Overnight, Nemo reduces the Estacade (pier) de Sainte-Adresse to matchwood. Once rendered in oils, by Claude Monet, Raoul Dufy, Albert Marquet et al, its shattered timbers are consigned to a skip. By a bulldozer operating at low water.
By contrast, Stargazer escapes lightly. Nemo’s toll, a mere tattering to the tails of her courtesy flags. Meanwhile, the improvised mooring arrangements, of her neighbour, have seen her through unscathed. The choice, of her sheet winches and mast as their anchor points, succeeding in its aim of adding strength whilst avoiding chafe.
Through the day, winds have dropped to thirty knots. Tomorrow and Thursday they are expected to fall to twenty five. Maybe less. Maybe sooner. Perhaps later.
The trick will be to find the sweet spot, for passage-making. Before our breeze falls away completely. A process complicated by the requirement, to give the Police aux Frontieres (PaF) forty eight hours notice, to come to the marina to stamp us out. Which is incompatible with Stargazer's standard 'dawn decision' strategy, in such changeable circumstances.
One thing is for certain, it will pay us to put in our northing at the same time as our easting. By crossing to Eastbourne rather than sailing to Dieppe. For, once Nemo's influence has passed, we seem set for a lengthy spell of northerly winds. A fair breeze, once on the English shore. But foul for a crossing from France.
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