Today's passage to St Vaast would be constrained by the locks at both our departure and arrival ports and would need to span two high waters. With a minimum of fifty miles to travel and the tide flooding west to east there was no way of locking out of Ouistreham and reaching our destination on the same tide. Instead we took the last exit lock and made a leisurely 8 knot passage westwards towards the Îles Saint-Marcouf. Here, a semi-sheltered anchorage provides a convenient waiting place for yachts on passage between drying harbours. The Cotentin peninsula gave us shelter from the westerly breeze and we found a spot south of Île de Terre for afternoon tea.

An hour before St Vaast's scheduled gate opening time we weighed anchor and made the final leg north-west to the marina, arriving about five minutes into the access window. Due south of the Isle of Wight, St Vaast is a popular spot for Solent boaters and the harbour and the town were packed with Brits.

South of the town the fort of La Hougue is still a military semaphore post and the old tower stands guard over a peaceful bay, which is packed with shellfish beds.

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 48 nm

Total to date: 1809 nm

Avg Speed: 7 knots

Duration: 7 hours

Diesel: 105 litres

Wind: W 3

Mooring: €31

Electricity: Included (10A)

Water: Included

Charts

AC 1349

AC 2136

AC 2135