After a spell of such extreme weather, it was great to watch a window develop on the weather sites towards the end of last week, and with the help of Nick Frampton and Kevin Sear on the new crane, I was able to get ‘Pippa’ ready for our first Channel cruise of 2012.
It is always good to be able to get to sea again, and after an early start under the moon on Sunday a steady NW 3-4 blew me steadily onwards, destination France; visibility in northerly sector winds is generally very good, and England remained in sight until I met the mid-Channel traffic, and before getting through the east-bound traffic I could see the Cotentin peninsula. Plugging an afternoon ebb kept me ferry-gliding down towards Cap de la Hague in the sunshine, though the arrival of the flood was followed by low cloud and drizzle, blotting out the coast for a time as I made towards Cherbourg at around eight knots, arriving around 1900 for supper and a chance to try out my new cabin heater, as suggested by Dave Knight in his autumn cruise article – such an excellent idea!
On the way I was pondering the famous motto in my title of the Roman Stoic poet Horace, in relation to sailing. Horace, though no sailor, knew about the sea and its difficulties; his advice to ‘seize the day’ was also echoed by Ellen MacArthur using the famous French expression ‘A donf’ (roughly, ‘Go for it’), which will be driving Olympic athletes as well as cruising sailors this season. Sail the window, seize your opportunity – you don’t know when the next one will be!
A day ashore in Cherbourg enabled me to catch up with friends, and discuss the Yacht Club of Cherbourg 2012 programme. Cherbourg last season moved from sixth to fifth place in national club rankings, based on race results in a variety of events; this year a busy programme includes another cross-Channel race to Weymouth and back, scheduled for the weekend of 15th-17th June, as well as more local events, including the prestigious Tuesday night championship which extends across the season, and weekend cruises such as the Fish and Ships rally to Alderney at the end of April, a model we could perhaps learn from – WSC members are welcome to join in any YCC events, so if you’re over there – grab the chance!
My classical musings en route were added to by my friend, retired Army officer and Cherbourg historian Jean-Pierre Rihouey, who invited me to lunch at the Cercle des Sous-Officiers near the Arsenal, a naval restaurant for service personnel, with uniformed waiting staff! Jean-Pierre, in his late seventies but very fit and active, quoted the only statement of General de Gaulle he found he could agree with – “La vieillesse est un naufrage” (old age is a shipwreck), which, he explained, is why he continued to do things like the subaqua holiday in Egypt he had just come back from!
Friends from the Yacht Club Thierry and Anne Lacour came to dinner on board on Monday night, and we chatted about the Olympic year in Weymouth, which they, like many French sailors, are keen to come over and see something of. Then on Tuesday morning I left at 0200, and motor-sailed out into the Channel under a beautiful full moon, the wind at daylight building from the west after I had crossed the traffic, giving a splendid close reach up towards Weymouth, and a chance to try out the Navionics ‘app’ (see photo) recommended by Andy Young, which uses GPS, not the internet, and effectively gives me a chart plotter on my iPhone for £7.99!
Definitely a ‘seized day’, with some great sailing in good weather, and the chance to renew friendships - hopefully the first of many such opportunities in 2012. That Horace quote in full urgently reminds us not put things off:
Dum loquimur, fugerit invida
aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postera.
While we’re talking, envious time will end.
Do it today! The future’s not your friend…
Steve Fraser
Submitted on 11th January 2012