West Wind

The wind is round into the west this morning. And up a few strengths. The lions of Normandy stand proud in the breeze.

We slip lines, leaving Dieppe's lofty waterfront apartments behind, and put to sea.

A line of ominous, bruise-purple, clouds meets us. They carry twenty two knots of wind, and some light rain, beneath them. Stargazer foams off, under full jib and double reefed main, across an eerily green sea.

Villages, backed by rolling wooded hillsides, nestle in breaks in the alabaster cliffs. The sun begins to break through.

The wind eases down. First the reefs come out. Then the chute goes up. Stargazer runs off her southing, heading down Channel at six to seven knots. A fair tide beneath her.

We surf into Fecamp on a dead run. Chute handed. Main poised precariously on the verge of a gybe.  The scend, rolling through beneath us, slewing our stern from side to side. 

The waters calm, as we dogleg to starboard, to enter the harbour basin. Stargazer turns briefly head to wind. Down rattles the main. I go forward, kicking the fenders (rigged, but not deployed as we approached) over the side. We moor under the tall blue bows of the restored gaff ketch Mil'Pat. It is just after low water. High, age darkened, stone harbour walls surround us - topped by pastel fronted, slate roofed houses. A restful, tranquil, feeling hangs in the air.

Beyond the port, a tall ornate spire pierces the skyline. It belongs to the Palais Benedictine, with its exquisitely detailed fairy tale facade - in all its gothic glory. Home of the eponymous liqueur. 

The forecast is for another day of fine, passage making, westerly force four to five winds tomorrow - before they fall light for several days. The plan is to spend that calm period exploring a port not previously visited by us.

Tomorrow Stargazer sails south, to the mouth of the Seine. Into unexplored territory.