Busy Brixham

Two days ago in Carteret ...

We had a lazy day in the heat, showed our faces at the Rally bbq though it's really not our thing. We talked a bit to our West Country section friends; the other 13 boats remained strangers and seemed to have a different vibe.

We took a taxi down to the Gare Maritime for the meaningless ritual of stamping passports. We gave a lift to Paul & Liz, the West Country leaders, who also didn't fancy the 40 minute walk there and back. One woman asked our boat name, one man looked us up on his computer, another man stamped the passports, and a third man just watched. They came here especially to stamp 8 passports tonight. As others report across the CA, the French are being as accommodating as they can, they are just forced to jump through the hoop. In fairness, we yachties have been reduced to the same cursory checks that apply to plane, train or ferry passengers ... except that there the authorities control the entry points, whereas for boats it's impossible, making this a charade.

Our mood quickly improved because we treated ourselves to some fine French dining in Hotel Les Ormes (pic) near the marina. The food, fish and lamb, was under/un cooked in French style and delicious, the champagne delightful and the cidre, a local speciality from the Normandy apples, refreshing and good with lamb.

Yesterday in the Channel ...

We had worked out our tides very carefully. Our route back across the Channel was very simple. One straight line from Carteret to a Way point on the south-west corner of the Casquets TSS  passing between Guernsey and Alderney, and a second line from there to Berry Head on the assumption we could get into Brixham who weren't taking bookings in advance because they are so busy. A small amount of jeopardy there, as we'd be arriving on the English coast in the small hours. We had arranged to call Brixham at 1130,  a time when we should be near enough to Guernsey for a signal.

We left at 0715 BST across the sill, which looked horrendous at low tide (pic) - the tidal range here is 10m - we ignored French time for passage planning as it encourages confusion; Richard from Dartmouth almost didn't get in to Carteret because he failed to account for the hour difference. We marked on our charted lines the target points to reach each hour (can't do this on a plotter), so we could easily see if we're falling behind. It was vital to be past Guernsey before 1300 to avoid a foul tide. Although we had approx cross tides all the way, 20degrees of tidal direction change makes all the difference. The whole morning was a flat calm and we motored with the mainsail up (visibility and stability) at 6kn with tidal help. We just managed the call with Brixham to get a confirmed berth for the night (or what's left of it after we arrive) - the signal was lost just as I warned them of arrival after midnight. 

The first half of the passage went exactly as planned. Even in no wind the seas near the Channel Islands were lumpy due to colliding tide flows. The second half went faster than expected; we had hoped for some sailing in light winds and arrival as the dawn loomed, but there was no wind so the motor and the autohelm soldiered on, we avoided various ships and we entered Brixham at 0100. The dark is always stressful as its impossible to judge distances, but luckily there were few fishing boats about and the entrance is simple. The marina night man helpfully gave v clear VHF instructions and then came to the berth to catch our lines.

So to today ...

Late up, then a slightly stressful visit to the Marina office. Due to the bad weather coming in we needed to stay here until Tues or clear out today to Dartmouth  or even home (which wouldn't feel good). The sympathetic berthing manager consulted his spreadsheet and declared we could stay in D40 - hoorah! We had a very pleasant shower and spent the rest of the very hot day lounging in the boat with canvas sunshade up and getting no jobs done at all. Entertainment was the fuel barge being motored into position (pic). Lots of book reading, and writing this, punctuated by the Rally WhatsApp group announcing arrivals variously in the Solent. The harbourside busker who should be called Noise Pollution almost had me offering to pay for him to stop.