Fog in Channel - Continent Cut Off!

That's Calais back there somewhere

6:15 came eventually, and the cell phone alarm went off.  Just in time for us to turn on BBC4 and hear the shipping forecast, which included “Fog Patches” in the Dover Straits.  A look out the window revealed grey everywhere, but it was possible to see all the ships and the harbor.  More weather reports later, in French and in English, talked of areas of fog and low visibility.  But none of the reports said definitely that the fog had gotten so dense that the continent was now cut off from Britain.

.

On Instruments exiting Calais.
jlm and the kitties are on
the ferry, but they are still in port.

So, the decision was made to go forward with the plan, and at 7:40 the kitties were packed in their carriers and brought up to the marina entrance to meet the taxi.  rxc returned to the boat, untied the lines, and back out into a wind-less marina to wait for the 7:53 bridge opening.  While he coiled the lines and stowed the bumpers and otherwise got ready to head out, other boats left their slips and lined up astern.  All, however, except one French boat that was determined to be first in line.  He edged up the line, and just before the bridge was fully open and the light was green he put the pedal to the metal and zoomed out, nearly peeling the seaweed accumulation off the side of the entry canal.  rxc was next, and the entire group headed out into the greyness. 

I keep hearing horns, but where are the ships?

Luckily there were no ships leaving the ferry terminal, so the first 45 minutes of the trip was simple motoring out of the harbor into the entrance channel, and then aiming for the side of the TSS.  About 9:15, the Pride of Burgundy left the dock, carrying the kitties and jlm, and it was detected on the AIS.  As it got closer, rxc could hear the foghorn, but visibility had dropped to about 0.25 miles, which is where it stayed for most of the rest of the trip.  With the joy of cell phones we were able to talk to one another on the two vessels, about 1 mile apart, in thick fog, without either seeing the other  ship.

The kitty part of the trip was generally uneventful, except that they were placed, in their carriers, inside a large locked cage that was positioned on a trolley on the vehicle deck on the ferry, where they stayed for the entire trip.  And then, P&O seems to have forgotten about them, so that jlm had to go find someone to remind them about the animals and have the cage and trolley brought out.  Insult was added to injury by the activities of the Veolia “honey wagon” that started to do its thing right next to the kitty cart before they were removed…  It was not pleasant...  But we have strong kitties who have been thru much worse, administered by mom and dad…

Ahhhh... the ships.....

The trip for rxc was mostly boring.  Sailing on instruments all the way, with radar and AIS showing where the ships were, who they were, and what their CPA was.  rxc learned to do CPAs about 40 years ago, on paper, with a parallel rule and dividers, plotting off of a large radar display.  No one has to learn  how to work the “Maneuvering Board” any more – it is all done by computer – and this is a good thing, because when you have maybe 25 targets to keep track of, it is impossible to do it by hand.  Rxc managed to slide right between about 15 ships, and only once did he have to alter course slightly, to avoid a ship.  And, he only saw one of those ships during the entire 3.5 hour cruise.  28 miles thru the water, with only  a moderately foul current because it is now neap tides.

About to enter the main shipping channel.
Crabbing to avoid being swept too far NE.
That is a ferry astern.  I never saw it.
jlm and kitties are far ahead on a different ferry.

The radio chatter was intense, but all professional.  rxc had to have the VHF scan 4 different channels to hear what was being communicated, including low visibility reports, arrival and departures from Calais and Dover, other ships crossing the TSS, bridge-to-bridge comms, and TSS control information.  It sounded very much like the air traffic control systems.

In the shipping channel.  Note the boat course -
small vessels must cross  on a course that is at right
angles to the main channel
The ferry has passed and is in the Reserved  Ferry Zone.
It does NOT have to cross  on a perpendicular course.

Arrival in Dover was painless, and we installed ourselves in the Granville Dock, plugged in, and had the town of Dover to entertain us.   The staff at the marina helped carry two kitties down to the boat and with two people on the pier it was pretty painless to dock the boat.  We planned to  stay at least 2 nights.  Kitties took naps…