Preparation for the next leg

Wednesday 4th September 2013

Another sunny and very hot day !!

Much of today was spent looking at weather and getting set for the next leg of the trip.

Our neighbours - Alan and Dag were doing the same - Alan had to be back in Portsmouth at the weekend for work but crossing the channel in fog was not what he wanted to do.

Dag has decided to pay up and leave his boat in Cherbourg for the winter ( 5 months on the hard standing ) - he will go back to Norway and ride his motor bike back to Cherbourg to check all is well then head off to Spain on the bike. Something about a mid life crisis!!

More woodwork scraping and Jackie oiling everything in sight in the sunshine.

Passage planning in detail for the next leg through the fastest tides in the Northern hemisphere!!

2 days to spring tides of 8 meters range !!

After tea - Alan suggested we all go up to the Yacht Club for a farewell drink and we had a great night chatting and putting the world right - then swapping email contact details - GREAT.

Thursday 5th September 2013

Not a bad morning in the marina but fog forecast with light winds.

We decided to go anyway before the rain and very high winds coming soon.

Off at 09.15 with good visibility until we left the outer harbour then it slowly dropped to 100 yds!

We had to work as a team - Jackie scanning the radar  and me navigating.

Across the top of the Cherbourg peninsular we kept close inshore ( 1 mile ) to catch the inshore back eddy stream taking us West - here we had lots of radar contacts and we altered course to pass them safely - it's the first time I have had to rely on the radar and it was great to see even small boats through the fog.

The contacts didn't show up as AIS targets - they were not commercial craft - except the customs cutter and he didn't want people to know he was comming!!

We put up all sail in the light wind and fished - Jackie caught the biggest Mackerel of the holiday !!

Then the wind shot up to 27 knots in no time !! - all sail down - QUICK.

The timing was to be at Cap De La Hague at slack water at 12 .00 - we were there spot on.

The tide then gradually built up speed to push us along at 3 knots plus the engine which gave us 8 knots over the ground !

The waves were quite manageable and our course led us around the overfalls.

The visibility came and went for most of the trip and then the sun came out and the visibility cleared as we approached the Channel Islands - we didn't see Alderney at all but just when we entered the little Russell channel with it's testing pilotage we had great visibility.

The tide ran very fast past the Rousell tower - 6 knots - and we were off the entrance to St. Peter Port harbour soon after.

As we were entering and trying to sort out the route in - with Jackie reading the instructions from the pilot book - a small boat came to meet us - handing us customs forms and saying follow me please - wonderful !!

We were too early to enter the marina and had to tie up to the waiting pontoon with loads of other boats for about one and a half hours.

We got all tidied up and just after 5 - ( UK time now ) a small boat escorted us to our berth in the marina - very close to the walkway to the shower block and access to town - PERFECT !!

We had a walk around this lovely town - a pint in the seafront pub - thenJackie rustled up oven baked Mackerel with a Spanish omlete and French bread - just the job.

We are HERE !! - our holiday destination - in good time to meet our friends on Tuesday / Wednesday next week.

I haven't totted it up yet - but we must be 300 miles from our mooring in the river Crouch by now - fantastic!!

Mike and Jackie Smethurst.