Cross Channel to Cherbourg

Cast your minds back to the weekend of 26th of May if you would.  Three of the ten originally  registered boats and crews set off for La belle France.

Nicknack with Nick and Gail aboard set off westward down the Solent on the Friday evening for a crossing via the Needles after spending the night outside Yarmouth.   Astrid with Derek and Julie on board spent the night at Gosport and Adrian and myself left early Saturday morning from Port Solent on Moondance.

We both thought going east of the Island would make for a more comfortable reach across the channel to Cherbourg.  As it turned out Nicknack had a bumpy but fast crossing and arrived first by a long way while Astrid and ourselves ended up having to motorsail to get there in a dying wind.

Then we had the now infamous Northeasterly blow which kept us all in port with Astrid choosing to move from the hammerhead berth she originally had to a more sheltered alongside berth nearer the Capitaneaire to save buffeting. 

Adrian and I on Moondance stayed for five days then elected to go back by ferry so that we could return when the winds were more favourable for cruising the Channel Islands

Astrid with Derek and Julie stayed a few more days then took a small weather window to the Islands and on to St Cast before returning much later.

Nicknack braved it out until a slight respite in the conditions gave them a still lively return journey.

We returned on the ferry after 10 days  and met Julie and Derek on their way back to blighty having stopped off in Cherbourg to check out of France

We carried on East then South and cruised around Guernsey then Sark then Jersey back to France to the beautiful Carteret and on to Dielette to check out and return home for the end of the month.

Kevin - Moondance