Belated Cherbourg report

/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif Took me 18 hours to get from Poole ferry to Cher - as, like Tome, ended up down wind and current - and 14 hours to get back to Weymouth.
The 14 hour trip to Weymouth was what I expected, as I aint no light weight /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
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I aint no light weight



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your boats pretty sturdy as well Nigel /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

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"Ican see The Isle of Wight from here!"
 
Etap_Owner,

Yarmouth isn't overly adventurous.... how about just a tad further, and head for perhaps Brighton during the summer, and then a few of us East Coasters might be tempted to make an extended weekend of it, or perhaps encorporate it into our annual summer cruise?
 
What time did you leave Weymouth?
Were you one of the boats that shot past me?
I left at 10:00 and got shooed away from Lulworth by the Range safty boat, so went round DZB.
Crew could not believe how easy the motion was with the wind up the chuff!
 
Yes, we left Weymouth 1040 after a leisurely breakfast and had a great sail back to Cowes at an average speed of 7.2 knots. Very comfortable following seas with the occasional impressive greybeard which propelled us through the water at up to 9.4 knots.

By the time we reached the Needles channel we were running under genoa only with 4 furls and she became quite lively, trying to round up in gusts up to 38 knots. We passed a few boats on the way, were you close in to the shore? We passed to the south of the range boat and she seemed quite busy on the radio.

Memorable sail! Sorry to have missed you, didn't realise you were there also. We were moored outside the RDYC.
 
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I concur. SWMBO could be persuaded if she thought the whole thing wasn't an excuse for a boozy weekend for the boys. I'm working on her!

[/ QUOTE ] Just got the snaps back

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Steve,

further to our conversation earlier today. The possibility of reviving the Mercury Meet next year is certainly viable as a family oriented event (advantage of Mercury is that people can drive there if they don't fancy the conditions on the weekend).

Tho it didn't get off the ground this year, it's been highly successful in the past, with family and kids. If people are up for it, I'm happy to organise again, with complete details for people who have joined in past year or so and don't know the details of what its about.

13/14 May 2006 is date for diaries if enough people are up for it.
 
A bit late in joining this thread - been abstaining for a couple of days.

Would agree with your previous suggestions that it should be limited in number, rather than open invitation.

Had I not been organising, I would have gone to StVaast first too. Maybe the boats coming from the West could meet in ALderney or St PP first - just a thought.

With regard to SWMBO's , we have deliberately never said who could come and who couldn't - its always been entirely down to skippers' choice. It just happens that most of us have preferred it to be a boys weekend away.

Following a pleasant discussion with Robin and SWMBO last year, i made a point of telling people who were bringing wives this year not to expect many to be there, so that should not have been a surprise.

ANother observation over the three years has been the 'drift' away from skippers taking other forumites as crew, preferring to bring other friends along - me included. Maybe we could encourage skippers to think about forumites ahead of other friends and family in the future - again, just a thought.

Final comment - even though we have gone on either the third or fourth weekend in September, it always clashes with SIBS and/or University terms etc etc. The weather is also becoming autumnal. Might be better to go earlier in the month.

The 'Yacht Club' has my vote as the best location, by far.

C'et tout.
 
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It just happens that most of us have preferred it to be a boys weekend away.

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Nick

That was very much the impression we got last year too and was the main reason for not coming this year. That doesn't mean we wouldn't want to again, just that we have slightly different ideas of what is fun and would prefer the opportunity to meet and talk to others whilst they are still vertical and making some sense.

Robin
 
Maybe stating the obvious, but Cherbourg excursion has never been a family friendly trip, and never intended that way

If peeps want family oriented trips, support the ones that are, instead of whinging about weekends that are obviously not.
Not a go at you, more about the twits that don't seem to be able to tell the difference
 
That;'s a bit harsh Brendan. There was one family (Dom) there last year and this year. Delightful and polite children, paid full whack for each dinner including the surcharge, and not a single whinge (that I heard) from anybody.

You can't compare Cherbourg and Mercury - different venues, different people, different outcomes.

Now wind your neck in before I come and kill you! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
To be fair Robin, let's not tar everybody with the same brush. Whilst there are many 'single chaps' on the weekend, there was only a small minority each year who got carried away. The majority managed to stay vertical and make reasonable sense until the end of the evening, especially as they set sail early the next day.

Then there are those who stay vertical but still don't make sense cos they're like that all the time, but that's another story!
 
2006 .....

I really want to make it to Cherbourg for a meet .... having missed this years - it has me fired up for it next time. For me - I find it a pity that it is late in the year and subject to autumnal variations ... why not earlier in year ??

Second some mention more family orientated .... but surely many families don't relish the idea of slogging for so long across Channel ?? OK for the salty-seadogs of us !! So why not a shorter coastal hop ... as another said - Brighton ... (I would suggest a more traditional place than Brighton Marina though).

There is also the matter of smaller boats - which I have to comment at times do get a bit forgotten on the forums .... so maybe a south coast 'crawl' !!

The suggestion of East meets West by heading east along the channel is a good one .... even to possibly choosing a French venue to the east ??

There are many possibilities and all praise should go to Bignick and his team for their efforts and success .....

Roll on 2006 and more parties !!
 
Nick

Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like a Saturday night battle in Bournemouth town centre, just to point out that there are different priorities from different groups and that if there were changes being considered it is an opportunity to make it less intimidating for couples. I accept too that the Cherbourg venue would always be difficult for family crews over a 3 day weekend out of school holidays.

Maybe I'm just a sad old git but my lovely SWMBO is my only crew, I never sail 'with the lads' nor do I even wish too, but that doesn't mean we, jointly, don't like to socialise with other people either, because those that know us will know that we do.

If it isn't possible then so be it, but I thought it was an opportunity to at least air the subject, who knows I may not be alone!

Best regards and I will add my thanks and respect for all the sterling work you put in!

Robin
 
Chauvanism starts here...

Apparently Brendan you consider the ladies to be just 'family' and not equal partners on board or Skippers in their own right, that is very sad.

We (ie self + SWMBO) often go to Cherbourg just for a weekend and have done many times each year for many years and we don't need to import full crew of the lads before we dare venture out either. It is very patronising to suggest we should look just to the 'family orientated trips' and if you were referring to the Mercury meet, I'm afraid a weekend in Hamble has about as much attraction to us as one in Wigan, sorry but it is so.

Robin
 
Re: 2006 .....

Monitoring the thread so far, there doesn't seem to be much appetite to change the existing format and I accept that for some husband/wife or family crews an autumnal sail x channel is asking too much.

The time of year is chosen so that people have completed their summer cruises, therefore we avoid school holidays and look for a neap weekend in September (it was originally October). Making it a channel crossing adds a little spice and adventure.

In the prevailing weather it does mean that there is a likelyhood that boats below a certain size will struggle with the channel chop on the outward passage, but you cannot please everyone. The average size of the boats which made it this year was around 36 feet with a range from 28 to 47 feet.

There seems to be a lot of interest in a more family-orientated event during the summer months. I'll leave this to others and stick to the existing formula for next year. The main changes will be a commitment to attend in the form of a meal deposit, and a cap on the number of boats and crew.
 
Robin .... take a look above at my post ..

I sympathise with you, but also like the boys day out etc. In fact I like it all ways !!

I think there are enough people on the forums to be able to have not just one meet - but many - to suit all tastes .....

So if you want one - why not look to start one ....

We did it for 2 years running with the PBOMeet group - then later it started as a East Head BBQ do on the beach at entrance to Chichester Harbour ..... one boat even brings a large Pub table !! and BBQ ....

With another group from Tudor Club - Priory Bay on Isle of Wight was very popular BBQ do ... fins outside sandbank, bilge drying out inside sandbank ..... >>>>

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Just a few photo's illustrating bbq beach Priory Bay .... as long as morning / evening tide for those that wish to dry out .... no tide necessary if outside sandbank !!

(For those not in the know ... Priory Bay is just about 1/2 mile west of Bembridge Isle of Wight ....)

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I think its a fair point that you make Robin.

A crossing to Cherbourg late in the season, in itself, could put off some of the more 'tender' partners and family, thats understandable.

Its also quite reasonable that 'the lads away' will have a couple of beers and sometimes act in an unfamily friendly manner.

Brendan has suggested reviving the Mercury rally, why not? As Brendan says people can even drive there if they want, us local to the Solent will sail around, I for one would be happy to offer B&B to someone who wanted to drive down from the East Coast (say) to join in.

Result then would be, Cherbourg as is, mainly lads but not exclusive. Dont forget there could be those who would like to join a SB rally but are not up to a channel crossing!

Mercury, family, wives, partners etc, easy to attend.

I will happily help Brendan make Mercury work, so long as there is going to be support from the forum to attend.

Could I also suggest that this thread is moved to the Cherbourg 2005 site, just so it dosnt slip too many pages down into history. Moderator please?
 
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