20th August – Wednesday – East Cowes - Isle of Wight

A gentle, sunny and breezy 4 hour sail from 11:00 to 15:00 took us the 12 miles from Gosport to East Cowes. East Cowes is a sister marina to Haslar, and they have a ticket scheme, 6 nights and one night free (like McDonalds coffee tickets).  The shipping lanes were busy and vigilance is a priority.

Info: £28 per night, excellent facilities with great hairdryers.  There is a Waitrose and Co-op in East Cowes centre approx 15 minutes walk.

Watched Great British Bakeoff on proper telly, lovely.

21st August – Thursday

Up early to do the washing as a sunny day was forecast.

Then walked to Osborne House.  I have wanted to visit here since we anchored in Osborne Bay, 14 years ago on my day skipper course.  We have since been in other peoples boats so I have looked from a distance.

Osborne House was the summer residence of Queen Victoria and her family.  It tells a sad story of a life un-fulfilled after the death of Albert, as they were so happy together before he died.

The house resembles a European Villa and is very different to the usual stately piles.  It is bright and airy, although their taste in gaudy china leaves a lot to be desired.  There is an excellent Indian exhibition in the Pavilion.

The beach is worth the walk, we sat with our butties in her beach-side folly and admired an uninterrupted view of the Solent, complete with bathing huts.

The Swiss Cottage was built for the children and now houses an eclectic collection of objet, presented from all over the world.

£15.30 is quite steep, but we thoroughly enjoyed it and the grounds are a treat to walk through on a sunny day.

We walked back to East Cowes and went on the chain ferry to Cowes centre.

Mick finally bought some new Deck Shoes, after his were ruined 6 weeks ago, but he insisted on wearing them.  I got a scarf for £8 not the £16 they wanted in France.  I don’t think I have mentioned how expensive clothes were in France, we have it quite lucky here.

22nd August – Friday

Walked to the Folly Inn (notable sailors pub) and had a pint then on to Island Harbour for a look at the marina.  We were told not to miss St Mildred’s church en-route, but sadly it was shut.

We walked back on the road, enough said.  Very tired.

19th August – Tuesday - Portsmouth cont…further

Bit of a lie in.

In the afternoon we took further advantage of our ‘All-Attractions’ ticket to visit the ‘Explosions’ museum in Gosport, a 20 minute walk from the marina.  Explosions depicts the history of munitions in the forces, their design, manufacture and distribution.  Gosport was selected to produce and store the munitions as it was across the water from the dockyard.  Near enough but not too near.

This museum more than any so far showed the horror of war.  How we have spent so much time, money and intelligence making devastating bombs in the name of peace.  If only we had used all the time and energy for good, what a different world we would live in. 

I do think we should remember previous wars and learn from them, but we are doing a very bad job of that at present.  Will we ever learn?

Again as part of the ticket, this was a very interesting, if saddening and sobering place to visit.

18th August – Monday - Portsmouth cont… Mary Rose

Packed up the butties for a Grand Day Out.  We caught the Gosport Ferry to Portsmouth town.

We were very excited today as we are going to the Portsmouth Historic Dockyards where the ‘Mary Rose’, Henry VIII flagship, is housed.  We remember clearly in 1982 the news showing Margaret Rule and the team raising her from the sea.  She is housed in a new purpose built home.

There are 3 floors and the Mary Rose is on your right, behind panelling with windows, and on each floor, artefacts are displayed in their place in special cases on your left.  Canons, ovens, barrels etc. 

It is difficult to get a good picture, she is much bigger than I expected.  The sprays have now stopped and she is drying out.  Top Tip: in 2016 they are scheduled to remove the panelling and windows to reveal her fully.  Go early as the queue by lunchtime was around the building.

Galleries on each floor also display the personal effects of many of the 500 crew on board, only 35 survived.  Examples from the Carpenter, Purser, and other trades show life on board.  For me the ticket price was worth it just for the Mary Rose.

Onto the ‘Victory’ Nelson’s flagship on which he died in the Battle of Trafalgar.  She was commissioned in the early 1800s.

Inside the ship.

The Stern.

I have not shown Nelson’s cabin as that’s one of the best bits, don’t want to spoil it.

Next is the museum proper which tells the history of the Navy and has many displays on Nelson as it has been the Bi-centenary recently.

Last but not least is HMS Warrior (1860).  Their version of a nuclear deterrent,  it did not see active service as it was so large and scary no-one would take it on.  The 50 year difference in progress between Victory and Warrior is very noticeable.

There is a harbour boat tour as part of the ticket which was a good end to a tiring day.  It leaves from the ticket office and takes you around Portsmouth harbour.  To survey where our taxes are spent!

Portsmouth Harbour is home to the navy and still an active and busy military establishment.

After the museum we walked to the Old Town and had a pint in the ‘Spice Island’ pub.  Then we walked to Southsea!  We thought we may go and look at the marina but it was too far, especially as we had been walking all day.

Found the ‘Midnight Tandoori’,  5-7pm,  £5.95 platter, who could refuse?  Highly recommended.

Then we walked back to Portsmouth via Gunwharf Quay, which is a very modern, high-end, shopping centre.

Then back to Gosport on the Ferry.

15th August – Back to Blighty – Cherbourg to Portsmouth

Very early start to make the journey in daylight, and more importantly arrive in daylight.  Up at 05:15 for 06:00 start (French Time).  Seven rounds of sandwiches should see us through.

The 77 mile trip from Cherbourg to Portsmouth takes about 14 hours, therefore there are two plus tide changes.  As you are travelling across the tide the course over the ground makes an ‘S’ shape on the plotter as the tide takes you one way and then the other.

We had wind over tide for the first 5 hours and the ride was seriously unpleasant.  The second third of the journey was slightly better and the last third was quite calm.  Better than the 21 hour journey we made in June.  The weather was also quite kind to us.  We took down the French courtesy flag with a bit of a sniff and more bad French singing.

The route took us passed the Isle of Wight, which seems to take forever to get to and then even longer to pass.  The course into Portsmouth goes through the Solent and on a Friday night it is very busy with Cruise ships (we passed 5) and tanker traffic.  There are also the Forts to navigate around and lots of pleasure craft too.

Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth, across the river from Gosport.

We arrived at Haslar Marina, Gosport at 20:15.  The bright green ‘Light Ship’ which is now a pub, restaurant and facilities is a welcome site.  It’s a bit hard to see on the picture below.

Info : £28 per night, good, clean facilities, but I had to use my hairdryer in the Laundry.  Very convenient for local town and shops.  The tide runs through the marina and there are many passing ferries which means the visitors pontoon is a ‘rock n roll’ experience.  But there is lots to see in the way of passing boats and ships.

16th August – Saturday

The long day yesterday had taken it’s toll on me and I was in need of a good rest.  Mick bought a new rope for the furling genoa (front sail) and a new map of the Solent.  Mick also changed the engine gearbox oil.

We went for a walk in Gosport, found Morrison’s, and enjoyed the market on the main street and a good bad of chips.

17th August – Sunday

Sunday Papers and then out.  We have bought an ‘All Attractions’ ticket on-line (£21 instead of £28 which the marina office kindly printed out) to visit the Portsmouth Historic Dockyards and other local venues.  Today we visited the ‘Royal Navy Submarine museum’ in Gosport, only a short walk away from the marina.  The highlight is a WW2 submarine called HMS Alliance which has been recently renovated.

Original crew members are volunteers and are fascinating to talk to.  Realistic sounds have also been added to demonstrate what life was like with 65 crew on board.

The first British submarine is also on display.  We would have been much less keen to serve on this one.

One its own this is not a cheap day out, but as part of the package it was very interesting and took 3 hours to complete.

10th August – Sunday - Cherbourg cont…

The local guide stated that the ‘Musee de Liberation’ was free to enter on a Sunday so off we went.  We did not realise it was in the ‘Roule Fort’ at the top of the hill.  We have 6 pictures like this as the road winds up the hill.

With a great view from the top.

The museum is interesting, but mostly in French.  There is an excellent film about the people of Cherbourg and re-building the city.  The view is worth the walk.

Our wedding anniversary, celebrations postponed as Cherbourg mostly shuts on a Sunday.

11th August – Monday

Shopping and sewing.

Our wedding anniversary became a group event.  Drinks on ‘Fleur’ first and then off to the ‘Brasserie Le Commerce’.  From the left - Ferne, Malcolm, Eileen, Ann-Marie, Steve (behind Micks glass) and Mick.

Excellent meal, 17 euros for 3 courses.  Great company and a jolly good night, rounded off with nightcaps on ‘Fleur’.

12th August – Tuesday

We found the town centre today, don’t really know how we missed it. 

I made a Purse and a bag for the toaster (have been using plastic bags to catch crumbs).

Drinks on ‘Walkabout’ with Ferne and Steve, and Malcolm and Eileen from ‘Ultima’.  Steve introduced us to ‘Pastiche’ and aniseed drink.  Another lively evening and great fun.

13th August – Wednesday

Washing and recovering.

Went to do the big shop before heading back to England.  Tradition has it that the Carrefour Hypermarket allows trolleys to be taken from the store to the marina.  So we loaded one up and then did the ‘British Boozers Walk of Shame’ through the town, with said trolley, along the road and uneven cobbled streets.  Note to self, check flat route back to marina before starting return journey.

14th August – Thursday

Made 2 small gifts for the ladies.  Mick checked engine.  Relaxing day.

Pre-dinner goodbye drinks on ‘Ultima’.  Lovely, knowledgeable people we will gladly share a glass with anytime.

We have had a great time in France and have met some lovely people.  We are heading home to find ‘Fleur’ a birth for the winter and touring the south coast in the process.  There are people who have been doing this trip for many years and still find new places to go, it will take us many years to discover all this coast has to offer and we are looking forward to it.

7th August – Thursday - Guernsey to Cherbourg

We had to wait until 13.30 for the tide to be in so that there was enough water to go out over the marina sill.  Ourselves and Malcolm and Eileen on Ultima and many others were all waiting for the gauge to read 1.6m over the sill.  Then once again everyone wanted to leave at the same time.  The small boats, ones with lifting keels and obviously the big motor boats with shallow drafts all attempted to leave at once.  There were also the children in the dinghies who had been having a fine time rowing around, which put my heart in my mouth until the families recalled them.  A sort of order ensues and we are off.

The major issue in this passage is the Alderney Race, between Alderney and the French mainland.  The tide runs through very quickly and you have to time it right so that the water is going in the same direction as you intend to, otherwise you would end up going backwards.

The photo shows our instruments indicating a boat speed of 5.6 knots (right), and a SOG (Speed Over the Ground) of 11.1 knots.  Meaning the tide was running at 5.5 knots.  Surfing.

There are also the over-falls, which is where two bodies of water collide and have a punch up under your boat.

Malcolm (The Oracle) had taken the outside track nearer to Alderney and had his feet up when we arrived at 21.00 French Time.  He did tell us so, and proved it.  You live and learn, we will also be going that way next time.

Info:  Cherbourg old harbour was blown away by a gale a few years ago and they have built a lovely new one.  Great facilities, free showers with gentle Jetons.  Comfortable seats in the office.  Good cafe and shop.  Euros 83 for 7 nights with RYA discount, then 16 Euros for an extra night.  We think they got it wrong, but everyone else said it was cheap too, so it would be rude not to stay a while. 

Supermarkets - Carrefour City and Carrefour Hypermarket (keep the water on your left and look for ‘Les Eleises’ shopping complex).

8th August -  Friday

Had a walk round town today and found this Italian Theatre.  Cherbourg was very badly hit in WW2 and so we were surprised this survived.

Mick fixed the GPS, with steady handed electronic wizardry, managed to put a new battery in the GPS which is said to be nay on impossible.

9th August – Saturday

‘Cite de la Mer’ is a museum on the Cherbourg harbour-side, housed in what was the Transatlantic Liner terminal.  I hope the next two pictures show just how big it is.  The marina looks like its very close but its a very long walk around the harbour just to get to it.

Mick is stood next to the yellow submarine in the main hall.

The museums main attraction is a de-commissioned Nuclear Submarine ‘The Redoubtable’.

Commander Bond at the helm.

Visitors walk all the way through the submarine with a headset explaining everything.

Cherbourg was one of the last embarkation points for the Titanic, so there is also a Titanic exhibition.  The picture below is of the main baggage booking hall and displayed films of people from all over Europe leaving the port.  36 million people left Europe for America from 1824.

There is a 3D attraction ride which you get a timed ticket for and an Aquarium and Underwater exploration exhibition.  All in all a full day out, we were there for 6 hours.  42 Euros for 2 people including headsets, is not cheap but still great value.  Highly recommended.

4th August – Monday – Jersey to Guernsey

06.45 start arrived 13.00, 27 miles, some sailing and motor.

The harbour entrance is large but beware the ferry’s.  Tied up at the visitor waiting pontoon and the dory told us where to moor up.

We lit our lamp at 10.00pm in memory of the start of WW1 and watched the TV, that’s English TV!!

5th August – Tuesday

Carol and David Marshall came to meet us at 11.00.  We worked with Carol for many years and she has retired to Guernsey, as is her birth-right.  We have visited her once before in Mark Johnson’s boat ‘Gem’ so it was nice to arrive in our own.

We had lunch and a good chin-wag at the Imperial Hotel near Cobo Bay, sat outside in the sunshine.

We then went for a coast walk from the hotel, which had great views of the Hanois Lighthouse, which in turn has an excellent Dark Beer named after it.

Carol then drove us to their allotment, which is part of a HUGE old Rose-Growing greenhouse.  Carol’s sister was there watering the plants so we had a chat and they gave us some produce to take away, including a melon. 

We then went back to the boat to enjoy a few more drinks.  It was great to see them both and look forward to coming here again.

6th August – Wednesday

Relaxing day, looked around Candie Gardens and visited the Victorian Shop, a national trust property with free entry, we did buy sweeties.  Heard the Guernsey Symphonia rehearsing in the Town Church for the evening performance, a rich and full sound in a relatively small space.

Malcolm (the Oracle) and Eileen on ‘Ultima’ invited us for pre-dinner drinks.  Again truly lovely people with masses of stories to tell having sailed for many years in France.  We were joined by Dick and Camilla who are moored in the same marina as Ultima, and also have many years experience.

Weather and tides are again making us leave for Cherbourg a little earlier than planned.  Hurricane Bertha is approaching and the outlook for the day after tomorrow is poor.  Guernsey is a lovely island and has a more relaxed feel than Jersey.

Info: £27 per night.  Old facilities, with great hairdryers!  There are others near the marina office but it’s a hike around the harbour.  Wifi poor, no roaming on phones.  Local supermarket on sea front and M&S.

31st July – Thursday - St Malo to Jersey

09.30 start to make the 38 miles to Jersey, St Helier.  Arrived 18.00 BST, 17.00 French time.  The day was overcast and the sea was roly so we motor-sailed, until mid afternoon when it turned very calm.

Jersey harbour entrance, well buoyed and relatively easy.

Turned the corner to see the outer harbour and went to join the other boats rafting on the waiting pontoons.

We were 6 boats from the shore and another 2 tagged onto us.  We were on the third row from the front.  We waited 1 and a half hours before the digital depth-gauge reached 2.3m and it was OK to go in.  Good way of getting to know people.  The dory guy called them ‘Bananas’ as we all went back and forth in unison.  He crossed round from boat to boat giving out information and taking money, which saves everyone a job after mooring.

Once the depth gauge turns the dory tells people it is OK to enter.  Some people do not join a raft and sneak past just as the gate opens.  Once again its wacky races as we all untie our lines and peel off the stack ready to go inside.  The dory guy in the boat tells you roughly where to go and then his poor colleague runs around the pontoons directing operations.  We were asked to go between two motor boats on a long pontoon and Mick did a great job in a tight space getting us in.  The spectators were all of Troop Demijon, Ultima and Walkabout, and Macquarrie, it was like a class re-union.  We had last seen Ultima and Walkabout in Concarneau and they had kindly given us a list of places to go, which we were able to report had been excellent.

Had a quick pizza for tea and then went in search of ‘Demijon’ as they had asked us round earlier.  Armed with a bottle we found them on someone else’s boat.  We said we would see them another night but all insisted that we stay.  Meyero was a 32 foot French boat owned by Phillipe.  His wife, their two friends, David and Eileen and ourselves squeezed in for an intimate get to know you session.  After the initial awkwardness, things started to flow, us all bemoaning the fact that we never got to practice our French, Phillipe spoke very good English as he had worked where we had worked in Cumbria.  The others did not speak great English so we all tried our best slow French.  Michael managed to remember every single word he had ever learned and used them regularly.  We praised France and the French ethics of buying their own products, and said we had been having a great time and the facilities were very good.  The highlight came when Michael tried to explain that the only thing that let down the whole country down was the lack of toilet seats in public toilets, which he demonstrated by using his hands as clapped boards, they look puzzled and then laughed a lot.  We ended up having a great evening and Michael was praised for his efforts.  A few more nights like that and we could have a chance of learning the language, but we need to find willing participants.

1st August – Friday

Moved the boat to a better spot, entertained the spectators a little but did not hit anything.

Orientation walk along the lovely main street and found a Victorian Market hall.  The hustle and bustle was a bit of a shock after small towns in France, but it was nice to understand all the signs for a change and English TV.

Robert and Penny on ‘MacQuarrie’ asked us for pre-dinner drinks and we had a delightful couple of hours with them, they really are charming people and have travelled extensively.  We first saw them in Sables D’Olonne and first spoke in St Cast, when they had their grand-daughter on board.  Penny introduced me to Anchovies in Garlic, which I will be searching for when we return to France.

Had our Chippy Tea at ‘Hectors’ just off the High Street.  He is a real character and makes everyone very welcome.

2nd August – Saturday

English Crumpets for brekkie before ‘Bus Bingo’.  Seven Pounds buys a ticket for the Island buses for a day.  So we bought our tickets and boarded the next bus to leave.  Then continued until we had covered most of the island.  We did see St Brelades bay 3 times on different buses, but it is beautiful.

We stumbled on a vintage fair in St Aubin.

Had Ice-creams in Gorey.

And admired beautiful bay views all around the island.

Neither of us had been to Jersey before so we wanted a good taster of it.  We finished at 19.30 with a break in St Helier for lunch.

Bus 1 – No 8 to Plement, Bus 2 – No 14 to St Brelade, Bus 3 – No 15 to St Aubin, Bus 4 – No 12a to L’Etacq, Bus 5 – No 1 to Gorey Pier, Bus 6 – No 1 back to St Helier, Bus 7 – No 4 to Bonne Nuit Bay and Bouley.

Back to the boat for M&S Indian meal for two. Phew!!

Bought my Birthday present sandals, very pleased (between buses 6 and 7).

3rd August – Sunday

Very busy day as we have to leave tomorrow to catch the tide to Guernsey, so much for a weeks stay.  So we have got to pack it in.

Dyed hair, did washing whilst hair colour changing, hung out and left to dry while out.

Trip to Jersey War Tunnels.  Decided to take the £5 return vintage bus.  (Spot new sandals)

The tour displays many items left by the Germans during the occupation, which you don’t normally see in museums.  It tells the story of WW2 from beginning to end using the tunnels as a timeline, there are lots of rooms off the tunnels and each houses a different element of the story.  Built as a hospital and used as an ammunition store, dung out by European forced labour.  £11.50 to enter but a worthwhile visit revealing many aspects we could not have envisaged.

Back to town mid afternoon, big trolley shop, Beans, Tunnocks, Diet Iron Bru.

Relax with Sunday paper while the children in the next boat climbed their mast in turn.  Harnessed and using the mast ladders which some boats have, they had a great time.

After our evening meal we waited for the Wacky Racers to enter and then moved our boat to the Outer Harbour, re-fuelled and rafted to await the early tide.

Info:  £31 per night, right in the centre of town, co-operative supermarket and M&S, enough said.  Facilities new and excellent.  No Jetons, just lovely spray water.  Poor wifi and roaming does not work.

28th July – Monday – St Cast to St Malo

Easy get up today as we are not sailing until 15:00.  I went to the market, while Mick did a few jobs.

We deliberately chose St Cast for its close proximity to St Malo.  The journey was only 10 miles, but the wind had picked up and we had a bracing and lively sail.  The tide was judged for a 17.00 arrival.  There is a large digital display showing the tide height on the right of the marina entrance, so no excuses if you get the depth wrong going over the sill.

St Malo is a very impressive sight from the sea and we were really looking forward to it. 

In the evening we had a walk around the Cite d’Alet which is the area behind the marina on a small peninsula.  We found an attractive seafront, with lots of restaurants.

A coastal path lead us back to the marina.  You can see in the next picture that the marina is located across the bay from the Citadel of St Malo itself, with a ferry terminal separating it.

29th July – Tuesday

There is another marina next to the Citadel, but you have to go through a lock, so access is a little more restricted, we chose the outer marina (40 minutes walk to the Citadel).  The ferry fog horn test was a great wake up call the following morning.  You don’t get one of these at your back door everyday.

Again there is a path from the marina into town, we did a small diversion as yet another market was in full swing.  This blog should be called ‘Sailing to the Markets of France’.

The fish market is in a building called The Theatre, which is very apt for the display on show.

The rest of the market was in the town square outside.

Another walk then to the Citadel of St Malo itself.  It was first formed in the 6th century and has had major revivals in the 12th, 18th and 19th when it was a major Port.  It was totally destroyed during WW2 and has been faithfully rebuilt.  Part of the joy of walking around is spotting some of the old parts and marvelling at the rebuilt areas.

You enter via city gates and there is access to the ramparts from each gate.  So we decided to walk the ramparts first to get our bearings.

Apart from walking the streets themselves, which are fascinating, there was also an ad hoc flea market happening on all the main streets, which made for a great buzz.  We do not know whether this was because it was generally market day in the main town or a specific event.  But all the shop keepers had also brought their wares onto the street too.

We saw an offer for lunch we could not refuse.  Moules and Frites, Crepe and a glass of white wine 9.80 euros each.  Equally importantly, loo stop and a sit down.

Found a Carrefour supermarket, underground, this time.

Then walked the 40 minutes back to base via the other marina and portside.

Info: 31.50 Euros per night.  Shops in town nearby and a supermarket near the town square.

30th July – Wednesday

Blog and relax.  Walked to St Malo town, which has an attractive high street and 2 supermarkets.