Fair stood the wind for France (and back) and the opportunity to take part in a YCC weekend event was definitely not one to miss - we have much to learn from the way they have made themselves France's top performing club. And what a weekend it turned out to be!
Fri 20th: Left Weymouth quite early with a light north-westerly, which meant motoring till the wind backed to the west mid-Channel, when I could put the kite up and get sailing. After about thirty minutes, however, the wind piped up and the heads of two ancient bolts in the track pinged off, out came the bronze car with the sheet block on, and the second block at the back of the boat broke its fitting so that the spinnaker sheet tore its way through the spray dodger. Just to add to the excitement, the flailing car also smashed the top of a stanchion and the guardrail came free! Time to drop…
Arrived in Cherbourg in the sunshine to learn from Gilles over a beer in the club that 75 boats had signed up, with me making 76!
Sat 20th: A quick shop at the market and Normandie Wine in order to be back to sign up and receive the skipper’s pack with the ‘flamme bleue du Rallye’ and the distinctive blue cap and lots of goodies – and of course the instructions for arriving in Alderney. I just had time to meet up with Kathy, Eddie Harper and Chris Hogg, who’d had a good run across overnight from Cowes, before it was time to gather in an increasingly crowded Grande Rade, where I noticed Loulou’s ‘Raging Bee’ with daughter Carla (at age 7 probably the youngest sailor in the fleet) accompanying dad, and Alexis Loison’s Figaro ‘Fiva’, Philippe Bord’s ‘Protocole’ and Gilles’ Tryptiche’, with Anne Mataguez, YCC secretary, sailing ‘Caminata’. I felt proud to be permitted to join such distinguished company.
A press helicopter hovered overhead as the gun went for the start, in a light SW breeze, which filled in to give a fast fetch up to La Hague and we then had 20 knots across the top of the Raz, so I reefed a bit to be able to cook the 'Bouchee a la reine' I had bought earlier. Concerned rather more with lunch than navigation, I was happy to follow the others, only to discover that by the time we were near Alderney, the middle of the ebb was pushing our group down the Raz; close to the island this turned into a futile struggle in increasingly turbulent water, till I had to admit that I’d been caught out!
A quick beat in rapidly worsening visibility brought me, and a small Beneteau who had had the same idea, to the Noires Putes (the French are much ruder about their rocks) at the bottom of the island and so into the Swinge, where the tide was still ebbing, but it was possibly to creep up out of the current along the island with the jib poled out, and motor the last half mile into Braye. Half way up the Swinge, the Beneteau came up and the owner, Bernard Ferron, said ‘But – it’s – we met at Weymouth!’ WSC mentioned in such a location suggests that the liaison programme is succeeding…
The bar of Alderney Sailing Club was an odd place to catch up with Loulou and Alexis. I could not resist asking the latter what the secret of his Fastnet win was; he replied modestly ‘the boat is superb’, and he and Loulou agreed that the JPK 10.10’s dominance of the racing circuit this year is no coincidence. Having said that, they are both great sailors and it is a tribute to the spirit of YCC that they were also doing the ‘Fish and Ships’ rally, which is intended to encourage members to extend their sailing range - what better example could they have?
The ‘Harbour Lights’ was the venue for food and music, and 350 people crowded in there created a lot of ‘ambience’! The fish and chips were excellent and the music enthusiastically received, and the party continued till late, the water taxis still doing business at 1am…
Sun 22nd: A gentle motor back with the flood with a debrief on the terrace at YCC accompanied by rum punch brought a memorable event to its conclusion. Congratulations to Frédéric and Anne and all the team for having made so great a success possible. Next year we are all invited to join in as well, which will make Braye harbour even more crowded!
Mon 23rd: After an early departure, the promised easterly began to fill in at sunrise, and I managed (having dismantled the crockery section of the galley) to remove the old bolts from the track and put new ones in, by which time I was arriving in the traffic, but it meant that the kite could go up. Eight hours later I dropped it off the Stone Pier, after an ideal day’s sailing in increasingly sunny conditions with a breeze gently increasing to about 15 knots. Having moored up, I was grateful to Steve Dadd for giving me a lift home with the shopping as I was beginning to feel a bit tired….
Steve Fraser
Cruiser Class Captain
