Offshore or not

[jonmitch]

Hello.

Advice please. I have a 2002 Ribeye 5.8 (Dartmouth built) with a Yamaha F100. The boat is excellent nick and is currently out of the water undergoing servicing, etc. She is fitted with a good load of safety gear including DSC, Chartplotter, flares, long-range tanks (200l), elephant trunk etc. She has handled very well in pretty big swells off Plymouth Sound.

My question is whether you would take this boat offshore (Isles of Scilly, Channel Islands) with a favourable medium term forecast in the summer. I have quite a few years experience offshore in hardboats but mainly pretty robust dive vessels so I'm not a complete novice mariner. I have RYA 1+2.

Opinions please. Auxiliary or not? Extra gear?

Plan to take just 1 or 2 people plus limited gear to Jersey.

Cheers

Jon

[John Kennett]

The boat will handle this sort of trip with ease. It sounds like it should be well within your capabilities too.

So long as you are happy that everything is in good order, and the forecast looks OK, then you should have a great trip.

Ideally I'd want to parter up with another boat for a bit of added security if possible. If you do get a problem mid-channel, help's a long time coming.

John

[The Jackeens]

Agree with JK. Also letting people know your expected movements in advance, filing a passage plan with the Coastguard and weather updates can be extremely helpful in advance. Being prepared to stay over if conditions change can be worth considering.

Double check paperwork regs for overseas trips.

It's worth pm-ing people in those areas for tips on local conditions as you can't beat local knowledge!

Totally agree with the cruising in company. We have found that cruising with friends/good company has increased and improved our own capacity, resilience and enjoyment no end.

Wish you the best of luck!

Kathleen & Paul

[Shaggy]

Hi
I don't think you'll have any problems going to the Isles of Scilly, the Channel Islands are a long way from home.. a few SW Ribsters are going to have a bash at the Channel Islands this summer, I'm sure they welcome an extra boat.

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?...hannel+Islands

They tend to hang around on http://forum.cornwall247.co.uk/

Shaggy

[martini]

look forward to seeing you in Jersey best of luck!

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

Hi
I don't think you'll have any problems going to the Isles of Scilly, the Channel Islands are a long way from home.. a few SW Ribsters are going to have a bash at the Channel Islands this summer, I'm sure they welcome an extra boat.

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?...hannel+Islands

They tend to hang around on http://forum.cornwall247.co.uk/

Shaggy

In good conditions the run to the Channel Islands from somewhere like Weymouth is a doddle.