AHoy Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 I carry a 2.3m inflatable dinghy on Marsel 2 which can (just) cope with 3 "reasonable" sized adults. No outboard as yet though so only useful for short distances and slack tide, light winds - unless Popeye is rowing. A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Fox Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Small tip for those who are going.... Use chain to connect your vessel to the mooring buoys in Alderney. The motion there frequently chafes through rope on the mooring rings, and adrift vessels have ended up on the rocks, down the Swinge, or into the Alderney Race itself. Mike Safety Officer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 when there's motion like that Mike I am tucked up in St PP or Beaucette! The latter is well placed for the fishing grounds but the sill is 1' too high to make it really practicable for our boats on neap tides and you get locked in too long on others (as well as cost). overall about 2/3rds of the buoys have mooring strops that, apart from being a bit dirty to handle, are best. We tend to pick up on of these and simply run a short length of 14mm through it. the problem with chain is that you end up with either a complex series of chain/warp connections and a lot of length or you end up kissing the buoy all night with the bow. it's a good tip not to just tie up with a loop of thin warp though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Talking of weather what would be the max you (all) would consider going over in? Martin Martin What was the weather we had on that crossing when I joined you guys with Quest II and Duncan came on Phaeton? I wouldn't want to cross in any more than that. It is no longer fun. I seem to remember that was about a 5 on the nose????? It dies off nicely by the afternoon (after we had made an early run for it to miss the forecast of it arriving at midday) Tom 'twas a 6 on the nose at times - I remember the trip well despite it being uneventful! the only reasons we went were - 1. the forecast for the next 5 days were sun and F0-F1 2. we initially thought we were travelling in company 3. I only flew in from abroad a few hours earlier and hadn't really been thinking about it 4. we knew it wasn't going to get much worse as we crossed - the worst conditions were expected about 5 miles S of Anvil point. So we batterned everything down, made up flasks and sarnies and headed off . In actual fact the sea did get worse approaching Alderney as the wavelength got shorter - but by then we had slotted in behind Quest (it was a mile ahead) and took comfort from their antics (it looked worse on there than it felt on Phaeton! 5. we weren't sleeping onboard so knew we could get a good nights sleep whatever on arrival. on the other hand we didn't still head off 'because we had arranged to do so' with regard to the other brave bunnies on here I personally wouldn't head over in more than a 3-4SW - this gives the option of finding a more comfortable course to the S if I find the conditions off Anvil make the going to heavy on 210M and I can make for Cherbourg on the first night and run across to the Schole early the next morning. Having done this twice I have found on both occassions I have been able to come back on course for Alderney later in the trip without having taken too big a detour and maintaining 16 knots. Any more and I will postpone - three times in 2006 I set off for Alderney and ended up in Weymouth......... coming back is usually easier as if the weather does come up quickly it's usually from the SW and we can still maintain a decent speed. This was heading over in 2006 on the Friday evening in June for the 48hour comp or it may have been coming back on the Sunday............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHoy Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 with regard to the other brave bunnies on here I personally wouldn't head over in more than a 3-4SW - this gives the option of finding a more comfortable course to the S if I find the conditions off Anvil make the going to heavy on 210M and I can make for Cherbourg on the first night Looks like your F4 tallies with this "not-so-brave" bunny, but I would definitely want a forecast for F4 and decreasing. I am not familiar with Alderney so would opt for Cherbourg as my first stop if at all concerned about conditions. Just need to make sure all buddy boats know everyone else is secure and where. A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 but by then we had slotted in behind Quest (it was a mile ahead) and took comfort from their antics (it looked worse on there than it felt on Phaeton! Yes it certainly felt like being sat on one of those fairground rodeo rides whilst being in a submarine and staring at the washing machine window. Didn't even realise you were behind us! The original forecast gave the harsh weather from lunchtime tailing off by the evening. We all set off nice and early to be over at the island before lunch. Trouble is, nobody told the weather what the forecasters had decided and it hit fairly hard about 09:30 / 10:00 am... ...almost exactly as we stoped feathering some bait up at Portland, so we ended up running the whole crossing straight into it. Not pleasant and not one to be repeated too often on a small boat. I'd agree with Ahoy and Duncan that given the choice a tailng of 4 would most sensible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toerag Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 or anchored up off the Swinge for the night hmm, you're brave!! With regard to weather, invariably it's a force higher in Alderney than anywhere else in the channel, and big tides only ever make it worse. Tackleshop Mark does have a dinghy, but it's a nightmare to row, and the paint will come off it and get all over your hull if your fendering's not brilliant, believe me, I know, LOL! He'd let you use though I reckon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted February 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 or anchored up off the Swinge for the night hmm, you're brave!! With regard to weather, invariably it's a force higher in Alderney than anywhere else in the channel, and big tides only ever make it worse. Tackleshop Mark does have a dinghy, but it's a nightmare to row, and the paint will come off it and get all over your hull if your fendering's not brilliant, believe me, I know, LOL! He'd let you use though I reckon. lol Thanks Mark much appreciated, all loclal info gladly recieved Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 or anchored up off the Swinge for the night hmm, you're brave!! With regard to weather, invariably it's a force higher in Alderney than anywhere else in the channel, and big tides only ever make it worse. Tackleshop Mark does have a dinghy, but it's a nightmare to row, and the paint will come off it and get all over your hull if your fendering's not brilliant, believe me, I know, LOL! He'd let you use though I reckon. one of those settled periods that seem to happen all to infrequently - note sun cream! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Removed Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 Hi Guys I am just in the process of applying to join your club and spoke with Martin the other day down at Rockley. I would be very interested in joining you with my boat across the channel, probably only be me as kids are a bit small for a trip like that so if anyone wanted to come along I would be happy for them to join me. Cheers guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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