crossing the channel in a dingy
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Soldato
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In the 60s (I think?), a load of people crossed the channel in a bunch of these.
My grandparents included.
My grandparents included.
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Rather showing my ignorance here but why would they inform Falmouth Coastguard when Folkestone or Dover are much more obvious and bigger points to cross the channel from - also a much shorter distance from either of those ports?
Swimmers always have a support vessel nearby following them. Likewise i if you wanted to cross the channel in a dinghy then you should do the same.
Any vessel lacking basic navigational equipment, radar reflector, survival equipment and lights (like a dinghy) should stick to inshore boating unless supported
It'd be fun in something like the Hurricane 5.9 catamaran I had all being the weather and sea conditions were suitable. The big boats are very easy to see and with a half decent wind the Hurricane didnt hang around, on a good day it would be 20+kts 
So you wouldnt be presenting yourself to danger for long as long as the wind direction was in your favour so that you'd be reaching across the channel they use.
The more dangerous area is mechanical failure of something on your dinghy causing you just end up being sat there bobbing and being directed by wind and tide. That said in a busy stretch of water you'll get noitced and picked up quicker by a passing boat than you would in the middle of nowhere. Of course you should allow for this and shouldnt do anything crazy like try to zip across in front of a cargo container etc as stopping for them is not an answer!
I've been caught out only twice, both on occasions where I was sailing during the week and no rescue boat was out from the club I was in. I sailed in southampton waters which is also a very busy stretch of water. First time my hobie 14 went turtle and I couldnt get the thing back upright. A passing yacht helped me out of that situation. The 2nd was when I capsized my A-class cat. I could get the mast out of the water but it would simply not right!! I think there was a guy in a tug watching me for some time trying to get it upright and radioed his friend who came over in a barge thing and lifted my mast by about 50cm at which point it flew upright. Damn rules of leverage and not having a nice shiny carbon mast that is way lighter than the ally one I had
Stay observant and plan ahead to prevent putting yourself into a difficult situation and you'll be in France before you know it.
So you wouldnt be presenting yourself to danger for long as long as the wind direction was in your favour so that you'd be reaching across the channel they use. The more dangerous area is mechanical failure of something on your dinghy causing you just end up being sat there bobbing and being directed by wind and tide. That said in a busy stretch of water you'll get noitced and picked up quicker by a passing boat than you would in the middle of nowhere. Of course you should allow for this and shouldnt do anything crazy like try to zip across in front of a cargo container etc as stopping for them is not an answer!
I've been caught out only twice, both on occasions where I was sailing during the week and no rescue boat was out from the club I was in. I sailed in southampton waters which is also a very busy stretch of water. First time my hobie 14 went turtle and I couldnt get the thing back upright. A passing yacht helped me out of that situation. The 2nd was when I capsized my A-class cat. I could get the mast out of the water but it would simply not right!! I think there was a guy in a tug watching me for some time trying to get it upright and radioed his friend who came over in a barge thing and lifted my mast by about 50cm at which point it flew upright. Damn rules of leverage and not having a nice shiny carbon mast that is way lighter than the ally one I had
Stay observant and plan ahead to prevent putting yourself into a difficult situation and you'll be in France before you know it.
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I was having a good think about this before bed last night and I was wondering how the death would be, should my dingy get hit by a big boat.
I mean getting hit dead on the front would be highly unlikely but if I did, id assume it would just crush my dingy and push me out.... i could go unconscious with a bang to the head probably, but whats the odds of getting sucked under the boat? Is that survivable? Or would i go straight to some sort of propeller and get chopped up?
Also would that happen if I was just near the side of the boat? Is there some sort of current made that would suck me under? Couldnt i swim away from it? Would i just get sucked deep down and thats it?
Just interested to know what sort of death it would be like tbh
I mean getting hit dead on the front would be highly unlikely but if I did, id assume it would just crush my dingy and push me out.... i could go unconscious with a bang to the head probably, but whats the odds of getting sucked under the boat? Is that survivable? Or would i go straight to some sort of propeller and get chopped up?
Also would that happen if I was just near the side of the boat? Is there some sort of current made that would suck me under? Couldnt i swim away from it? Would i just get sucked deep down and thats it?
Just interested to know what sort of death it would be like tbh
This reminds me of my friend who is scared of big boats because she has a reoccurring dream where she is in a dingy and crushed by one.
Assuming you didnt get knocked unconscious I imagine you'd be crushed and mangled pretty quickly. Im not basing this on fact though, just thinking aloud so to speak.
Assuming you didnt get knocked unconscious I imagine you'd be crushed and mangled pretty quickly. Im not basing this on fact though, just thinking aloud so to speak.
to be fair if you're gonna get hit by a large boat dead on, you better hope its one of these.
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Just bring a mac 10 and have a go at being a pirate for the day! 
Loving the Health and saftey brigade!
Over the years hundreds of people have sailed accross the chanel in small dingys and survived it's not exactly far and while it is a busy shipping lane it's no so jam packed you can't move!
It's not so popular in these risk averse times but some simple planning and a tiny amount of common sense would allow anyone to complete the voyage. I'd take a radio and flares, I'm sure they would have done in the good old days had they been cheaply available and I'd never set foot in a dingy without a life jacket. Only other thing to do is check the forcast and go, it is afterall only the sme as sailing from one end of windemere to the other and back which was always exciting before the power boat ban!
Over the years hundreds of people have sailed accross the chanel in small dingys and survived it's not exactly far and while it is a busy shipping lane it's no so jam packed you can't move!
It's not so popular in these risk averse times but some simple planning and a tiny amount of common sense would allow anyone to complete the voyage. I'd take a radio and flares, I'm sure they would have done in the good old days had they been cheaply available and I'd never set foot in a dingy without a life jacket. Only other thing to do is check the forcast and go, it is afterall only the sme as sailing from one end of windemere to the other and back which was always exciting before the power boat ban!
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*Laughs at all the ships moored outside French ports*
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I had no idea it covered so much, I've been to Falmouth a couple of times and it's always looked pretty sleepy to me.
The smallest boat I've crossed the channel in was a 35 ft ketch, with 4 mates, admitedly we all have at least Yachtmaster offshore qualifications with about 100,000 sea miles between us!
If you are suitably skilled & kitted (at least charts, tide tables, liferaft, flares, GMDSS radio, lifejackets, epirb, radar reflector, the right clothing, flask with hot drinks/soup if the boat doesn't have cooking facilities - and know how and when to use it properly) plan your crossing well, taking account of the tides and crew ability there's no reason why you can't make a safe crossing even in a small keel boat (say 24ft), personally I'd not want to sail in anything much smaller than 35 ft.
So long as you maintain a good lookout, listen to Ch 16, follow the collision regs i.e. cross any TSS (shipping lanes) at 90 degrees to the big stuff, choosing carefully where you cross between them all then you should have a safe and pleasant crossing.
If you're lucky you'll cross on a nice night with a fullish moon and a good breeze
So basically if you have the skills and kit then there's no reason not to, if you don't then get a ferry instead and leave the coastgard and lifeboat crews safe and warm at home.
If you are suitably skilled & kitted (at least charts, tide tables, liferaft, flares, GMDSS radio, lifejackets, epirb, radar reflector, the right clothing, flask with hot drinks/soup if the boat doesn't have cooking facilities - and know how and when to use it properly) plan your crossing well, taking account of the tides and crew ability there's no reason why you can't make a safe crossing even in a small keel boat (say 24ft), personally I'd not want to sail in anything much smaller than 35 ft.
So long as you maintain a good lookout, listen to Ch 16, follow the collision regs i.e. cross any TSS (shipping lanes) at 90 degrees to the big stuff, choosing carefully where you cross between them all then you should have a safe and pleasant crossing.
If you're lucky you'll cross on a nice night with a fullish moon and a good breeze
So basically if you have the skills and kit then there's no reason not to, if you don't then get a ferry instead and leave the coastgard and lifeboat crews safe and warm at home.
