Zen Again 133

 

As theatrical entrances go, it is hard to trump: The red hatted Grand Jardin light rising from the reefs; the city intra muros beckoning, beyond.

It took a party of (willingly) press ganged Frenchmen to extract Stargazer from her berth. For the, otherwise welcome, twenty two knots of north wind was seeking to blow her down upon her neighbour. But with diligently deployed lines, and a vigorously applied throttle, Stargazer came away cleanly.

For a short beat up the coast, to clear Harbour island and associated hazards.

That done, Stargazer cracks off onto a flying fetch. Spray, and the occasional wave, cascading along her decks. Steering due east, into the dawn.

We spear between the two Lejons: Grand et Petit.

Stargazer romps on, through the morning and into the afternoon. Holding a steady course. Both reefs shaken out, as the breeze drops, first to eighteen, then to sixteen knots.

The tall cliffs of Cap Frehel flash by. Stargazer making six to seven knots, riding an east going tide.

Stargazer sweeps in, beneath the Grand Jardin, on a dead run. Jib furled, to slow her exuberant pace sufficiently, to allow her skipper to pick out the channel marks with confidence.

For there is much scenery to admire, and to keep Stargazer clear of. A great deal of it sharp and granitic, by nature.

Some embellished by human hand.

Stargazer stands in beneath the historic city walls. I will not say ancient, for the city intra-muros was faithfully rebuilt, following heavy World War Two air bombardment.

Spires and gables peer over the battlements. Beneath them, matchstick sun worshippers mill on the beaches.

Stargazer makes for Saint-Malo harbour entrance, at the head of the channel.