Cross-Channel rally
Acruise in company can ease the pressure of a cross-Channel sail. Many sailing clubs organise regular rallies, as do a growing number of marinas (through the RYA Active Marina initiative). Rally companies such as World Cruising Club also provide this service – and the entry fee will grant you access to preparatory seminars, skippers’ briefings, expert advice and organised festivities.
The inaugural ARC Channel Islands rally takes place between 20-27 August 2016, run by WCC in association with the RYA Active Marina, with the support of Hamble School of Yachting and PBO. Among the 30-strong fleet of participants is Howard Bentley, who will be sailing with two crew on his Marlow Legend 33 fourforty. Howard said: ‘Crossing the channel for seasoned sailors is probably a mundane experience. For my good friends Kevin Agnew, Paul Pearn and myself, it’s a great adventure. We felt crossing in company with the watchful eye and supportive advice of the World Cruising Club and Hamble School of Yachting, we’d feel more comfortable.’
The trio’s preparations have included upgrading their safety equipment to higher levels – flares (from coastal to offshore), purchasing a liferaft, adding MOB1 personal locating beacons to lifejackets and paper charts to cover the voyage.
Howard said: ‘Since our return crossing will be from Alderney to Gosport as a night passage, we’ve also added a seaway berth and a wind turbine to help keep our electronics running for an extended period.
‘We did our Day Skipper and Yachtmaster courses a while ago and our chartwork is a bit rusty, so we are planning to do the voyage entirely by paper chart and use the chart plotter to check our accuracy.’
He added:
‘Since the boat is new, we also thought it would be a good idea to work out our safety routines and practise them.
‘We decided to have some “own boat” tuition and welcomed James Pearson of Hamble School of Yachting aboard to challenge and coach us. During our time with James, we practised our MOB plan six times, hove to, discussed heavy weather sailing tactics and weather forecasting, answered hypothetical questions, worked out watch routines, went through the syllabus for the International Certificate of Competence (ICC), refreshed our knowledge of collision regs, practised close-quarters manoeuvring under power and learned the difference between an open and closed berth.
‘We are now feeling confident and ready for the adventure ahead!’