Saving money on wine
By sailing to France
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Cherbourg was very quiet -- off the beaten track on a Sunday -- but we enjoyed some top cuisine Francaise and made back some of the diesel cost on the savings we made of a few bottles of Claret each. A top tip from the frugal crew of Froo Gal!
Preparation and Passage Planning
We enjoyed the preparation and planning for the cruise nearly as much as the trip itself. Our preparations were not much greater that a typical weekend cruise around the Solent. Here are a selection of the tasks that we set ourselves beforehand:
Write passage plan -- done; it was easy and worked very well. We used a combination of a digital Reeds Almanac for the tide times, Admiralty Channel Tide Tables, Solent and Channel Islands/Cherbourg Admiralty Small Chart Folio charts and Navionics electronics charts for the planning and navigation.
Pack Hammock -- strung and functionally checked by at least one member of the crew on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Buy French courtesy flag -- success second time around. The first attempt yielded a red ensign even though the packaging was clearly marked French courtesy flag.
Tighten alternator belt -- it had been slipping. It turned out that the professional that had serviced the engine at the end of last summer had not fitted it correctly. So we replaced it (wrongly by copying the last placement) and then did our homework and correctly fitted it.
Fit new horseshoe buoy and Dan Buoy -- done. Fortunately not used in anger.
The crossing
Early starts at 0430 (first light) on both the outbound crossing and the return passage were a bit of a shock to the system. Endless cups of tea and snacks saw us through.
We nominally cruised in company with three-hour radio checks and position logs for the fleet, but owing to different sail plans (we had no downwind sail) and water-line lengths we soon lost sight of the others. It was good peace of mind to know that our radio was working and someone knew our last position.
Including pilotage, both passages took us 13 hours, avoiding the need for any serious night sailing.
Radar gave us some additional confidence when dodging large ships, but visibility was good and we had no need to worry. The skipper was a dinghy racer and could have missed those tankers by inches if necessary!
We enjoyed all points of sailing as the wind veered and and backed (and mostly dropped to nearly nothing.
Arrival and short stay
The approach to Cherbourg was straight forward -- we had advice from a Channel Pilot book, two almanacs and three skippers in the crew who had visited before.
Docking was drama free as it has to be one of the most sheltered mooring on the English channel. The man-made outer harbour is huge. Its moles provide a frugal looking anchorage in the harbour, but we took advantage of the 20% discount that the cruise leader had negotiated. The inner harbour/marina, although large by marina standards added additional shelter for the walk-ashore floating pontoon moorings. With mooring fees at about 50% of the cost of the Solent, we2 were racking up the savings.
The paperwork in the Marina office was minimal and the friendly staff spoke English putting our rusty, basic French to shame. The only sign of officialdom was a large Pilot boat making frequent trips to the outer harbour.
Increased 'to do' list
The main thing that this venture taught us, is that we need a downwind sailing rig. We have been mulling over the options of symmetric spinnaker vs. cruising chute for some time. We now must put in the extra effort, make a decision, spend hard-earned money and cut holes in the deck (well perhaps not the latter, depending on the option chosen).
Was it worth it?
A resounding, yes. It boost confidence in your vessel and your crew to sail out of sight of land. A first step to serious long distance, blue water cruising!
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