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English Channel night crossing

I’ve just returned from skippering my first night crossing across the English Channel. We had spent the day recuperating from our passage over here having had pastries on board in the morning late enough that meant we didn’t really need, or want, lunch. Lou was busy polishing the gelcoat so I made us a substantial chilli timed for about an hour before departure. Continue reading English Channel night crossing

Crossing the Channel on a single tack

As crew on our outbound leg to Cherbourg I was looking forward to sitting back and letting someone else take charge. We slipped our moorings at 0445 so we could catch the strong tide and let it sweep us out of the Solent and east around the island. We hardly needed our night lights on as it was already getting light as the sun was due to rise at 0540. Continue reading Crossing the Channel on a single tack

First skippered Channel crossing

I elected to skipper my first Channel crossing from Gosport to Cherbourg. My reasoning was that this would be a daytime passage whereas skippering a first Channel crossing at night would be pushing it. Since acquiring my day skipper ticket I’d logged around 1,300 miles – a good proportion of that as skipper. So I felt ready – what could possibly go wrong? Continue reading First skippered Channel crossing