European Crossing

Channel Crossing, Chenal du Four and the Raz

After the rather uncomfortable and lumpy Channel crossing we ended up coming onto a mooring in Braye harbour Alderney. Liz and Rod had already been here on their way to the UK as they needed to pick up an outboard for the dinghy from a supplier in the Channel Islands … it’s a VAT thing. The Channel Islands, or as the French like to call them les Isles Anglais/Normandaise, are sort of unique as they really belong to neither country. They come under the Bailiwick of Guernsey and of course are a tax haven. Because of that, the English get all precious about imports from there and so do the French, so you always have to have available your certificates stating where VAT has been paid, etc. Far too confusing for a simple Aussie … in Australia it’s very simple – if you’ve not paid tax they’ll slug you hard … if you have paid tax, they’ll slug you harder … if you want to buy something, they’ll hit you with sales tax, GST, OH&S tax, EOWP tax, federal tax, state tax, local tax, and an added extra to pay for the civil servant who has to process it all!

From a navigational perspective, the C.I. are interesting … ummmm … HUGE tidal races. As we approached we had to stop and drop the main. In the time it took to get it all stowed and squared away we had been set down about a mile. I had both engines running close to full power and we were making around 2 knots over ground! The tide was racing at around 6 – 7 knots! Once we made it around the corner it was a little better. We were all stuffed when we finally came to anchor at first light. We put up the courtesy flag for Alderney, which is quite La Viellepretty… and probably the last time Rod and Liz will ever use it. At around 8.00 am I was awoken with a knocking on the hull … it was the local harbourmaster requiring payment for the mooring … £15 … and we had to fill in customs forms … which we had the local water taxi take ashore and drop into the box near the harbourmaster’s office.

Around 1400 or so we set off on the next leg. This would take us down the French coast to the Chenal du Four, across the Mer d’Iroise and through the challenging Raz de Sein ( pronounced Raah … not Razz, as the poms pronounce it!). The Raz is challenging in that it is a tidal race, and if you miss your timing you will be (a) possibly fighting against a tide or (b) be in a situation with wind against tide. It stands up in the Raz quite considerably and there are rips, races and overfalls all over the joint … catch it wrong and it will spin you around 180 degrees. The only time to negotiate the Raz is at slack water, which for the uninitiated is at HW Brest -1 to -1/2 … (don’t forget to allow for French DST).

I was off watch as we went through the Chenal du Four, so I missed it. We were early coming to the Raz and we slowed ourselves down a little … but we looked at the benign conditions and decided to go for it anyway. The photos show me looking quite relaxed as we approach … and then I stand up and have to take control of Minyga as she is thrown about with the strength of the currents through there …. Oh … btw … there are hard bits either side of the Raz … so you have to maintain control as you go through. The lighthouse with the building beside it is Trevennec at the beginning of the Raz, and the last one is La Vielle … that’s the one you see on those posters with the lighthouse keeper about to be inundated by a giant wave … that is how big it can get through there. It’s only a couple of miles through there, but it could be the longest 2 miles of your life if you make a mistake with wind and weather.

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