We were taking part in a seven day sailing adventure from Poole in Dorset on the South Coast, crossing the English Channel to the Channel Islands and France and back again.
And on this trip we were actually completing our RYA Competent Crew course, the first step when learning to sail.
Setting off on a beautiful Saturday morning in September we had a 10-12 hour sail ahead of them with our destination being Braye in Alderney, Channel Islands.
However the forecast showed that the wind was increasing to a force 6/7 from the South West, the direction we wanted to go! Despite our best efforts to sail as close to the wind as possible it soon became apparent we would not make Braye that day.
The conditions worsened as the sail progressed including a 'heave to' moment and some sick incidences (unfortunately not caught on camera!) but we pushed through and arrived exhausted in Cherbourg at midnight after a 17 hour crossing!
After some sleep we had a few hours ashore to explore Cherbourg, although with it being a Sunday most of it was closed. After some lunch we prepared the boat and set off for a 5 hour sail to Alderney. Sailing once again mainly close reach we arrived at Braye Harbour just as evening was drawing in. The water taxi took us ashore where we enjoyed a delicious pub lunch and a well earned pint, plus as we were now in the Bailiwick of Guernsey we had to submit our customs forms.
Day three started a little misty so we enjoyed some time ashore followed by a spot of lunch before setting off for Guernsey, a sail which took around 6 hours, taking us through the Alderney Swinge, which was a little rough and wet!
St Peter's Port in Guernsey is a popular and fairly busy port. On arriving we waited at a mooring just outside whilst we waited for the tide. St Peter's Port has a sill so in order to access the inner marinas you need to wait for high water. Once it was safe to pass we were directed to our mooring for the night, tied Ultra up, got the dinner on and paid a visit to the off-licence!
The following day was a 'no sail' day and we had the chance to explore the beautiful island of Guernsey. A bus trip around the island and a visit to the Aquarium and Underground Museum kept us happy! That night we enjoyed a meal ashore.
Wednesday was a beautiful day and we were eager to get to neighbouring Sark, just a 2 hour sail away. However on leaving the marina we attempted to unwind the head sail without success. We were forced to return to St Peter's Port where we realised some screws had come loose in the furling drum. After taking it apart and after an hour or so of fiddling the boys managed to fix it and we set off again!
There was virtually no wind so we motored to Sark, picking up a mooring buoy in Havre Gosselin and enjoying a delicious chilli for lunch!
Afterwards the crew rowed ashore and after a very steep climb to the top went to explore the car-free island of Sark.
That night we enjoyed dinner on-board before a fairly early night ahead of our sail home.
Thursday started early with the crew departing at 7 in the morning. Conditions were good to begin with and the sun shone beautifully! The Alderney Race was fairly calm and spirits were high. As the day continued and we approached the shipping lanes the wind picked up and we found the sail more challenging than previously thought, although we were making good progress hitting 9.4 knots at one point!
However as we approached Old Harry Rocks off the Dorset Coast the wind died down and we enjoyed a pleasant sail back into the harbour before mooring up for the night and going ashore for a bite to eat.
The last morning saw the crew sailing Ultra back to her home berth in Cobbs Quay before giving her a good clean and saying our goodbyes, with us all saying it was an experience we wouldn't forget!
If you fancy sailing across the English Channel then check out [ Ссылка ] for further details on this cruise and other RYA courses on offer.
Enjoy! x
Filmed on a Go Pro Hero 4
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Music:
Bay Breeze by FortyThr33 [ Ссылка ]
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0
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Music provided by Audio Library [ Ссылка ]
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