Previously... we seem to have spent the season chasing the resident Sigma 33, Carabot, both around the cans and in the Tour des Ports, to such an extent that my skipper Thierry Lecuru decided that he just had to have one. After some research in England, we found one closer to home, and all that remained to do was to bring it back. Now read on...
So – last weekend we went to get Warrior from St Helier. 25 knots from the west on Friday made the ferry journey from Carteret a bit bouncy, but all was forgiven in the sunshine of the marina, where the boat was already drying out for our inspection. After a suitable period of scratching this and prodding that, we decided that it would probably last the trip home, and so the formalities were duly observed in the bar of the St Helier Yacht Club, and we retired for lunch to our favourite pub, the Post Horn, and then set about the business of shopping for supplies and odd bits of chandlery, in order to be ready to leave the marina for the Albert pontoon in the evening. Sorting out the most likely looking sails for the forecast 5-6 NW on the morrow took an hour or so, during which time my friend Olivier Rapeaud turned up again on the pontoon from Granville in NIOB 6. Then into town for supper and an early night, as we wanted to be off by 0500 (French time!), which we more or less did.
Reaching down the coast under the moon, well-reefed and going fast, we met the usual Condor freight ferry near Corbiere, and as the day broke, we launched ourselves into the traditional washing machine off that corner of the island, though for once not in a Grand Surprise! Corbiere is a good place to test a boat you’ve just bought, but it was also a test of the crew; big waves, a bit broken and messy, the motion of a new boat, a very early start without breakfast - whatever the reason, seasickness had soon halved the effective personnel, and it became obvious that the original plan of trying to make Alderney was too ambitious, especially in a 110% tidal coefficient, and all we could hope to do was to get to St Peter Port before the ebb set in. This we managed with about half an hour to spare, motorsailing the last couple of miles as the wind dropped and headed near St Martin’s. Nothing fell off, we saw dolphins briefly, and we got there – what more could you ask for?
A pleasant afternoon and evening ashore erased the hard edges, and everyone slept well that night. We were supposed to leave at 0700 on Sunday morning, but at 0650 nearly everyone was still asleep – and we still managed to leave on time, with a bit of scrambling. Luckily the weather had eased a bit, and so a civilised port tack up the Raz Blanchard began with breakfast and ended with a 14-knot exit at La Hague, then lunch as we drifted more gently along the coast towards home, glad to have completed ‘Operation Sigma’ without too many upsets.
It’s having to get back for work on Monday which generally produces the worst passages – and of course it’s rarely the boat that’s the problem. September begins to cut down the windows, too, although we have had excellent sailing weather most of this month. We sailed the Grand Surprise again on Tuesday in light airs, and on Thursday I was lucky enough to sail on Jasaap, Nicolas Pasternak’s JPK 10.10 with Pascal Loison directing matters – always good for learning! The nights are beginning to draw in, though – the FFV does not permit a club race to start after sunset, and we’re getting close to that. This week will be the last evening racing, after which I shall start thinking about coming over to Weymouth for the Autumn series…
Hang around long enough in Cherbourg and someone from WSC is bound to turn up – this week it was Dave Knight and Wizard on their way down to Brittany, and yesterday Kathy and her crew turned up on Arcsine at the end of the JOG Cherbourg race. Makes it feel even more like home!
Oh, and I had another Brexit brainwave, what with trying to work out the time in the Channel Islands – what about that hour you lose going into Europe? I thought we were already in Europe but apparently not. And it’s all year round, not just in the summer, non-optional, a further massive tax on time and human resources, and for what? They say you get it back, but you notice it’s only once, when you leave, while you’ve been losing an hour a day every day you’re there!
Steve Fraser
Aliya
