FROO GAL Shakedown Cruise to Cherbourg, May 2015 (how to save on mooring fees)
CLYC member, Engineer Owen Price and his wife Amanda are free temporary members of the Chichester Yacht Club (CYC), owing to the mooring of their half share in a Bavaria 37, FROO GAL. With their co-owner, Ian (CYC member and another engineer) and a fourth crew member (Philip, also an engineer), the frugal crew of FROO GAL joined a CYC cruise over the late May Bank Holiday 2015 to Cherbourg.
It was very much a shakedown cruise for FROO GAL, as despite much enthusiam for winter sailing the weather had largely conspired against anything tentatively planned. However, not even the weather had prevented the odd Six Nations rugby party, tied up safely in the marina!
So far in 2015 the FROO GAL crew had only managed a quick trip to Cowes and back over the early May bank holiday, enjoying fruitless searches for degreasing fluid to help with long-overdue winch servicing.
On the morning of the second bank holiday Saturday, an 0430 alarm ensured a prompt start (0600) over the Chichester bar and a beautiful sunrise giving a good excuse for second breakfasts (and third breakfasts for some). Amanda almost missed the boat – arriving back to the boat after a quick 0400 shower, to find the rest of the crew casting off not realising where she was.
Light winds were forecast to veer and drop. After a hour or so of gybing down the wind, making 4-5 kts under white sails (and jealously watching the rest of the fleet flying colourful spinnakers) the boat speed dropped to less than 3 kts. Common sense prevailed and the engine went on (along with google searches for solutions for Bavaria cruising chutes): FROO GAL motored for 12 hours over a glassy sea along wiith the rest of the fleet, arriving as planned, up tide allowing a pleasant sail into Cherbourg's outer harbour. The three hour radio and position checks amongst the fleet were a fun and useful way to check that all were safe and benchmark our progress.
During the day we had planned to fit our newly acquired Class B AIS transciever (made by Digital Yacht), which was on a long overdue and on growing list of 'to dos' for FROO GAL. (Later a flat laptop battery, no charger and the absence of other minor items combined with closed chandlers thwarted theis plan).
The cruise leaders guided us to the pontoon and we rafted up. We subsequently found that much of the fleet (including FROO GAL) were tied up on different pontoons to the one allocated to the cruise. The marina staff were, however, relaxed and friendly – there was not even the slightest suggestion that we should move. The 20% discount on our mooring fee, agreed for the cruising flotilla was most welcome, but even without the discount the rate was refreshingly reasonable compared to similar facilities seen on the south coast of the UK. The inhabitants of the Marina were overwhelmingly British – the French contingent having presumably decamped to the Solent for the weekend.
After some unproductive tinkering with the AIS and a sundowner or two, we wandered into town on a sleepy Saturday evening. Prudently ignoring the first two restaurants near the sea front and marina, we ventured in to the town. Spotting an off-street restaurant in a charmng courtyard, which was barely advertised, my nose smelled an authentic local restaurant. On arrival, after feeling initially a little unwelcome as Brits (a good sign), Ian's decent command of the French language and his easy smile won the waitress over and a delightful evening of excellent food (at rock bottom prices) ensued.
Half the fleet left for the Channel Islands early the following Sunday morning. We were not up early enough to watch them all go, but I felt a twinge of jealousy – earing a living has its drawbacks.
Sunday was a lazy day. The more industrious members of the crew walked for miles only to discern that there was no chandler or yacht related business, few supermarkets and the rare wine merchant open. No wonder the French economy has issues. I tinkered with AIS, refining our installation plan, making no real progress.
Philip, one of four engineers of the crew, tracked the outward and return journeys on his handheld GPS and then kindly posted the tracks on the everytrail.com web site (See Illustration 1 – outbound red, return blue).
The sea state for the return passage on Monday was equally benign as was the early 04:30am dawn start. But the sky was rather more overcast. Our attempts at fishing with a line at 5-6kts proved as predictably fruitless as the previous passage and any other passage we have made – mackeral are harder to catch than the literature implies!. Yet we enjoyed ourselves – any day at sea is better than a day in the office.
Once back within mobile phone reception range, we catalogued our latest 'to do' list items, ensuring that we would be busy for many weekends to come. Motoring up Chichester Harbour to the mooring we congratulated ourselves on successfully folllowing our passage plan and having our first channel crossing in FROO GAL. Our shakedown cruise had certainly whetted our appetite for the season.
For more money saving sailing tips see .