Full Moon English Channel Crossing

Full Moon English Channel Crossing long weekend

An iconic passage, under the (almost) Full Moon.

What better way to spend May holiday weekend.

Join us for the iconic crossing (and return) of the English Channel. 

I’ll skipper the boat, with a strong 1st mate. Only ZISC members on board. No experience needed, but if you haven’t done much sailing let’s have a chat about what to expect. 

Sign up here or send me a message.

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The Plan

We’ll leave from the Solent (UK) on Thursday, and expect to be across the Channel by lunchtime or late afternoon Friday (overnight passage). The objective may be Cherbourg, Alderney, or St Malo. 60mile to 80mile passage.

Possibly a short passage along the coast on Saturday to reposition the boat.

We’ll return overnight Saturday night, or Sunday during the day, weather dependent, to finish in the Solent on Sunday evening.

Complex night navigation in buoyed channels in the Solent, sailing out past the Needles under full moon, overfalls, tidal gates, crossing the Channel and one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, tidal heights of 9metres, currents of up to 9knots in the Alderney race. We are close to spring tides on this weekend, so the highest tides and strongest currents. This weekend has it all!

Ideal weekend for 

• mile building
• night sailing experience
• doing the passage planning, or assist if you’ve not done it before. 
• learn about managing night watch systems (and do them)
• practicing tidal navigation
• how to cross one of the busiest shipping channels, at night.
• passages count towards the 60NM passages required for RYA Coastal Skipper and the required night hours 
• also a chance to skipper one of the 60NM+ passages

The route is very weather dependent (we will only cross channel in 'reasonable' conditions), so we will discuss with the crew the preferred plan B. Lots of good options for long passages along coast of UK.

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The boat is a Dufour 460, MCA Cat 2 coded boat

Year: 2019

Name: Oarsome Dreams

Cabins: 5  

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Costs are on a Cost Share Basis. 

- For boat charter expect £570 each if there is 7 of us OR –

- £400 each if there is 10 of us…

…for four full days offshore sailing. A Med “week” sailing is only 6 days :-)

And you only need 1 day off work!!

Flights: possible to fly to Gatwick, Heathrow or Southampton. At time of writing ZRH LGW is £130 return.