Dandelion 17

 

So unfolds, as idyllic a day's sailing, as could well be imagined:

In the steely light of dawn, I set Stargazer's cruising chute. To harness a six knot southerly zephyr.

We tip toe through the field, of anchored merchantmen.

The sunrise making pink, fairground, candyfloss, of the fair weather cumulus, over Ouistreham.

As the wharves of Le Havre drop astern.

Clear of the shore, the breeze fills in to ten knots.

Backing inexorably more easterly, through a sun filled morning, and building.

Until Stargazer runs before an easterly wind. Wing on wing. Her 'chute poled out to port, her boom to starboard. A fair tide beneath her.

By evening, the sea breeze effect, of the Cotentin peninsula, makes itself felt.  Introducing a hint of north, to the wind direction. Stargazer gybes.

Romping westward. Riding the swell. The roar of her bow wave filling the air.

On the rhumb line, for Saint Vaast La Hougue. Where the harbour gates swing open, upon Stargazer's arrival.