The Alderney Race

I started hearing about it in Brest - “Wait until you get up around Cherbourg and sail the Alderney Race!”

OK, where I come from “race” is short for “regatta”, and it took me a while to figure out what they were talking about (how did I know I would even be there when the “race” was taking place?).

It turns out they were referring to the tidal race that shoots through the gap between Alderney and the peninsula where Cherbourg is located.

The deal is that the English Channel narrows at that point (that's why they put a ship separation zone there, you'll know what that is if you've been keeping up with this tedious blog) and the water running along the wide part shoots up the coast, funnels between Alderney and the peninsula and joins the main flow, which is also quickening due to the narrowing of the channel.

And, voila!, up to 8 knots of tidal current!

Which, if you're heading East and it's moving in that direction, and the wind cooperates and comes from (at least slightly) behind you, you've got the makings of a sail to write home about.

3 hours before High Tide, plus that hour, plus 2 hours after the current is heading East, so you can get 6 hours of favorable and sometimes thrilling sailing in, before the prudent sailor packs it in and takes a 7 hour nap.

Of course, the start time turned out to be around 7am, it was cold, blowing a good 18-25 knots, but it wasn't raining and the wind was from the South East...the gods were smiling upon us!

Within 40 minutes we were in the thick of it, 1 reef, a full genny, confused but good seas and we were flying, and I mean flying.

I had an ear to ear grin and kept shouting a phrase not fit for this blog (and not because it has “Holy” in it), but you get the picture.

I swear we saw some 14 SOG (speed over ground) readings on the GPS.

As a sailor, it just doesn't get any better than that

The wind died down somewhere North East of Cherbourg and we furled the genny, fired up the iron one and kept going on a favorable tide,

Until it turned (remember the part about the “prudent sailor”?).

Somehow we should have gotten a lot further than we had, and I've lost my trust in certain tidal flow pages in our almanac (sometimes reality and the book don't seem to be on the same page), but around Pointe de Barfleur (NE corner of the peninsula) we got seriously parked.

So, we burned diesel and watched dismal SOG readings (at least they weren't negative) for 7 hours (remember that figure?) and then things picked up and we approached Le Havre around 2am.

Which, of course, had us entering one of the busiest commercial shipping harbors in France in the dark.

But, I've kind of gotten over my “shyness” around the big guys now and we wormed our way into the Port du Plaisance (marina), tied up and stepped back onto France, cold, tired but further South and headed (the hard way it turns out) for the Med!

And, here's a tip to remember. In France, marina fees are based on staying “overnight”. If you come in after midnight there is no charge for the following day.

Contrast that with the UK, where a day is a 24 hour period or any part therein.

And, now that you've got me started, in the UK it is money up front!!! “How many days are you staying?” is not a polite inquiry, but a question to determine how to write up the tab.

When you are boating, you really never know how many days you're staying...think Plymouth, I figured 1 week, 2 max.

The marina there wanted me to pay daily in advance. However, each 6 days gave you a free one, unless you had paid (in advance) by the day!

And you can't get a drink in the UK without paying for it when it is presented to you, What's the deal with that? What if you don't have cash and want to have a drink or two with a credit card???

In France no one would ever ask you for money in a bar (or a marina). You ask politely for l'Addition
when you're done. When you've completed your stay, pay. If there's a weekly discount, then you get it.

And another thing....oops, apparently I got off on a rant when this was supposed to be the Alderney to Le Havre journey...sorry!!!

-- Scott