Our First Crossing to France

So where does it start? It could be with the half-hearted thinking about it, bad weather, a forgotten passport? The advice - “steer 170º and you cannot miss it”, or “aim south and follow the ferries in”. But it really started at 03.30 on a Sunday morning, aboard Explorer on the river, when Carol, Jane and I woke up.

After the usual morning routine we slipped our lines at 04.30 with a forecast of westerly force 2 to 3 winds all day (I wish they would get it right just once). As we went downriver in the dark, Carol was doing her impression of a figure head with a torch and very good she is at it too, even with her clothes on. Jane sloped off back to bed and with me on the helm following Carol’s instructions, we slipped through the sticks into Poole Harbour, and all was looking good in our little world.

The day before, I had sat down with charts, tide tables and tidal flow charts, and added up all the easterly tidal flows and all the westerly flows and wrote them all down for every hour for the estimated 14 hour channel crossing. I took the easterly flows from the westerly flows, put in the chart variation and my compass deviation plus 1.5º for leeway with a force 3 and came out with a compass course of 73° and as we came out of the harbout that is the course Explorer settled down on. As the sails went up she picked up her skirts to 5.8 knots through the water instead of the 4.0 knots the engine does on cruise rev’s.

Visibility was not that good after dawn, only about 6 miles, so on went the radar. About four hours out our first targets appeared, in the shipping channel, but were well spaced so we had no problem getting through them, although we only saw 2 actual ships. With everything going well Carol went to bed for a snooze. About 4 hours off Cherbourg the wind started to swing south and increase, and increase, and swing until we were in a force 6 SSW and the sea began to build. Explorer does not like to go to windward too tightly but with Cap–de–la Hague off the port bow and the start of the easterly spring tidal flow I was quite happy with our position. That was until the change in motion awoke Carol and she went to use the heads (bad move). A rogue wave hit the starboard beam, there was a bump then a scream from Carol that the toilet had broken away. I leapt up as a sister wave hit the boat and Jane and I were airborne; I landed on the autohelm, not only breaking it’s operating bar but breaking it out of the cockpit GRP. So the response to Carol was “if we’re not sinking you will have to shovel your own s…!”

What had happened was - the wave had lifted her off the toilet up to the headlining, gravity took over and she landed on the front edge of the ‘loo, snapping off the screws holding the toilet base to the bulkhead and depositing Carol and it’s contents onto the floor.

Jane now had to endure a world record speed course on yacht helming under full sail, in a strong wind a big sea and as close to windward as I could get her to hold it, before I could get below to Carols assistance. She did a brilliant job. After shutting the seacocks to the ‘loo and helping Carol with the turmoil below I went back to the cockpit to find that despite Jane’s good work we had made a lot of ground eastward and were looking at the Pointe de Barfleur. So the sails had to come down and we had to motor for nearly two hours to get into Cherbourg’s eastern entrance with by now a force 7 blowing.

Once inside the outer harbour it all calmed down and I was able to radfio the marina for a berth. They told us if I could find a space on N pontoon I could have it otherwise they were full. So, with a lot of boats coming in behind us, the engine went to full revs and we made it to the last berth at 18.00 to leave the rest of the boats to go round looking for a space before having to go back out to anchor.

The next day I had to spend a few hours doing repairs and purchasing a new autohelm while Jane and Carol explored the town shops. We had a few wonderful days in Cherbourg, going through the produce market; eating out; even going by bus to visit a 17 century chateau. Too soon we had to return to Weymouth for friends and family to join us for Carols birthday. A long 15.5 hour passage under engine followed with no wind, a glass smooth sea and two miles visibility. We got into harbour with 30 seconds spare for the summer 21.00 bridge lift.

Did we enjoy it? Yes. Was it worth It? Yes. Will we do it again? Yes.

Mike, Explorer.