Hopping Down the Channel

Leaving Amsterdam, we once again set off with the sunrise and began our journey back out to sea via the Noordzeekanaal. Heading southwest with the wind from behind, we passed by the busy port of Rotterdam and some passing showers. Continuing into the night we began following a small channel between a wind farm and the large shipping channel into Rotterdam.  We were suprised to see how active this area was on the VHF radio with several calls to ensure we were staying clear of the shipping lanes and wind farms.

A few hours after sunrise the wind decreased and the fog began to set in as we slowly approached the high traffic area outside of Oostende. Bouncing about with little wind and a bit of current slowly pushing us past a large freighter anchorage, we were left drifting slowly toward the shipping channel. In order to avoid collision and any upset traffic control we turned on the engine and informed them of our intention to cross the traffic separation scheme directly.

On the other side of the shipping lane the wind slowly increased and we approached Dunkerque with sunny skies. Thankfully, we were able to make use of the 6m tides here to pass over some sandbanks taking the most direct route which would be impassable at low tide. Mooring in Dunkerque just before the heavy fog rolled in again, we were able to get some much needed rest before another early start.

Luckily, in the morning after a review of the tidal charts with better rested eyes we realized that 7:00am was a more favourable starting time to our intial estimate of 5:00am. So, with a couple more hours for rest and prepartion we set off, meeting many other sailors with the same intention to pass through the English Channel with the current.

Just after passing through this narrowest point between Dover and Calais we decided to make use of the great wind and set the spinnaker choosing a course to arrive in Cherbourg somtime the following evening.

We were able to make great speed with the spinnaker and even found an advantage with the current against as the waves steepened slightly and we were able to surf to maintain a solid speed.

Finally, the rain broke from the cloudy skies and we enjoyed a beautiful strong rain shower discovering another use for the solar panel holder as an excellent rain shield, keeping us dry even without full rain gear on.

We took down the spinnaker just before sunset to prepare to sail through the night and finally passed a night with little excitement and just enough wind to feel smooth in the boat.

Making the final stretch to Cherbourg we were able to continue with the spinnaker and lighter wind. With the wind eventually dying we uncharacteristically engined for a little more than an hour to avoid drifting back to far with the current and spending another full night at sea. When the wind picked up again it came from the west, and we changed to the number one foresail in order to get close to the wind to ride the current into Cherbourg at sunset.