Zen Again 153

 

 "Workin' on a mystery

going wherever it leads

I'm running down a dream"

Sang Tom Petty (Runnin' Down a Dream. 1989). Sentiments which equally apply to skippering a cruise under sail.

The latest Channel gale roars and whistles. With Storm Amy still to make landfall. Stargazer is confined to port, for some time to come. Causing a rethink, of the final stages of her Zen Again cruise.

For our Bremen based German neighbours, bound for the Mediterranean, a realisation has dawned. It is too late in the season, to complete both a Biscay crossing and a descent of the Costa de Morte (the, so called, Galician Coast of Death). With its triple perils of exposure to Atlantic storms, paucity of ports of refuge and, latterly, probability of Orca attack. Instead they will take advantage, of their Southerly's shoal draft, to have her shipped by road. Leaving a week on Wednesday.

Dave and Nige, both caught by Erin in Cherbourg, along with Stargazer, are leaving their respective boats in Le Havre. Returning home, to Hull, by train and tunnel. They plan to collect their craft, and conclude their cruises, once the weather becomes more clement.

For Stargazer's part, the rethink is of routing. We would normally make for Dieppe. Where it is simple to stamp out of Schengen, at the ferry terminal. With a convenient, ten hour, crossing to Eastbourne on the English shore. However, in these changeable conditions, sailable days are at a premium. And that strategy requires two 'good' days.

Whereas, a passage direct from Le Havre to Eastbourne, which is achievable in around eighteen hours, requires only a one day weather window. If started at low water Dover, it also benefits from two fair (east going) turns of tide, to one foul (west going). With a Schengen stamp out available, by special arrangement with the capitainerie, it seems like a solution which fits the circumstance.

"Workin' on a mystery

Going wherever it leads."

Picture Credits

Chart screenshot courtesy of Navionics by Garmin