The trouble with crossing the Channel in a north-westerly is that once you've left, coming back is going to be very hard work, especially once you're a few miles off. Thus it was that, having wrapped the jib round itself and then snapped the spinnaker pole, all before 7am, I looked back up towards Portland at a sea being whipped up by 20 knots and decided to continue on towards Cherbourg!
As forecast, the wind went down in the middle of the day, which made for a bit of rolling, but the forecast also gave it backing west, which it did in time to give a splendid reach in from a position well to the north of Cherbourg, as I'd decided to head more east out of Weymouth to beat the ebb off the Cotentin. (Increasingly I'm not convinced that going anywhere near the Shambles is necessary.) The wind held steady all the way in, and I made the Passe de l'Est with tread to spare just before dusk, having had a great view of the sunset over La Hague.
The first Friday in December is the Christmas market opening night, made even more crowded this year by the opening of the rebuilt fountain in front of the theatre. The water came on as planned, but unfortunately the underwater lights refused to work, but the effect was still impressive. All the shops in the centre of town stay open, and the atmosphere is very family-friendly, a bit like the music festival in the summer.
Which is the news, really – I have put us in the marina diary for the festival next year, as the Figaro event has been placed on Bastille Day weekend, which is an equally good time to be in France! This may make for difficult decisions vis-a-vis RTI, however, so we'll see.
Lunch in the country near Bricquebec on Sunday was a treat not to be missed, so I motor-sailed back yesterday in a light southerly, enough to fill the sails and no more, but the weather was glorious. A brief spell with the cruising chute up yielded a mere 3.5 knots, so it was donkey-time again. My worst crossing of my ten this year was thus still the one for the Centenary in June!
Having been swept west by the ebb on the French side I could see Alderney clearly at daybreak, and found myself coming up towards Portland with the second half of the flood, so I headed due north with the tide for a while to get well to the east of the Shambles again, in order not to meet the first of the ebb near Portland. This again made for a relatively fast crossing as the detour meant I wasn't stemming tide at all. The idea that you sail the same bearing all the way really only applies on neaps, if at all.
Submitted on 10th December 2013