Agree, but IIRC there was a general consensus after the first couple of meets that we should run it on a neap tide weekend. Some of the boats felt they'd taken a bit of a dusting on the spring tides and strong breezes we had in the first year (or was it first 2 years?)
The trip home was, without a doubt. F5/6 (IIRC) on the beam with a neap tide. A memorable passage indeed. Going out wasn't so great though with a f5 right up the chuffer all night!
The lock times are roughly 4-8 on Friday evening and 5-9:30 Sat am. So it seems possible to do a very early start on Friday morning - do Friday evening in St Vaast and have a leisurely trip round to Cherbourg on Saturday
Let's not get carried away with too much planning until later in the year. We should limit numbers to YC capacity (spot on last year), and accept that Cherbourg can only accommodate 65 lost souls without us having to find a grotty out-of-town eatery
Is there any particular reason for making it in September? The suggested date is pretty well spot on the Equinox. Earlier in the year would give us more hours of daylight.