Today we’ve got the first Guest Blog on Sail Evenstar. A few weeks back I was approached by Tom Ward, a marketing assistant at Marine Super Store in Portsmouth, England, about a guest post. Marine Super Store is a large chandlery with two stores in the UK and an online shop.

This isn’t something we make money off, but is does give us a chance to “cross-pollinate” our reader base with theirs, giving the blog more exposure to new readers which is something I’m always up for!  Yeah, there’s a link or two…helps my search results and theirs; they are a chandlery after all.  But you get to hear about some cruising grounds on the other side of the world from where we are…don’t mind the British spelling!

Sailing to the Channel Islands from Southern England

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It cannot be denied that we are currently experiencing something of a mild winter and temperatures are more in line of what we see in early spring. Unfortunately for the majority of us our boats have long been winterised and stowed away; I am sure that more than a few of you have already had thoughts enter your mind about getting back out on the water during this surprisingly mild period.

That being said, we all love spending a bit of quality time with our friends and family over the Christmas period and enjoying the festivities. It also gives you a chance to review your collection of badly-sized sailing jackets that you received from members of your family. While I am sure that their efforts are fully appreciated, it doesn’t take away from the fact that it makes us yearn to get back out on the water and feel the wind in our faces.

With that in mind why not look to the future and start planning your next UK sailing holiday? Luckily for those of us who are based in the UK there are numerous beautiful sailing routes around the whole of the country. From the South coast of England we have easy access to the English Rivera, The Channel Islands and even France.

In order to whet your appetite in the build up to the spring, we have decided to compile our favourite list of sailing destinations that are reachable from the south coast of England and will be presenting to you in the coming months.

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The Channel Islands

Those for you, who like us, are lucky enough to live on the sunny south coast have easy access to so many beautiful sailing routes. From the navigational challenges of the Channel Islands, to the stunning beauty of the English Riviera, it is hard to claim that Britain does not provide us nautical lovers with plenty of happiness and avenues of exploration.

As we all know sailing to the Channel Islands can be something of a challenge due to the pilotage and navigation challenges that awaits us. This is especially the case if your boat can take the ground due to the fact that this allows numerous drying anchorages to be implemented.

Unless you have a relatively powerful vessel, then you are often required to wake up early in order to catch the tides. Due to the fact that the area is inundated with strong tidal streams, sailors are required to plan fairly conservative offsets in order to avoid being set down tide of your intended destination.

Dangers

Although relatively few dangers present themselves, this is something which needs careful consideration before setting sail. You can expect to encounter poor visibility around 10% of the time and relevant precautions need to be taken. You will find numerous small islands dotted and hazardous rocks often extend up to 5nm offshore. Luckily these are well marked and so any risk is kept to a minimum.

If you have GPS setup correctly then you should encounter very few problems and will enable you to approach most harbours in poor visibility. However cross tides can often change in the area and often require changes of around 20 to 30 degrees in order to keep you on track.

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The Islands Themselves

If you have been before then you will be aware of just how beautiful the islands themselves are as well as the coastline. You are also not too far away from a variety of other French islands as well, which are just as, if not even more beautiful.

As you would expect, the most popular time to visit is during the summer months, with July and August being the busiest times. If you do decide to visit during this period then you will be rewarded with spending some time lazy on the beaches and enjoying the mix of French and English holidaymakers.

There are many marinas located along the coasts and they are more than prepared for coping with the busy yacht traffic. Or, if you prefer, you can anchor off the relatively quiet beaches due to the protective headlands.

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Upon Arrival

Due to the islands’ diversity, there are a wide range of experiences awaiting! Whether you are after something more than a little lively, then St Peter Port and St Helier certainly have more than enough life about them! Or, if you prefer, there are also the sleepy areas such as Sark and Herm.

There is plenty of free information available for visitors written in both English and French. While the islands are English, luckily the food is more French and you sample for exquisite seafood.

Another consideration that needs to be made is that the Channel Islands do not have VAT, and are therefore popular destinations for tourists picking up goods fairly cheaply. As the Channel Islands are British Crown dependencies, and therefore outside of the EU, and therefore outside of the EU VAT zone. However, just to ensure that you are even more confused, they are part of the EU Customs Union. You are therefore required to fill in the relevant UK Customs forms.

Please check back for our next Guest Blog, a closer look at the French territories near to the Channel Islands!