Dandelion 19

 

A still evening follows a passage-making morning.

In which Stargazer seizes her opportunity: Twenty knots of northerly breeze. Beating up the Cotentin peninsula. Spray flying.

To round the Pointe de Barfleur. Whose (notorious) overfalls extend further offshore than usual. Giving Stargazer a cobblestone ride.

And cause us to stand on northward, out into the Channel, in search of flatter water. Before easing sheets. Reaching west, in a gentle afternoon sea-breeze.

Much assisted, by two and three knots of tide. Which sweeps us in, through Cherbourg's eastern entrance.

Stargazer is swiftly made secure, by a group of local crews. Who are languidly preparing to take advantage of two days' of Bank Holidays: VE day, followed by Ascension Day.

Our backdrop, the ornate Gare Maritime. Build in the heyday of the grand Atlantic liners. Glinting golden, in the evening sunshine.