Patience

 

This morning's (southbound) tide, brings boats down from the northern French and Belgian ports. Riding the last of the fresh north easterly breeze.

A yacht club end of season rally arrives from Dunkerque. Full of tales of derring do. Weather bound in port since Friday. Glad to be in Boulogne, after an early start and busy passage.

We northbound boats wait our moment patiently. Peering into the, ever shifting, weather forecasts, upon the brightly glinting screens of our smart phones. Hunting for our gap.

We each have our favoured forecast site. For the past forty eight hours they have all agreed on a jolie breeze from the northeast tomorrow. The picture for Tuesday is less clear. And the predictions vary about the timing of the incoming south westerly gale. Some say Wednesday, some Thursday. Generally its predicted arrival time is creeping forward.

I have filed a Passenger Locator Form. It is based on a crossing tomorrow evening, on the northbound tide. An overnight pit stop at Ramsgate, whilst the tide runs south. Followed by a sharp start on Tuesday morning - to put Stargazer off the North Foreland, to catch the Thames flood, up into the Medway.