tome
Well-Known Member
We planned to leave Cherbourg 0500 and set our alarms for 0400. At that stage they were forecasting f5/6 with gusts to 8, but later forecasts were more ominent. We were up just long enough to decide there was no way we were going out in what had become a shrieking gale, so went back to our bunks for a few hours.
By 0900 it had abated, the barometer had risen to 1012 steadily rising and the wind had veered to the West. The synopsis suggested that the cold front had already come through and that we could expect fresh westerlies which suited us. I decided to go, but reassured my crew that if it was still bad out there we would turn back and catch the 1730 ferry home. I booked all 5 of us onto the ferry so that we weren't under undue pressure and we set a conservative sail plan of triple
reefed main and 30% genoa, expecting to be shaking reefs out once under way
We encountered some biggish seas off Cherbourg entrance, but nothing too bad so pressed on at a good pace doing 7-8 knots. I was pleased with our sail plan which made her well balanced and a joy to helm in the exciting conditions. It was squally and we were regularly seeing gusts of 30+ knots with the wind dropping to about 22 knots in the lulls. I reassured our less experienced crew that the boat was very happy
By about 1300 the wind had increased so the average was above 30 knots and gusts started to get bigger. On a couple of occasions we came close to an accidental gybe as the seas were getting up to the 4m mark so we dropped the main and carried on under reefed genoa. From about 1400 we were in a full gale and seas started climbing on board. I was a bit concerned that the cockpit was taking a long time to drain, and the seas were now up to 5m with some breaking heavily. Every now and again the wind would drop to around 25 knots and each time we thought that it had blown through, only to hear the banshee wail return and winds now gusting above 40 knots
The greybeards were advancing towards us, and one of our crew took some video footage on his camera/phone. We were crossing the first shipping lane and a large coaster helped by making a turn behind us. Out of nowhere, a big sea slammed into our side knocking us down and throwing 2 of the crew across the cockpit. Fortunately they were well tethered and suffered no more than bruising. We kept our speed down to around 6 knots - much more and we were taking seas on board
She was quite comfortable, and the crew were now enjoying the big breakers which seemed set to overwhelm us, only to pass harmlessly beneath us on most occasions. There was a lot of spray, but the crew were cheerful and put their trust in the boat which was handling the conditiond well
The second big wave came on board as we were crossing the second shipping lane. I recall reading somewhere that the effect of ships wakes in big seas can create freak waves and wondered if this was the cause? By now the cockpit was draining much faster and I made a mental note to clear the drains before setting off into any weather in future
As the Isle of Wight hove into view we started looking forward to some lee as we passed to the East. Meantime, we could see precipitation and low cloud ahead and sure enough we were hit by a heavy downpour and a big flattening squall at around 6pm. By 9pm we were gratefully in the lee of the island and things started to calm down as we headed back into Chichester on the last of the flood. We were safely tied up shortly before midnight, having left the pontoon in Cherbourg at 1015 that morning
The crew were delighted to have 'Max F8' added to their logbooks and did a fine job getting her home. Interesting to note that the two who are prone to mal de mer were just fine
And, as a footnote, the 1730 ferry was cancelled due to weather!
By 0900 it had abated, the barometer had risen to 1012 steadily rising and the wind had veered to the West. The synopsis suggested that the cold front had already come through and that we could expect fresh westerlies which suited us. I decided to go, but reassured my crew that if it was still bad out there we would turn back and catch the 1730 ferry home. I booked all 5 of us onto the ferry so that we weren't under undue pressure and we set a conservative sail plan of triple
reefed main and 30% genoa, expecting to be shaking reefs out once under way
We encountered some biggish seas off Cherbourg entrance, but nothing too bad so pressed on at a good pace doing 7-8 knots. I was pleased with our sail plan which made her well balanced and a joy to helm in the exciting conditions. It was squally and we were regularly seeing gusts of 30+ knots with the wind dropping to about 22 knots in the lulls. I reassured our less experienced crew that the boat was very happy
By about 1300 the wind had increased so the average was above 30 knots and gusts started to get bigger. On a couple of occasions we came close to an accidental gybe as the seas were getting up to the 4m mark so we dropped the main and carried on under reefed genoa. From about 1400 we were in a full gale and seas started climbing on board. I was a bit concerned that the cockpit was taking a long time to drain, and the seas were now up to 5m with some breaking heavily. Every now and again the wind would drop to around 25 knots and each time we thought that it had blown through, only to hear the banshee wail return and winds now gusting above 40 knots
The greybeards were advancing towards us, and one of our crew took some video footage on his camera/phone. We were crossing the first shipping lane and a large coaster helped by making a turn behind us. Out of nowhere, a big sea slammed into our side knocking us down and throwing 2 of the crew across the cockpit. Fortunately they were well tethered and suffered no more than bruising. We kept our speed down to around 6 knots - much more and we were taking seas on board
She was quite comfortable, and the crew were now enjoying the big breakers which seemed set to overwhelm us, only to pass harmlessly beneath us on most occasions. There was a lot of spray, but the crew were cheerful and put their trust in the boat which was handling the conditiond well
The second big wave came on board as we were crossing the second shipping lane. I recall reading somewhere that the effect of ships wakes in big seas can create freak waves and wondered if this was the cause? By now the cockpit was draining much faster and I made a mental note to clear the drains before setting off into any weather in future
As the Isle of Wight hove into view we started looking forward to some lee as we passed to the East. Meantime, we could see precipitation and low cloud ahead and sure enough we were hit by a heavy downpour and a big flattening squall at around 6pm. By 9pm we were gratefully in the lee of the island and things started to calm down as we headed back into Chichester on the last of the flood. We were safely tied up shortly before midnight, having left the pontoon in Cherbourg at 1015 that morning
The crew were delighted to have 'Max F8' added to their logbooks and did a fine job getting her home. Interesting to note that the two who are prone to mal de mer were just fine
And, as a footnote, the 1730 ferry was cancelled due to weather!
