Ashdown Summer Cruise to Holland August 2003 ( The journey home)

Monday was the first leg of our passage back to the UK. We prepared for Pam's arrival back on board but unfortunately there was some confusion as to the marina in which the rendezvous was due to take place. She was taken around town by her taxi driver, visiting several marinas before locating us. Critical mobile telephones were unanswered, switched off or uncalled and messages not received. We slipped our mooring with Fizzgig at 16.00 and motored out of the marina bound for Zeebrugge. Entering the harbour at Zeebrugge was a complete contrast to our recent experiences in the Dutch canals and waterways. It is enormous with tugs, ferries, dredgers and cargo ships manoeuvring in the main channel. It took us ½ hour to motor from the entrance to the marina. Drinks and dinner in the cockpit after the sun had set, observing developing cloud formations and appearing stars, was a pleasant relief from the heat of the day.

We left Zeebrugge early the following morning. The wind had turned E/NE and we were fortunate to be able to sail downwind with a fair tide. 8 knots over the ground sped us past Nieuwpoort where we expected the tide to turn but not the wind to fade and mist to develop around us. Although we estimated visibility at about ½ mile, the mist still created an eerie atmosphere with the sun breaking through in shafts, turning the flat calm sea into a reflecting mirror. Straining the eyes to locate other vessels produced mirages in which one was induced to believe they exist when in reality they do not. A securite announced dense fog in the approach channels to Dunkirk - our planned destination. We were about to motor the final 5 miles but received a radio call from Fizzgig asking us to rendezvous with them because they were having problems with their engine cooling system. We located them, despite the developing fog, by which time John had managed to cure the problem, and we motored together to Dunkirk. This was my first experience of fog, and I found the disorientation associated with it unsettling. We ate dinner on board, followed by Fizzgig's crew who had suffered a leak in their gas stove feeder tube. Later we all took the shuttle bus from the marina to the beach front, a lively night-time strip of restaurants and bars lining a wide promenade overlooking the beach and busy with strollers, skaters and cyclists. Several discussions took place over beers regarding options on routing and stopovers for the passage back to Chichester and Calais was agreed as the springboard for the return Channel crossing.

However, the weather the following morning forced a change of plan. We rose to clear skies and other boats leaving the marina, including Lucrece but they soon returned reporting dense fog at the harbour entrance. The weather forecast confirmed our worst fears regarding conditions offshore and departure was delayed until the weather improved. The fog cleared briefly and returned several times, indicating the volatility of the conditions. The sky also became overcast with light rain showers. All crews dined together at an Irish bar on the beach promenade, with Pam writing out the orders to speed service from the sole waiter. The skippers decided that, weather permitting; we would leave at 0500 the following day.

Our night's sleep was disturbed by a whistling wind, banging fenders and flapping rigging on adjacent boats. The skippers waited for the 0600 weather forecast before deciding to leave. Dave Groves was appointed skipper of the day to enable him to make his first channel crossing in command.

A big swell and choppy seas awaited us as we left Dunkirk but the strong N/NE wind and fair tide gave us 8+ knots over the ground. The sun gradually broke through the overcast sky and we soon left the industrial landscape and wind generators, which are so prominent on this stretch of the French coastline, behind us. There was no shipping in the Dunkirk channel so we had the passage to ourselves and soon reached Calais, easily identified from a distance by the frequent ferries entering and leaving the port.

Due to the favourable wind/tide combination, Pam decided to cross the shipping lanes earlier than planned on a course parallel with the Dover/Calais ferry route, and just west of the Varne lightship. The skies cleared and brilliant sunshine provided excellent visibility of the ferries passing either side of us, and the larger shipping in the east and westbound lanes. From the middle of the Channel we had clear views of both the French and English coastlines. It was a perfect text book crossing but we speculated on the nightmare it would have been in fog. After clearing the westbound lane we turned west and cruised along the south coast past Dungeness Point to Eastbourne marina. The wind moved to the northeast and we were able to goose-wing into the sun, to experience some more downwind helmanship. It had been yet another cracking sail and it felt good to be back in the UK, although strange that we had another two days of sailing before we were truly home. Lucrece took a more scenic route further down the French coast and arrived in Eastbourne at 02.00 on Friday morning.

On Friday we slipped moorings simultaneously with Fizzgig to catch the 15.30 lock en route to Brighton for our final overnight stop. The exit was hair raising with the boat pitching and tossing violently as we left the shelter of the harbour entrance and raised the mainsail. There is something very demanding about Eastbourne marina. Our two entries and exits were extremely rough and carried the attendant risk of grounding close to low tide. Presumably these difficulties are reflected in the mooring charges, although the cruise to Holland has demonstrated much better facilities and value for money at their marinas compared with the south coast of England. As we sailed towards Beachy Head we were entertained to a spectacular flying display by RAF jet aircraft and the Red Arrows taking part in the Eastbourne Air Show. Fizzgig took a close inshore course past Hastings and Bexhill and entered Brighton marina just before us

Our last day and final leg back to Chichester began at 0800 with Fizzgig and Lucrece in line ahead and astern of us respectively, all dodging the shallows in the Brighton marina entrance. We took an inshore route in an attempt to minimise the effects of a foul tide, whilst the other two boats took a direct course to Selsey Bill, presumably risking that stronger wind further out to sea would cancel out the negative tide. Their gamble paid off because Fizzgig passed through the Looe channel 2 miles ahead of us and Lucrece followed closely behind. The fair tide and following wind pushed us quickly to Chichester West Pole and after running the gauntlet of yachts and racing dinghies, we moored in the marina at 16.30.

The crew unanimously agreed the cruise had been a great success. As well as having an excellent holiday, all felt they had gained considerably from the experience, including Pam who had tested her boat in so many ways and learned much more about her - this being only her third cruise since acquiring Summer Song.

We had covered 529 miles and the three weeks had flashed by, assisted by the marked contrast between early starts, long days and detailed navigation of the Channel crossings and the leisurely 10 days we spent on the canals and inland seas in Holland. I found the Channel crossings a tremendous learning experience in navigation and sailing. The importance of tides and weather to passage planning became very clear and it was informative to experience the combined use of charts, plotter and dividers together with the GPS to establish a course to steer and check progress against it. Carrying out such tasks for several days in succession and watching others doing it beats months of theoretical exercises in the classroom. Raising and lowering the mainsail each day, tacking the foresail numerous times a day and constant trimming of both sails in response to wind direction changes over a concentrated period vastly improved my sailing skills. We are very grateful to Pam for allowing us to share her boat, particularly on the four days when she was not on board and hope her trust in us was justified.

Recently, whilst returning by plane to the UK from Germany, I was fortunate to look down on Zeelande from the air, tracing in a single snapshot view, the canals and towns we had visited a couple of weeks previously.

Michael Wilford