Cruising Guides - France - Channell (La Manche)

The Shell Channel Pilot - South coast of England, the North coast of France and the Channel Islands

For more than 80 years The Shell Channel Pilot has been the ultimate authority on English Channel navigation and pilotage. Following the pioneering work of the legendary Adlard Coles, the book was passed to Captain John Coote RN in 1982.

In his comparatively short, ten-year tenure, John Coote expanded the coverage from the English coast to include northern France. He also applied a characteristic humour to the shoreside aspect of the text which has been enthusiastically adopted by Tom Cunliffe, the present and third compiler of this unique work. This is a revised 8th edition published by Imray under Cunliffe's hand.

'Shell' is more than a harbour guide. It also provides a reassuring hand on the shoulder for Channel navigation, with useful passage notes gleaned from the compiler's personal experience of more than 40 years running the tides and finding the eddies. His frank remarks regarding harbour and recreational facilities have long been relied upon by sailors of all generations and nationalities.
Working with harbourmasters and a dedicated group of carefully selected yachtsmen and women, Cunliffe has kept this pilot as up to date as is humanly possible. More than being technically sound, which is to be expected from a Yachtmaster Examiner, the book is also a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Information

Channel Islands, Cherbourg Peninsula, North Brittany

This revision of the RCC Pilotage Foundation's pilot updates the combined volume for this area which encompasses the Channel Islands and extends from St Vaast La Hougue on the east of the Cherbourg peninsula, and works westwards along the Normandy and Brittany coasts to Ouessant.
Coverage includes the Plateau des Roches Douvres as well as detailed sections on the navigable rivers.

The navigator benefits enormously from the painstaking approach with which Peter Carnegie has documented his own explorations of these, his home waters. His numerous annotated photographs and the many accompanying charts detail the network of transits between the off-lying rocks and islands of the region.
Waypoints are used judiciously to further inform, but the emphasis remains on time-proven and trusted methods of safe navigation in these waters of high tidal range and fast-moving currents.

Information

Yachting Monthly's Channel Havens - The Secret Inlets and Secluded Anchorages of the Channel

A cruising guide with a difference. Recognising that many of us would like to sail away from the crowd, Ken Endean introduces the reader to beautiful, unfrequented places within the Western English Channel, from the Solent to the West Country, Channel Islands and Northern France.

Here are sandy bays, coves, reef anchorages and the upper reaches of river estuaries - places neglected by most pilot books - where one can experience the sense of discovery and adventure that is more usually associated with faraway cruising.
Anyone who is attracted by the dramatic scenery of unspoilt coastal waters will treasure this guide from an experienced sailors who has gone before.

Information

La Manche - Côtes française et anglaise et îles anglo-normandes et (Guide Imray Vagnon)

For each port, island or bay, the reader will find a complete and detailed description, cartography, day and night approaches, moorings and anchorages, equipment and services, or even visits to be made on land.

This guide covers the English coast from Scilly to Ramsgate, the Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm in particular) and the French coast from Dunkirk to Ouessant.

The Vagnon guides are the French adaptation of the works of the prestigious English publishing house Imray, a world reference in the field of marine cartography. They describe with unequalled precision the ports, marinas, anchorages...
Their clear presentation, with many photos complementing numerous maps and detailed plans make them essential works for successful cruises.

Information