End of May 2016 – Cherbourg

24th May 2016 – Tuesday – Le Havre to Cherbourg

We started the day early at 05:00 to make the 73 miles from Le Havre to Cherbourg and witnessed ‘Mariners Twilight’ which is almost light just before sunrise.  The weather was cold but fine and the wind creating our Wind over Tide situation was from the rear, which is marginally better than from the front.  The 13 hour journey means that we crossed a full tidal set and we had to commence at a time which gave us a fair tide as we rounded Pont de Barfleur, the tricky part of this journey.  As the tide changed mid journey we had 5 hours of difficult sea states and I steered for many hours to relieve the auto-helm and gave me something to do.  Typically the wind blew up on our approach to Cherbourg and a large fast ferry took priority as it was departing.  Optimising the route, our captain saved us an hour of the journey time.   

We have walked the length and breadth of Cherbourg in the last 11 days.  On the 26th we went West along the coast.  A good hour later after passing the military base we came across the beach.

West beach

Passing the Abbaye du Voeu.

Reaching the steel sculpture on the headland, giving up and walking back.

Ferne and Steve arrived unexpectedly today on yacht ‘Walkabout’ who we met on our 2014 trip.  It was really nice to catch up and discuss this years respective trips.

Another day was spent going East, we did not however reach the beach, just ferry and cruise terminals.

27th May 2016 – Friday

‘Harmony of the Seas’ arrived today on her maiden visit to Cherbourg and only her second trip with paying passengers.  She is currently the largest Cruise ship in the world and dwarfed the local ferries.

The whole town turned out to have a look, market stalls popped up and the man with the horse drawn tram appeared.  When she departed at 6.00pm prompt, the harbour walls were lined with people in every direction.

28th May 2016 – Saturday

Southerley, RAF, Chichester and Slipper cruising clubs arrived for the Bank Holiday weekend.  More Brits than French on this pontoon. 

There are markets on several days in Cherbourg, and the Thursday and Saturday events are the biggest.

There are alleys and lanes which are worth investigating and you discover some interesting old nooks and crannies.  The town is a mixture of old and modern and the two main churches have been restored well.

For the next few days the mist came down.

1st June – Wednesday

We went looking for the Lidl supermarket as advertised on-line, up the only hill in Cherbourg to be met by a derelict building and locals laughing at us in a local Tabac.  The other one listed on-line also proved illusive.  So the hunt for the phantom Lidl’s was a total waste of an afternoon, but good exercise!!

3rd June – Friday

Today we paid the marina bill and were given the booklet we should have been given on arrival.  It has discount vouchers for museums and galleries.  Note many of the museums are free on Wednesdays!

The Musee Thomas Henry is located behind the Italian facade of the old theatre in the main square.  The original contents of the museum were a gift from Thomas Henry, born in Cherbourg, who became a famous art dealer in Paris.

The ultra modern gallery was only opened in March 2016.

Named ‘Quasar’ it houses the library and the museum, which covers 2 floors.  5 euros normal price, 3 euros with the discount.  Mostly classical paintings on the first floor, 18th and 19th century on the second floor with a series of Bronzes by a famed local artist.

Cherbourg Marina

Cherbourg Marina has excellent facilities.  With RYA discount and weekly discount we paid 236 Euros for 11 nights, 21.45 per night.  New toilet blocks have been built on the end of the visitor pontoons.  Les Eleises shopping centre on the left of the harbour-side in town houses many shops and the Carrefour Hyper market.  Markets on Tues, Wed, Thurs and Sat.  The Wifi has been mended today.  Wifi has only been available in the marina office.

Our previous visit to Cherbourg is documented in posts from August 2014.