As this blog is a good record for us, to remember past voyages, I am just going to make a few notes about the cross channel trip. Largely because we didn't get to update as often as we'd like, due to being in France and using my UK mobile, (will have to look into cheaper data options in the future), but also on the return trip we didn't feel like posting, due to both getting a bit queasy at the start.
For the trip over we had the best weather we could hope for, the gradually increasing North Easterly was over our port quarter for most of the trip. The spinnaker kept us at a good speed, until the wind started to back and increase as we approached the Cherbourg peninsular, so we took the spinnaker down and had a fast reach in to the outer harbour.
I didn't expect the high pressure to the north, that was responsible for the north easterly to last a week and hoped we'd have to grab a moment between fronts to rush home with a south westerly/westerly behind us. But it soon became obvious that this would not happen, and strong north easterly were here to stay.
This didn't give us many options to move on from Cherbourg, and still have a good departure point for home. Alderney was out of the question, with strong winds blowing right into the harbour, St Peters Port, possible, but the return journey with a spring tide behind us, but against the strong wind through the Alderney race, didn't seem like a good idea. St Vaast took us further east, which would give us more chance to sail off the wind back across the channel, further improved if the wind backed to the east, as the longer forecast suggested. But it was not with out it problems either.
The tide turned east for us mid afternoon, but it would now be against the wind, which we would have to motor into for a couple of hours before bearing off. By motoring out to 5 mile offshore, the plan was to follow a course that kept us a similar distance off Point de Barfleur, one of the English Channels most notorious headlands, and then gradually round Barfleur till we were heading South with the wind behind us for St Vaast.
The plan mostly worked, and we left with a steady F4/5 blowing, (although it felt worse, heading right into it) When we reached our first waypoint, we bore off and set sail, and with the tide building under us were approaching 10kts over the ground. But as we approached Barfleur the wind backed, heading us closer inshore, so my wide margin of 5 miles was being reduced. Initially although the seas seem large, we were sailing well through the waves, then we started losing speed through the water, the wind was registering F2/F3, and soon the water calmed, but only briefly as I could sea white water ahead, which the tide was taking us to very quickly. Very quickly we were in a typical race, with waves jumping up at all angles, and slowing the progress of the boat more. Fortunately the waves weren't that high, and it wasn't long till we found the wind again. We were now east of Barfleur and beginning to turn south. With the wind behind us things became more settled, and eventually we ran down to St Vaast goose-winged. The whole trip required allot of concentration on the tiller. I don't quite understand where the wind goes, when in a race of a headland, I have noticed a similar thing off St Albarns.
St Vaast was a good place to spend a couple of days to see what the forecasts had in-store for us.
Unfortunately nothing changed much, and easterly wind kept being put off, and looked like it would drop so much that it wouldn't be much use. So we decided to return with what we had which was a north easterly F5. But when we got into it, it was a F7. The waves south of Ille Tatihou, off St. Vaast where large, but with a long length, and the boat was handling them well, I hoped they would ease once we got into deeper water, but they stayed with us till north of Barfleur, which this time I kept a good 5 miles off. It was also slack water at this point and there were no signs of a race, despite the sea being bigger than before. I contemplated turning back, but didn't think conditions could stay like this the whole way home, which might have been too much of a struggle. I then thought if it didn't improve our best bet would be to run for Cherbourg if it got really horrible. But due east of Barfleur we bore off the wind and set sail. Soon had the boat sailing well on our course, 1 reef in the main, a couple in the genoa, and the sea beginning to ease, and although a beat, it felt like we could keep this up the whole way, if a bit tiring. But the wind kept dropping, and after about 3 hours we were struggling for a decent speed, with no reefs in. So the engine came on, and stayed on for the rest of the day. It made dodging the ships a bit easier. Although at some points the ships seemed to be going in both directions, and confused me as to what part of the lanes we were in. (Actually there are no lanes there, just projected continuations of the Dover straights, and off Casquettes lanes. So I guess they can do what they want)
We began to recover slowly from being thrown about so much in the morning, and they day got easier, if a little boring with the engine on. The hours didn't seem to flyby quite as they did on they way over. Just after dark we spotted The Needles lighthouse and the mast on the IOW, which we know well from the Solent side. It felt a bit more exciting with, the coast approaching, but with lights you have little idea of your distance off (unless you work it out) and it felt like a long time till The Needles finally arrived. We managed to find a spot in Yarmouth without having to disturb anyone at midnight, the only annoying thing was to wake up at 9 and find we should really leave straight away to catch the tide home. But we were soon eating our pain au chocolate while racing up the Solent, feeling pleased with our achievement.
