Wednesday 15 May

We go to the boat by train so that we don’t have to worry about returning the car to London.  The trip goes well including our stop at Waitrose to get enough food for the next two days.  Plan A is to set off this afternoon and go to Whitecliff Bay off the Isle of Wight.  That will give us a head start on the Channel crossing.  Then we will set off at dawn tomorrow to go to Cherbourg and arrive in daylight.  I like Cherbourg and because I have not had the chance to provision the boat (due to lack of car) we can buy wonderful food there.  There is a huge Carrefour in walking distance of the Marina and you can take the trolley back to the Marina with all the shopping.  There are also wonderful markets there.  So I am looking forward to filling the boat with all sorts of French goodies.

But again things don’t work out as planned.  When we get to Itchenor we find the wind is much stronger than predicted and it is likely that Whitecliff Bay will be very lumpy and uncomfortable.  So we discuss the weather with Carl at Southerly.  He is a very good sailor and after looking at the weather charts on the computer suggests we go to Lymington tomorrow and then cross from there where the conditions will be perfect for a decent crossing.  That seems like a good plan, so we stay on the Northshore pontoon for the night.  As a send off, local friends, Nick and Sue Mason, come for a drink.  They too ask me to write a blog.