How to cross the channel the hard way! How many ways to cross the channel? Swim, ferry, tunnel, Sea Cat, power boat, fly. The list is endless, so why not do it the long, hard way? Sail across, I did. Departure Hamble (Southampton) destination Cherbourg. Date:- 28-07-04. So, with provisions gathered on board, safety brief completed 10.00pm and off we go, sailing into the dark. The biggest obstacle was navigating the Solent. Eight waypoints programmed into the GPS before we would be clear. Three hours later we were ready to cross the channel having navigated the Solent, this time only one waypoint was set, Cherbourg. Having sailed many of times I still haven't combated seasickness and, in the dark, its even worse. I won't bore you with the details but, OK you've guessed it, I was ill. Was it the can of Stella at 2am? Could have been but, I was getting very cold & decided to go below & zip on the lining to my wet top. That was when it started! I have no ability to go below when sailing it makes me well, you know...sick! The skipper had set out a watch rota but for my part, forget it. I would remain on deck all night, although I did get some sleep in the very early hours at least 30 minutes. Around 4am we were approaching the shipping lanes so, those on deck needed to keep a careful eye. I was on deck with one other when suddenly he shouted "What the **** is that?". I pulled my self to my feet and saw the apparition. An intense light seemingly coming from the seabed, I took a look through the binoculars. It was a cruse-ship, which appeared to have every cabin light switched on. The journey through the shipping lanes was quite uneventful and a bit of a disappointment. We put this down to the same reason the M1 is clear "kids holiday". Dawn was around 04.45am, but we still had along way to go. By this time most of us were on deck when the helm announced we were being dive bombed by a pigeon. We looked up to see the pigeon coming back for a second go (at what?). It then circled again and came into land in our main sail cover. It was a homing pigeon, ringed and looking quite fit but, no matter how we ruffled the main sheet & cover, it would not move. It was some time latter that the traveler was released with a bang, enough for the pigeon to take flight straight for a ferry just in front of us. The rest of the crossing went almost unobserved, probably because I was so tired but, I did feel very relieved as we tied up in Cherboroug. Just a shame we were there only 20 hours and I slept for 12 of those. The following day after our only on-shore meal (mussels) we were heading for Alderney. This was a 6hr passage during which I was helm most of the time. Having radioed the harbour master, we were informed that the only berths left were mooring to a buoy. However, on arrival, the only moorings were gone so, left with no alternative, we dropped anchor. Then came the second ordeal. We tried radioing for a water Taxi, we tried phoning a water Taxi, eventually we got a lift with a friendly passer by. Latter that evening in the bar one of the crew asked the barman how we could book a TAXI for the return trip, the reply was a bit of a surprise "There are loads of tenders in the Marina. Just help yourself" good eh? Needless to say we didn't pinch a tender, but made it back in time for the last water Taxi. Next morning we set sail early (6am) for the return trip to Blighty. Unfortunately the winds were not favorable. We motored all the way back to Poole making a very large hole in the Diesel tank. This time the shipping lanes were quite busy though we never had to take avoiding action. About mid way across the channel one of the crew pointed out 3 vertical lines on the horizon having checked the charts we could not make sense of them. They seemed to stay with us for ever until they crossed in front of us. Yes, crossed in front of us! It was, we believe, a Tricolour on the back of a ship going very slowly. The final leg into Poole was a nightmare with motor boats and jet skis coming from every direction. Having navigated to the town marina we saw exactly what we didn't want to see, a sign saying "FULL". We had pre-booked an alternative mooring but, had wanted to be near the town center> The only other option was to moor against the harbour wall but, not only were we low on fuel, we had completely ran out of water. So it was back to run the gauntlet with the jet skis and steam irons (nickname coined by one of the crew for motor cruisers). On the approach to the marina in very low water we ran aground. Having corrected the error another craft offered to show us the way in, he had a draft of 1.9m we only had 1.6m. He guided us through with ease so, after eating and washing now was the time for a few beers. We had a few. I have sailed with the same crew many times but, have never seen the skippers so drunk. Just as well we weren't on a water Taxi because I am sure at least one of them would have fallen in! Trying to get the pair of them on board was an ordeal in itself. Around lunchtime the following day we sailed over to the Isle of Wight. Yarmouth, stayed the night then went over to Hamble to hand back the boat. If you are thinking of crossing the channel on a yacht why not charter from Poole it will save at least 3hrs crossing time, our crossing took more than 16hrs! Something the whole crew commented on was the lack of security at both ends, though we were displaying the quarantine flag we were never asked to show passports nor were we searched! We could have had a boat full of immigrants. As it was, we didn't even have any duty frees. Annon Comment on this story Tell us your story Your Comments: