“The thought of skippering your first cross channel passage can be daunting if you’re used to hopping around the Solent. Mileage weekends provide a good opportunity to plan and skipper a passage with the safety net of a skipper or instructor on board. But if you’re ready to charter a yacht and skipper your own cross-channel trip then here are a few tips about planning your passage from the comfort of your living room.
I’ve assumed that you don’t have a full set of Solent and cross-channel charts or an English Channel Tidal Atlas lying around at home so I’ve also recommended some apps that can be used for pre-planning. See our new Apps webpage for more details.
I’ve used Hamble to Cherbourg as an example passage as it is probably the most straightforward cross-channel passage.”
Good luck, Alex.
Chief Instructor, Hamble Point Sailing School
Starting your planning
Once you’ve made your charter reservation, and have set dates, you can start to consider the tides for your cross-channel journey. At this point you can plan to expect the prevailing south-westerly winds but keep an eye on the forecasts nearer the time of the charter and be ready to change your plans accordingly. I’ve used Saturday 22nd August in my example. This date is a little after springs but the range of tide on that date is greater than the mean range so I will need to extrapolate the tidal rates.
Distance and duration
The online Navionics Web App is free to use and is great for basic planning before you have access to the on-board HPYC charts. A quick Navionics route shows that the whole trip, is around 80NM with the longest leg, from The Needles to Cherbourg being around 60NM.
Assuming a boat speed of 5 or 6 knots this will mean a total journey time of around 15 hours. In all likelihood this will mean that some of the trip will be in darkness hours. For your first crossing, it is a good choice to depart in the early hours and arrive in Cherbourg during daytime. My plan assumes leaving Hamble at an eye watering but sensible 0300!
Tides – Hamble Point to The Needles
There are no tidal height constraints between Hamble Point and Cherbourg for any of the HYPC yachts. Therefore, timing wise its simply a case of finding a favourable tidal stream for the 20NM, 3 to 4 hour journey, from Hamble Point Marina and out through The Needles.
This is where the interactive tidal atlas within the Imray Tides Planner app is incredibly useful. This tells us that the tidal hours of Portsmouth HW to HW+4 are favourable to leave Hamble and exit The Needles. If you choose a specific date then the app will also give you the actual times of the tidal hours.
The animation shows an extract from the app. At the top you can see how easy it is to scroll trough the tidal hours to find a window that works.
The cross channel part of the journey, at 60NM is likely to take around 10-12 hours and that’s a lot of tide to consider. In this cross-tide situation the most efficient method is to average multiple hours’ worth of tide and prepare a course-to-steer based on the offset as shown below.
Other bits of planning you can do in advance:
Navigation tools and documentation
The HPYC boats all have the Reeds Nautical Almanac, Admiralty charts that cover the English Channel, a Shell Channel Pilot, a Portland plotter and dividers on board – as well as an electronic chart plotter! The English Channel tidal stream atlas can be put on board on request.
The yachts carry a French courtesy flag (and the ’Q’ flag for the Channel Islands). Every boat has the necessary boat paperwork on board (SSR Registration, insurance, Bill of Sale, VAT status and Ship’s Radio Licence). As skipper, you need to ensure that you carry your Marine Radio Short Range Certificate (SRC) and your sailing qualification such as RYA Coastal Skipper. Every crew member should also bring their passport and, at the time of writing, their European Health Insurance Card. Don’t forget some Euros!
Downloads
Fab service, nothing too much trouble, including my daft questions. I'll be a repeat customer for sure!
We had a great time sailing with Lee for a few days at the beginning of September. Hamble Point Yacht Charters supplied us an impeccable 45 ft Hanse yacht, which was handled with complete mastery by Captain Lee. It was a privilege to sail with Lee, who is clearly a highly skilled professional taking great pride in his work ... but who is also a fantastic character with a great sense of humour and plenty of fun stories to keep the whole family entertained. He balances the serious side of safety and learning about sailing with a whopping dose of amusement and good cheer. We sailed the Solent in some decent seas, visited Bucklers Hard on the banks of the Beaulieu River and learned lots about British nautical history. Our boys started somewhat of a fishing trend catching bass off the back of the boat in Portsmouth and we would love to sail with Lee again in the future. The man truly knows his stuff, maintained the boat impeccably and went to every effort to ensure that we had a great time. Many thanks to “Shippers” and Hamble Point Charters. We’ll be back.
Chartered bareboats with HPYC on numerous occasions most recently in Sept 2020. Always helpful and accommodating. Highly recommend.
We had a fantastic weekend sailing on Loxley B. Boat in super condition and spotlessly clean, Alex. and the team very thorough and always on hand to answer any questions. A great experience. We will be back. Thank you!
Lots of information from office with a friendly service. We selected a one of the cheaper yachts and was please with find everything work and was cleaned and tidy. We will definitely be back
This was the first time we had tried chartering and as experienced racing sailors we didn't know what to expect. Covid has closed down all our events this year so this was a chance to get afloat at least once in 2020. What a great experience and Alex and all the Hamble staff could not have been more friendly or helpful. We had a great three days and we will be back !! We would have no hesitation is recommending Hamble Point Yacht Charters.
From initial enquiry to handing the boat back, the service and attention to detail was fantastic. Very prompt service for the minor niggle we did have and with a wide selection of boats to charter, I'll certainly be back. One of the USPs of this business is they are right by the entrance to the Hamble so it's very quick to get out into the Solent compared to other marinas further up where it can take 30-40 mins or more just to reach Southampton water. Big thanks to Alex and the team, we had a great week on a very well kept boat
Professional, efficient and friendly. The booking and admin process was straightforward, the handover was well organised and Covid compliant. Most importantly the boat, a Sun Odyssey 37 was in great condition and very well equipped. We will definitely use this company again.
A short email to say thank you to you and all your team for a fantastic yacht charter and for all your help with our booking at such short notice. Apaloosa is a lovely yacht and very well equipped. Hamble Point Marina is a great base to explore from – and my first time sailing from there, although my husband has been a few times.
I would also like to praise our skipper, Dave. He was excellent company, very patient, great at explaining manoeuvres and very happy to involve the children so that they could learn too. Given the weather conditions and our rusty knowledge, it was very reassuring to have him with us. Dave was very happy to impart his knowledge and he ensured we made the most of our short charter. We would definitely request him again!
So, thank you once again, it was great fun, and have a good weekend.
One of the larger charter companies which means they have a large fleet and permanent office staff, a big plus. I chartered Loxley B (37ft Sun Odyssey). Boat was clean, well equipped, well maintained. Office staff was really friendly and efficient in answering questions quickly. Will use this company again.
Thanks to all again for a great charter and the effort taken to make the handover so efficient. Especially with the videos
First time using Hamble Point Yacht Charter and will definitely be back. Location, range of boats and value for money all excellent. The team was very friendly and efficient, and the boat we chartered (Blue) was in good condition and well equipped.
Chartered 37 Hallberg Rassy for a weekend mid Jan. Booking process and communication prior to booking was friendly and informative. The yacht was immaculate and had everything we needed for the weekend. Simple check out process, lots of information provided in the personal review of the yacht. Returning the yacht was just as simple and the security deposit was refunded within 3 days. Highly recommended, we will be returning customers.
We comprised a group of 5 friends; Chartering Kasara, a well appointed Halberg Rassy 36, for a long weekend, taking part in the Round Table Area 45 Presidents Rally. The boat was clean and ready for our arrival, and we were away in good time, she sailed well and when we returned on the Sunday evening the hand back was quick and easy. We all agreed we had had a great time, and would charter again in the future
Hi, I've chartered bareboats from Hamble Point Yacht Charters on a number of occasions - mostly weekends, working my way through their fleet of yachts. Really friendly people, swift to respond. Boats are always in good condition, ready to sail. Their location makes it easy to get to the Solent swiftly. Highly recommended