Its an hour before high water when Stargazer arrives off St Vaast. She has out sailed a forty foot Bavaria, down from the Pointe de Barfleur, by a considerable margin.
Now she sweeps straight in through the open lock gates. It has been a fast, tide assisted, passage.
The breeze filled in as the sun rose over Cherbourg. The new tide gathering pace. Stargazer's speed over ground climbing. Six knots, eight, nine.
Our tide assisted speed pulls the apparent wind forward, giving us an easygoing reach. Steadying the roll from a northerly swell. Boiling black clouds bring rain to Cherbourg and wind to us. Astern a vibrant rainbow climbs from the sea toward the sky. (Centre left in the picture - alas the camera doesn't always see things as the human eye).
A quiet, out of season, Sunday afternoon is gently unfolding within the harbour walls of St Vaast. The trawler is fleet alongside for the weekend.
The, smaller, pot boats have been out - and fresh crabs are for sale on the quayside.
The visitors' berths are near deserted. In July I had to persuade Stargazer into a berth designed for eight metre dayboats, way down the harbour. Today we have our pick of mooring spots. Unusually, on this cruise, there is a fellow Brit in. Aboard a shiny new Boreal, freshly launched in Treguier (aluminium boat in foreground).
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