France 2004
The intent in August 04 had been
to head across the Thames Estuary and then make our
way down Channel towards
However, the weather had other
ideas and a stormy summer truncated our cruise somewhat.
For the first time I had taken
both boys, Rowan (11) and Joshua (7), with me on a longer passage. Our friend Ade
joined us to complete the crew.
The previous week had seen a
very blustery depression blow through from the tail end of an early hurricane
over the
Late in the week F6/7 was still blowing
but a calmer high was forecast over the weekend. With a good weather window for the outward
leg, we set off…
Friday 20 August
Set off singlehanded
from the Deben at 1530 to pick up the crew on the
Orwell, ready for an early start just before LW the next morning – not an
option from the Deben!
Reaching the Bar on the early
ebb brought 26kn S winds & some very steep overfalls
– unpleasant but just manageable given the 3.5M least depth. Rough motoring & sailing under jib
brought me to Levington at 1945, just in time for a
thunderstorm. Not an auspicious
start.
Good meal, arrival of crew,
optimistic forecast & decent sleep improved outlook considerably.
Distance: 25nm
Hours:
Saturday 21 August
Away at 0715
in a 10kn NW breeze, running goosewinged in the
sunshine over breakfast to the
Gybing round onto a broad reach in 14kn N took us to the
Reached
through the Gat carrying the chute by 1220, with the wind dropping slightly,
then past Outer Tongue towards the N Foreland.
By 1530 the wind had dropped to
8kn SW and we were forced to motor-sail into what was becoming a foul tide and
lumpy swell off Broadstairs, knocking the wind out of
the sails.
Arrived in an
unusually quiet Ramsgate marina at 1715.
Distance: 69nm
Hours:
Sunday 22 August
Motored out of
Ramsgate at 0750 with a light and variable 4kn wind, reaching W Goodwin at
0900.
Wind had settled at 9kn SW so we hoisted sails and beat towards
With 15kn SW wind we reached our
waypoint just S of the
1230 found us mid-TSS making a
healthy 6+kn SOG and the tide taking down towards the
ZC2 buoy, which we laid at 1335.
By 1500 the wind had turned
light and variable again and the tide foul, so it was back to motoring to make
the final miles into
At 1700 we were berthed in a
half empty
Distance: 55nm
Hours:
Monday 23 August
Monday was time for a break so
that the boys (all 4) could enjoy the magnificent Egyptian exhibition in the
chateau, look around the town, explore the excellent Nausicaa
sea life centre and play on the beach.
It was also time to give hard
thought to the emerging forecasts of F7 SW winds as another low swept in from
the
Given the absence of viable ports
in onshore winds over F4 between
Tuesday 24 August
Reluctantly we left
By 0500 we were reaching fast
under jib in around 22kn towards Cap Gris Nez and
taking some uncomfortably large seas on the beam and occasionally into the
cockpit! Meanwhile Rowan & Josh were
asleep in the forepeak – how I do not know as they must have airborne a good
deal of the time.
At 0540 we steered across the TSS
at 320˚,
making over 8kn SOG under double reefed main & jib with a strong tide
carrying us towards
By
0730 we had cleared the TSS and headed for the W Goodwin, then the S Brake in
very heavy rain, before berthing in a still deserted but dry Ramsgate again by
1010 for breakfast.
Sure
enough the wind built to a good F7 in the harbour later in the day before
moderating overnight as we had hoped.
Distance: 48nm
Hours:
Wednesday
25 August
To our great relief the howling
wind abated overnight and allowed us another convenient window to make the home
run.
Leaving at 0700 in sunshine and
a light 5kn SW breeze we broad reached
for the N Foreland with the wind gradually picking up to 15kn.
By 1015 we had reached Foulgers Gat (to find the buoys temporarily on board MS Mermaid!)
before heading for the
From Sunk Head we made for NE Gunfleet and then the Cork Sand Yacht Beacon. Just E of the Cork Sands we saw a black cloud
approaching off the land and dropped all the sails in time for a violent squall
and rain deluge at 1330. We motored very
slowly into this with the tiller pilot taking the worst of the soaking whilst
we sheltered under the sprayhood with a close eye on
our position on the chart.
By 1400 we were past the Beacon
and sailing again, though deliberately slowly to avoid arriving too early after
LW at Woodbridge Haven, crossing the Deben Bar at
1500 with 2.2M least depth.
The regular showers and headwind
eventually got the better of us and at 1600 we motored
the last of the distance upriver to our mooring at Waldringfield,
arriving at 1630 and heading home for a large dinner!
Distance: 65nm
Hours:
Overall, some very satisfying
sailing and navigation in mixed conditions over the 5 days.
A great pity we did not make our
intended destinations, but most importantly Josh achieved his first channel
crossing, both boys gained experience and confidence, and we arrived home safe
albeit early much to the relief of Sara and the family who had watched the
forecasts with trepidation.
Morzen acquitted herself very well in the rough sea conditions
and increased my confidence in her for future passages. Maybe next year we’ll explore
Total distance: 262
Total hours: 39:25