suggestion is, keep your head level. Try not to look down. Doing this makes it so much harder for your brain to cope.
Anxiety arising from concern about the boat and the sea state and navigation challenges exacerbates oncoming seasickness from your senses being mucked around , or can cause it in its own right. Experience with and trust in your boat will help. It’s a good boat. Enjoy the ride as you would a roller coaster at a theme park. 😀 Imagine being in a passenger plane in bumpy weather. Do you grip the arm rests and feel worried or put your hands in the air and say, ‘Wheeeee!’ Try the latter as the boat rides over big seas; it really helps.
As a Brit you can buy scopolamine in the form of Hyoscine hydrobromide, over the counter. Travacalm or Quells, which can help in the first three days, while your brain might still be trying to make you get rid of the dodgy mushrooms it thinks you’ve eaten. Then it gives up. A tablet taken at the same time as a patch is applied as you depart will provide a quick rise to therapeutic dose level, which is then sustained.
A problem with coastal sailing is you don’t get to experience that seasickness generally resolves after three days. Experiencing this can help avoid the circular problem of getting anxious about the prospect of getting seasick!
Good luck with these strategies. It will get better for you. 🙂 Regards, Rick.
Congratulations! Hope you’ve managed to discover rillette. A ‘Q’ flag is only required on arrival to France if you have any goods to declare, so they’re a bit unusual in that respect.
Oh interesting, thanks for letting us know! We definitely did discover rillette during our time in France, currently working through our last pot :’(
@@DelfinoDiscovers bad times!!!! But good times til it ends 😂
I want a boat now...
Glad the seasickness clips haven’t put you off!
ah seasickness... first you are afraid you might die, then you get afraid you might not going to die anytime soon.
It's the not dying anytime soon that really gets you down
HI Kids. Further to my comments on your sailing to culinary adventures agenda around Europe, that you told me about when I raved over you New York nosebag tour. Could I possibly turn you on to a RUclips channel "Pete's Pans" if you're not already aware? Doing something similar, but in his own way. Loved this episode by the way. Shame about the seasickness though. Peace and best wishes.
Thanks for the recommendation! We'll check out Pete's Pans. Glad you enjoyed the video