We woke up to such a calm, sunny and generally glorious day today, that it seemed a shame not to use it for cruising. So we deferred our trip to Osborne House, Queen Victoria's beachside retreat, and pointed the boat down the Solent and then south for 'la belle France'.

With a cloudless sky and glass-like sea we felt as if we were in a plane flying above the clouds. The passage was so uneventful we could even watch a DVD on our cockpit screen, completing the illusion of being airborne by serving tea and sandwiches at regular intervals.

Five miles north of Cherbourg harbour we stumbled across two French warships on manouvres - they seemed to be practising blockading an enemy by positioning themselves across our path. As we slowed down, expecting to be boarded by the Gendarmerie Maritime, we were shooed away by their escort rib and helicopter.

It was a clear entrance into Cherbourg harbour, although their fog signal was unnecessarily in operation. We gave way to a P&O ferry competing for the west entrance, and made our way through to the clearly marked visitors pontoon in Port de Chantereyne.

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 77 nm

Total to date: 478 nm

Avg Speed: 15 knots

Duration: 5:15 hours

Wind: N 1-2

Diesel: 384 litres

Mooring: €38

Electricity: Included

Charts

SC5600

AC2656

AC2613