Our cruising schedule had arranged for Daniel and Isabel to join us in Guernsey, but having ended up in the Solent this weekend we all realised that it would be far better for them to join us for the crossing as well. We finished our week in the Solent by retracing our steps up Southampton water and berthing for the evening at Shamrock Quay. A look at the weather for the next few days showed that the only calm day was going to be on Saturday and so we decided to strike out across the Channel at the first opportunity. An early passage leaving the River Itchen at 0830UT would put us at the Needles around slack water, giving an easy passage down to the Needles Fairway Buoy. From there we could set the autopilot for our next waypoint, just off the Cherbourg harbour entrance.

As we made our way out into the Channel we noticed the humidity rising and soon we were in thick fog. At some stages we could barely see beyond the bow of the boat, and it needed everyone keeping a sharp lookout to avoid fishing buoys. The radar proved essential once again, and although we saw regularly traces appearing withing half a mile of us, we didn't see another vessel until we reached France. There had been strong winds for several days prior to our crossing and though the wind today was quite calm there was a moderate and confused swell which made for a rather uncomfortable passage. We also found that the lack of a horizon to focus on made it difficult to avoid feeling queasy.

As is the custom at Cherbourg we didn't bother to radio ahead on arrival, but entered the harbour and followed the directions for visitors to Q pontoon. We had some difficulty mooring on the short, slippery pontoons, as the cleats are few and far between; unfortunately the limited number of alongside berths had already been bagged by earlier arrivals. We were soon joined on the visitors berths by Furby's Folly and Millennium Falcon, making an early start on the MBM Channel Islands cruise. A pleasant sunny evening in the marina, enjoying the traditional post cruise drink on the front deck followed by a meal in La Taverne.

A lay day in Cherbourg on Sunday gave us time to visit Fort de Roule, standing on a rocky outcrop overlooking the town. A steep walk up the hill was rewarded by a great view of the harbour and the surrounding area. The fort now houses an atmospheric liberation museum; as the photo shows, even warships need to hang their washing out on deck.

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 86 nm

Total to date: 940 nm

Avg Speed: 13 knots

Duration: 6:40 hours

Diesel: 550 litres (est)

Wind: V/S 3-4

Mooring: €30

Electricity: Free

Waypoints

Esso Terminal
50 50.71N 01 19.99W

North Channel NCM
50 48.57N 01 17.13W

Gurnard (0.5nm NW)
50 46.00N 01 20.50W

Hurst Narrows
50 42.20N 01 32.50W

Shingles (0.1nm SSW)
50 39.70N 01 37.00W

Needles Fairway Buoy
50 38.20N 01 38.90W

Cherbourg West Entrance
49 41.00N 01 39.40W

Charts

SC 5600

AC 2656

AC 2613