'My First Channel Cruise To France'

Having learnt to sail and bought a boat, crossing the Channel was the nextbig hurdle for Ian Simon.

- Ian Simon

I had been planning the trip to France for a very long time. After discussing it at length with my wife we had finally agreed to head off in August. Preparation to get my 28ft Trapper 500 Gee N Tee ready had been ongoing since I bought her three years ago, slowly ticking off jobs, as well as passing my Day Skipper.

I had never sailed across the Channel before and the thought had kept me up at night. Nerves only increased as the day approached. I planned to set off a bit before dawn from Brighton marina; it was a long way to go and the forecast was for light winds for several hours, increasing to Force 5 as we got closer to France.