Together Again

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.