As Jenni was waiting for a medical appointment we decided we would rather be back in the UK in case it was short notice and she wouldn’t be able to make it, and also that we would rather ‘wait’ with family and friends. So having checked out of France in Cherbourg, we needed to sail from Cherbourg back to Poole.

The wind was forecast to be extremely light most days … but not in the evening … and so we decided to return on a night sail!  Night sailing isn’t something we have done much of – and never just with the two of us – so we were both excited and a little apprehensive.

We were setting off on 13 May, and spent the day getting ready with errands – filling water tanks, provisioning, but mainly watching the clock tick by!  It was typical that we got talking to another couple in the marina and they invited us on board for drinks … but we had to say no this time!

Setting off

We set off to clear skies and a nice F3 breeze as forecast.  On casting off, the slip lines managed to get stuck around a screw on the cleat … and then in between the pontoon boards as well … we just had to watch as the force of the boat pulled against the line – we were too far away to step ashore – but luckily the pressure pulled it free! Phew!! Another lesson learned on the particular kind of cleat, that is different to the ones in UK.

Twenty minutes later we were clear of the marina, turned the engine off and settled ourselves in.  It is usual on overnight passages to take “watches” so one person sleeps whilst the other is on watch – however, this kind of system can take a few days to settle into and as we were both excited for the night sail we decided to both stay awake. Plus there is so much traffic out there with two shipping lanes to cross it didn’t make sense.

A different world

Our senses changed as the darkness arose – things look different, sound different, even smell different!  You see lights on the horizon and don’t know if it is stars or ships or something else all together! The stillness of the night makes the sound of the water rippling against the boat suddenly louder than you have heard before!

We were avidly watching the chart plotter for the ships coming up the shipping lanes, ready to take action or radio them if there was any chance of a collision.  Luckily the first, east going, shipping lane passed without any issues – in fact a big gap appeared in the line of boats just when we needed it!  The west going shipping was similarly kind to us, and the evening was (excuse the pun!) plain sailing.

Going with the flow

A couple of times the wind dropped altogether but as we were not in a rush we decided to just bob, until it returned.  The tide was strong as we crossed as we were close to springs and after a period being pushed East, the tide was now taking us more towards Portland than Poole, as was expected and this was ok.  At one point the Barfleur (very fast ferry between Cherbourg and Poole) came steaming up behind us and you do wonder if they know you are there, but they gave us a wide berth.  We both had quick cat naps as knew we had quite a way to go.

The beat

As we got closer to the UK coast we prepared to sail upwind, the wind was forecast to strengthen, but we were not expecting what actually happened! Suddenly we were approaching the St Aldhelm’s race, in a F6, heading upwind to Poole!  The sea was very lumpy and we were both tiring.

We also decided to call the Border Force to let them know we had arrived in UK waters and get permission to check in – which they granted, so we lowered the Q flag and were officially checked in. We laughed as the Barfleur passed us again – this time on its way back to Cherbourg! In the time it took us to go one way, it had done the journey twice!

Where to stay?

We considered anchoring at Studland as we were  tired, but it was rolly and we knew we wouldn’t get much rest, plus the lovely team at Poole Quay Boat Haven had allocated us a mooring buoy so we carried on into Poole Harbour.  Once we were in the shelter of the harbour we prepared to pick up a buoy – you never quite know what the setup of the buoy will be, but this time there was a lovely long mooring line on it, that we caught quite easily – although it did take 2 of us to secure it, but as Chris came to the bow to help, he also realised he should probably have put the boat into neutral, as we were still motoring astern!

We got safely attached in the end and settled down for a bit of lunch and a sleep.  Our lovely friends Tina and Dave had been monitoring our progress and later in the day came over and moored their boat Piccolo next to us for a cup of tea and a catch up.  We didn’t actually leave the boat for 2 days – the 17 hour journey had definitely taken its toll on us and we were quite content, on our buoy, tucked up by the oyster barge!