Month: June 2024

After a couple of days recovering in Falmouth it was time to depart. Destination was the Solent via St Peter Port and Cherbourg. Whilst this may seem to be a strange route there was method to the madness.

Firstly, Noah, one of the crew, had booked his Yachtmaster exam for the end of June. In order to complete his qualification he was required to skipper 2 passages of over 60 nm. This would be achieved by doing Falmouth to St Peter Port and Cherbourg to Haslar. Secondly, we needed around 500 litres of diesel, and diesel is around £1/ltr cheaper in St Peter Port than Falmouth – so a saving of £500 – that is a lot of wine and cheese.

When we first thought about going to St Peter Port the weather forecast was for North East/East winds on the Thursday when we would return to the mainland. Therefore it made sense to go to Cherbourg to improve the wind angle. This also gave us the opportunity to stock up on wine and cheese. As it was, the wind by the end of the week was totally different to the forecast – it became South West/West and F5/6 building up to quite serious winds for this Saturday’s Round The Island race (RTI) in which both Alex and Noah intended to participate.

We were required to depart Falmouth around lunchtime on Monday to make space for a 68M superyacht that was due in around 13:00. Since we did not wish to depart Falmouth until around 17:00 for our passage to Guernsey we went and picked up a buoy for a few hours in the Helford River. At the appropriate hour, we slipped, exited the river, popped the sails up and had a cracking sail all the way to Guernsey, averaging around 8kts. We arrived in Guernsey a bit earlier than planned, but the fuel dock had opened, the tide was high enough and the vessel filling had just finished. So a quick refuel, and then we took a shore pontoon and were all tied up and finished by 09:30. Alex led us ashore in the evening to a family favourite Chinese restaurant.

Next morning we departed at the perfect time to catch the tides and the Alderney race round to Cherbourg. Again everything worked out well, we got some good sailing in and tied up in the early afternoon outside the marina office. A very busy few hours then followed. First a walk to the border police to get our entry formalities completed. After that it was a visit to Normandie Wines and a restock of Valent’s wine cellar. A route back into town allowed the boys to get a coffee & pastry before the visit to the fromagerie. An extensive (or did I mean excessive) amount of cheese was purchased. A memorable line from Monsieur Fromage was when Alex requested an unpasteurised Camembert only to be told in no uncertain terms, “We do not do pasteurised cheese here”. Unfortunately my writing does not due justice to the pithy put down delivered in gallic tones with a disdainful look.

Thursday was an early departure on a glorious morning in Cherbourg. The day got progressively greyer and damper as we approached the Isle of Wight. We crossed with a mixture of motoring early on, motor sailing in the middle and by the end we were romping along in a strong SW breeze. Haslar awaited and it was great to tie up again in the marina we had left 13 months ago. Noah departed to catch a train to stay with his Aunt and to join their boat for the RTI. Valent was pleased to host Alex’s parents for dinner that night as they were en-route to East Cowes in preparation for the RTI. Once fed and Alex (and his cheese) duly collected they departed to the sound of strengthening winds.

Glorious sunrise in Cherbourg and a grey blustery Isle of Wight

Saturday proved to be one of the windiest RTI races. Alex’s parents own a HR34 called Fulmar – and being polite she likes a breeze to get going – well they certainly had one. 939 boats entered the RTI, 1/3 choose not to start and over 70% of those who started retired. One of the boats that did not leave the marina was the boat Noah was due to be on. So, following a month of bonding on Valent, Noah joined Alex on Fulmar. The wind was a steady F9 around the Needles/St Catherine’s and gusting to 54kts. The sea state was very rough and waves of 6-9M reported. Only 154 boats finished, and Fulmar was one of those with a very creditable 73rd place and an outstanding achievement to finish with a small boat in those conditions.

Suzy and the girls re-joined Valent on the Friday evening and we are now settling back into family life aboard. We intend to depart Haslar on Monday (tomorrow) and head back over to Cornwall. We feel we could have spent more time in the Scilly Isles a couple of years ago, so the aim is to go back and enjoy those beautiful islands. Oh, and the beard has now been removed.

After 9 1/2 days from Horta, Valent docked at 22:00 in Falmouth at Port Pendennis. About a third of the trip was sailing in almost perfect conditions. Another third was undertaken in challenging wind and seas with at one point a triple reefed main and staysail as the wind gusted to 38kts. The genoa had been been stowed long before. The rest was motor sailing in light winds. The sun put in very few appearances – the only visible sunsets being the first and last. Any chance to practice my AstroNav was thwarted. Probably a good job we did not have to rely on it like the boats of only 40 years ago before the advent of GPS.

Fishing proved to be elusive – we caught 1 lovely Mahi Mahi on day 1 and lost 2 big fish early on. The middle section was too rough for fishing and then we were either too fast and eventually we were in cold water where the Tuna and Mahi Mahi don’t want to be.

Arrival was celebrated with muted drinks – trying to get a decent pint at 11pm in Falmouth proved tricky. First stop was a strange Rum Bar – still we had a Dark ‘n’ Stormy to toast or return and remind us of departure drinks on 5 May at Shirley Heights in Antigua – seems a long time ago; well 3,746 nm of sailing at any rate.

Valent in Falmouth, looking small behind the superyacht.

Sunday has been a quiet start. Getting some laundry done, completing our entry back to the UK and generally reacquainting to life ashore. This is the first time we have been on shore power for over a month and the batteries are enjoying a good charge. The crew enjoyed a celebratory Sunday Roast at the boathouse, though all rather subdued. I think that we remain rather exhausted. Shaun (our USA crew member) has now departed and gone to see the delights of London before spending a few days in Europe.

The happy crew and empty plates. From L-R, Sean, Alex, Noah, Will

Valent is now going to do a couple of passages across the channel, primarily to allow Noah to do 2 skippered passages to prepare him for his Yachtmaster exam. For me, it is an opportunity to get cheap fuel in Guernsey and then to spend that saving on Wine, Cheese and lovely French food in Cherbourg. We will end up in the Cowes/Haslar area in time for Noah and Alex to participate in the annual Round The Island Race.

With special thanks to Sean, Alex and Noah for making the trip so enjoyable, safe and easy for me. We have sailed 3,746nm and spent 26 nights at sea together. We have supped in Antigua, St Martin, Horta (Faial Azores) and Falmouth. Thank you again. Fair winds in your next sailing adventures.

We’ve now completed 6 nights at sea and have around 500nm (4 nights) left depending on where we choose to make our first port of call. Falmouth is our target, but early indications are that they will not have a berth available for us. In that case we will need to go the extra 30 miles or so to Plymouth. The weather has been kind to us on this leg – yes we have had some windy, bumpy and damp days, but all manageable and could have been a lot worse. Wind continues to be forecast and we expect to see F5 North Westerly/Westerly as we approach the Channel.

Within a few hours of leaving Horta it was very obvious that we were on our way back to Northern Europe and the UK in particular. It got me thinking what are the tell tale signs that we are nearing the UK – here are my Top 10

1. No Sun for 5 days – the weather forecast is depressing – cold, damp and a lack of sun.
2. Sea colour – no longer blue but a grey/green
3. Tomatoes don’t go off when kept out of the fridge
4. Butter needs to be melted to bake a cake – and if left goes solid again
5. Watchkeepers enjoying Cup-a-Soup
6. Hot Lunches
7. Needing to remember where I stowed the duvets and duvet covers
8. Sleeping in socks
9. No enthusiasm for Al Fresco Showers and no more Hands to Bathe
10. Many layers of clothing and damp clothing around the boat.

Other changes include preparing the tide tables; have not worried about tides for a year now, getting out the Shell Channel Pilot and interacting with UK Border Force (though only on-line so far).

Baking has gone well, with the Apple Cake being a particular hit – rationing was required to ensure it made it to day 2. Tomorrow we will make a final banana cake, Caribbean style (just add rum) to remind us of a few weeks ago though it seems a lot longer.

Valent is currently at sea on the way from the Azores to the UK, but their Starlink connection is currently quite unstable, so just a quick reminder that you can still follow their progress using the Yellow Brick tracker. On our blog under Menu, go to the page How to Follow us at Sea, and click on the first link. This updates their position every six hours, and they have also been posting short blog updates there every day or so. The latest update this morning is:

“A breezy and bumpy night. A lot cooler as well. Sailing with heavily reefed main and stay sail. All good on board if a little uncomfortable.”