The English Channel

In addition to the wind and the waves, it's the extreme tides that make the English Channel tricky and unruly.

The sea level can vary as much as 30' in height between the high tide and low tide. And this happens every 6 hours (Each day has 2 highs and 2 lows). To move that much water in such a short period of time, strong currents in the ocean are created. This is especially true when the land masses narrow up the water way, such as in the Straits of Dover or the Race of Alderney in the Channel Islands. Tidal currents can be as strong as 6 to 7 knots in one direction, with that flow reversing and going the opposite way just 6 hours later. 

We left Yarmouth, England, through the Needles Channel, 2 hours before the sun came up. At 51 degrees north latitude, the sun is only up for 8 hours in mid January. But we need this early start to get a 3 knot tidal push going out past the west end of the Isle of Wight. And with nine hours of English Channel passage ahead of us, we should arrive at Cherbourg about the end of daylight.

Too bad that it's dark... We missed seeing the rocks on the Isle of Wight's west end known as the Needles:

The Needles

As the sun comes up, we are sailing due south doing 10 knots (About 11 miles an hour). The seas are building as the wind gets up to about 25 knots, but it was blowing on our starboard quarter (Behind us on the right side). It is always a good thing for a power boat to have the wind behind you!

Mapping the Voyage!

First the tidal current pushed us from the east side at 3 knots, then just hours later, it was 3 knots from the other side. I am learning more about navigating the best course overall for the autopilot to steer. Plot the course allowing for the effect of both competing tides, do the math to compensate for the net overall effect, then steer on that compass course! You can't simply steer toward one's destination, otherwise you will always be sailing into the current.

We enter the harbor at Cherbourg, France about 4:30 pm, just as the sun was setting.

St Peter Port, Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands

There are several good reasons to visit Guernsey: 

Of course, there are the cows! 

The Channel Islands are evolutionary similar to the Galapagos Islands, where Darwin observed among other things, several different types of land tortoises, each evolving differently because they were separated on adjacent, but different islands. One breed of tortoise for instance, has a turned up shell by the neck because they need to reach very high to eat the cactus that only grow on that one island.

So how does a Guernsey breed of cow evolve differently right next door to a Jersey cow, even though the 2 islands are within sight of one another? The Monks who have inhabited the islands for the last thousand years, never commingled their herds, so 2 different species evolved... both great dairy cows!

Harbor Entry to Guernsey

VAT tax refunds are another reason! 

There are 3 sovern places in Europe that are not a part of the European Union. These are Malta, Gibraltar and the Channel Islands. In order to get refunded the 20% in Value Added Taxes that I paid, No Regrets would need to exit the EU within 90 days of the purchase of the Ultra anchor and other gear bought in England. So they will refund the equivalent of $2,000, for us to visit St Peter Port, the capital of Guernsey, in the Channel Islands? 

No Problem!

Also contributing to the good economics, is that since Guernsey is not a part of the European Union, there are no 20% VAT taxes here on diesel fuel, making it the least expensive in Europe. So early on the 2nd day, we motored 2 harbors up the coast, where a fuel tanker truck met us, and we filled up all 4 fuel tanks. No Regrets holds 1,000 gallons, or 3,880 liters, of diesel. At 0.47 Euros a liter, it only cost $1,997 to "Fill 'er up".

The good news, is this fuel will last for about 1,000 miles, and should get us to the Baltic Sea.

So after getting the fuel for "Free", the tide was high enough for us to enter a small harbor behind a concrete sill guarding the entrance. The photo below shows that same entrance only hours later.

6 vertical meters of incoming tide will be needed before we can get out!

That's the sill astern of No Regrets

Effective and strange!

St-Vaast-la-Hougue and Honfleur

If you like oysters, St-Vaast is for you! World famous, their oysters grow near the mud flats surrounding the harbor entrance. This time, instead of a sill to protect the boats in the harbor, they closed the gate of a lock after we entered at high tide. This means that we will get a late start tomorrow waiting for for the lock to open at noon.

Mending Nets in St-Vaast in 32 degrees

It was a hard 60 mile passage from St-Vaast to Honfleur, with the wind up to 25 knots and steep seas on the port bow. We were tired by the time we entered the lock at Honfleur. It was now 2 hours after dark and this was our 1st lock ever! None of us knew the best way to handle the lock walls and dock lines yet. We finally made it through, and learned some valuable lessons. I call it a "Dumb Tax". 

My goal is to keep the Dumb Taxes to a minimum!

Honfleur is too lovely! Absolutely stunning! Talk about eye candy, every view is fattening.

Honfleur at dawn

They tax the buildings only on the ground floor area. 

Every floor and square meter above that is for free!

Decorated for the Christmas Boat Parade

There was ice floating in the harbor!

The Bell Tower of the all wood Saint Catherine's Church

I now have a baguette of bread per day habit!

After only one cold night and 2 hours of early morning, we need to leave Honfleur and the English Channel, in order to catch the tide up the Seine River toward Paris. We timed the lock opening right at low tide, so we should get a 3 knot push most of the way to Rouen.

Planning to stop back in Honfleur on the way back from Paris, but airplane connections put pressure on the schedule, so we need to push on.

On to Paris!