Cross channel passage planning 

If it is an unfamiliar port, possibly not, so you need to work out the average speed of your boat. The general rule for a yacht is around five knots, while for a motorcruiser, it might be more like eight or ten.

If you take a short hop from Poole or Yarmouth across to Cherbourg, you are looking at a distance of about 60nm, so theoretically, on a summer's day, you could get all the way across in daylight, but it is tight.

If you are heading to a small port such as St Vaast La Hogue, then you will also need to bear in mind that there will be a tidal gate, so you will need to time your arrival to ensure you aren't stuck outside waiting for the tide to make. this will not ingratiate you with the crew.

Tides and Shipping Lanes

Heading across the Channel, you will be heading across the tide, so you need to work out a strategy based on the amount of time you anticipate taking.

On a twelve hour crossing you are going to get roughly the same amount of East flowing tide as West flowing tide. You will, however, need to adjust your vector depending on how long you take. It's no good having that strategy if you are in a motorcruiser which takes nine hours.

Rob explained: "It's often worth going with the flow on this one, so let the tide push you around, rather than consistently punching the tide in opposite directions.

"What you do need to work out is where the tide is going to be pushing you at different times of the trip. This is particularly true when you hit the shipping lanes.

"If you cross in one of the Traffic Separation Scheme areas, then you have to cross it at right angles, and to be honest it makes sense to do that anyway, you want to get aross as quickly as possible, causing the least amount of hassle to shipping."

Pilotage

There's nothing worse than arriving at your destination and then discovering  that you don't really know how to get into the port.
Make sure you have a clear idea in your head of how the buoyage works out, if approaching at night, perhaps write out how the lighting system works and, if possible, have a pilot book in the cockpit.

Rob explained: "The last thing you want is to be constantly diving down into the saloon as you approach land to check on which buoy is where, so make sure it is clear in your head before you arrive.

"Finally, you need to be sure you know which marina or anchorage you're going into and make sure you know how to contact them in order to work out where you are going to moor.

"Follow these few basic rules and you should find that once you arrive in France, your biggest worry is where's the best place to go to enjoy some fine French cuisine and , most importantly, fine wine."

For more information on Passage Planning why not purchase the RYA Passage Planning publication from the RYA Shop