Solent to Cherbourg

From Lymington, Yarmouth or Cowes the route leaves the Solent westward through Hurst Narrows, between Hurst Castle and the Isle of Wight, and out past the Needles. South of the Needles it crosses the open English Channel to the Cotentin coast, and enters Cherbourg’s outer harbour (the grande rade) through one of the gaps in the breakwaters before reaching the marina in the petite rade.

Straight-line distances between harbour positions are about 67 nautical miles from Lymington, 63 from Yarmouth and 68 from Cowes. At 5 knots the Lymington crossing is a passage of more than 13 hours; at 20 knots, a little over three. The time spent in each tidal stream, and so the sideways set, depends on boat speed.

The stream through Hurst Narrows is the first tidal gate on the passage. The ADMIRALTY Solent folio publishes it at diamond C (50°42.1’N 1°32.8’W), referred to high water at Portsmouth.

From about six hours before to two hours before HW Portsmouth the stream runs east-north-east into the Solent at up to about 3.9 knots at springs. Around one hour before HW it is slack. From HW Portsmouth to about three hours after, it runs west-south-west out of the Solent at up to about 4.4 knots at springs, easing to 2.2 knots at four hours after, before turning east again at five to six hours after HW Portsmouth.

A boat leaving westward therefore carries the west-going stream through the Narrows in the hours after high water Portsmouth.

On the open Channel section the stream runs east for one half of the tidal cycle and west for the other. At ADMIRALTY diamond E (49°59.1’N 1°37.1’W), roughly two-thirds of the way across on the Lymington–Cherbourg line, the stream is referred to high water at Dover.

From about five hours before HW Dover until one hour before, the stream runs east at up to 4.2 knots at springs and 2.1 knots at neaps. Around HW Dover it is weak. From one hour after HW Dover until five hours after, it runs west at up to 4.2 knots at springs. Over a crossing of ten hours or more, an east-going and a west-going stream of similar strength are both met.

Closer to the French coast, north of Pointe de Barfleur, ADMIRALTY diamond G (49°45.0’N 1°14.9’W) shows a stronger stream: east-south-east at up to 4.6 knots at springs four to five hours before HW Dover, and north-west at up to 4.5 knots at springs two hours after.

There is no traffic separation scheme on the direct line between the Solent and Cherbourg, but the route crosses the main east- and west-bound flows of Channel shipping. The ADMIRALTY folio for the Channel Islands shows recommended directions of traffic flow between the Off Casquets scheme and the Greenwich meridian, and states that ships crossing them should do so on a heading as nearly as practicable at right angles.

Rule 10 of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea governs traffic separation schemes. A vessel shall, so far as practicable, avoid crossing traffic lanes, but if obliged to do so shall cross on a heading as nearly as practicable at right angles to the general direction of traffic flow. The rule fixes the boat’s heading, not its track over the ground, so in a cross-tide the track will run at an angle while the bow points straight across the lane. A vessel of less than 20 metres in length or a sailing vessel shall not impede the safe passage of a power-driven vessel following a traffic lane.

Cherbourg is also a ferry and commercial port. The commercial port authority works on VHF Channel 12, and the marina on Channel 9.

Solent Coastguard broadcasts maritime safety information after an announcement on Channel 16. Its full broadcasts are at 07:30 and 19:30 local time, with shorter updates every three hours between, from aerials including the Needles (Channel 62) and St Boniface (Channel 63). On the French side, CROSS Jobourg broadcasts weather in French on Channel 80 from the Jobourg/La Hague aerial at 07:15, 13:15 and 19:15 French time, and from Port-en-Bessin at 07:33, 13:33 and 19:33.

Jobourg Trafic also broadcasts bulletins for the Antifer and Casquets areas in English every half hour, at 20 and 50 minutes past the hour. France is one hour ahead of the UK all year.

On the English side, Lymington has two marinas and a town quay on the Lymington River, Yarmouth has visitor pontoons and moorings inside its harbour on the Isle of Wight, and Cowes has marinas on both banks of the Medina. Each has its own Old Sea Dogs guide with berthing, facilities and the harbour’s VHF procedure.

In France, Port Chantereyne has about 1,600 berths in four basins, accessible at all states of the tide and 24 hours a day without a lock, inside the shelter of Cherbourg’s breakwaters. Boats call the marina on VHF Channel 9 once inside the petite rade. Visitor berths are on pontoons J, P and Q, the waiting pontoon, the north side of pontoon H and the west side of pontoon K, and boats up to 25 metres long and 3 metres draught can be accommodated. Crews register at the harbour office with the boat’s papers, and berthing charges run from noon to noon. Diesel is available 24 hours. The harbour office telephone number is +33 2 33 87 65 70.

Leaving Great Britain for France, Belgium or the Channel Islands is a journey you must report. gov.uk asks for a pleasure craft report before you sail. Online, through the service 'Tell Border Force and HMRC you are sailing to or from the UK in a pleasure craft', the report goes in at least 2 hours and no more than 24 hours before departure, and it can be amended or cancelled if plans change. The report covers the boat, the skipper, passport details for everyone on board and the planned departure and arrival times. The emailed sPCR fallback template and the paper form C1331 remain available.

France is part of the Schengen area, so a yacht arriving from the UK crosses an external Schengen border. Under the current French procedure you either arrive at an official border crossing point (point de passage frontalier, PPF), where the skipper and crew report to the Police aux Frontières or the Douane with passports, boat papers and the entry form, or at one of the marinas on French Customs’ approved list, which forwards your form to its PPF. The French Customs form must reach the marina at least 24 hours before arrival, or at the latest when you leave the non-Schengen port if the voyage is shorter than 24 hours. The RYA’s understanding is that a Q flag is not required in France unless you have items to declare.

French Customs’ list of approved marinas names Cherbourg Port Chantereyne, along with Carentan and Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, as linked to the border crossing point run by the Police aux Frontières at Cherbourg.

Coming back to Great Britain, gov.uk requires the yellow Q flag to be flown as soon as you enter UK waters (the 12-mile limit), and kept flying until you have finished reporting to the customs authorities. Anyone on board who is not a British or Irish citizen needs a Border Force officer’s permission to enter the UK before leaving the boat. Goods over the personal allowances, goods bought abroad worth more than £270 in total, animals and restricted foods must be declared, and gov.uk states that pets can only be brought into Great Britain on a private boat when travelling from Ireland or Northern Ireland.