Do you remember the downwind starts from the hut? Cherbourg Yacht Club have a neat way of starting evening races quickly and easily from the breakwater on the north side of the marina at Chantereyne.
Members drive down and unlock the cantilevered mast to which they attach flags before hoisting it and proceeding with the sequence. On a wet and windy Tuesday night 18 boats were competing in 25 knots of wind, and my photo of the downwind start shows just how competitive the racing here is. The blue and white spinnaker of my friend Thierry Lacour can be seen in the middle - he finished second in a race which took them out to Passe de l'Est and back then out and across the Grande Rade before an upwind finish at the line. Everyone was pleased to be back in the club afterwards for a beer!
Thierry and Anne kindly lent us their other car to tour the Cotentin, which enabled the crew of SWENN and me to do a lot in the few days we were in France, including finding the 'Hague-Dike', the Viking fortified wall which cut off the western end of la Hague to make a large and easily defended settlement. Hague/Hogue in the Cotentin or islands means hillock or mound, and the existence of the name is evidence of Viking settlement - they, of course, put the 'Norman' in Normandy!
We look forward to the YCC Transmanche in two weeks time, when hopefully they will also be able to meet their Olympic sailors here at WSC!
Steve Fraser
Submitted on 8th June 2012