NORMANDY

Immediately after the FASTNET adventure, we planned a follow-up trip in “vacation” mode. Our holiday crew had already arrived for the award ceremony on Saturday, afterwards we had a fine dinner with Fastnet and the holiday crew, and then on Sunday  we had a lot of effort to move all stuff we had stored in our trailer for the race back into the boat. The it was time to give a farewell to the regatta crew, and after a lazy Monday in Cherbourg we set out for new shores with as cruisers with a crew of six.

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The planning of this trip was also influenced by COVID 19. Originally we had considered going back across the Channel to the south coast of England, perhaps to the Isles of Scilly - but that became unpredictable for the above-mentioned reason. The same applied to the idea of heading west to the Channel Islands. Sailing down the  west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula down to St. Malo without the option to to stop-over on the Channel Islands is quite difficult for tidal reasons. So in the end the "safe option" was a cruise to the east along the shores of Normandy, limited to the Baie de Seine - and that was a complete success: a beautiful area, manageable with short distances, and also well protected provided prevailing winds from the west - exactly the right thing, when you are looking for an easy holiday trip.

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Our first leg led us about 30 nm to Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, a must for every oyster enthusiast - and we were all oyster enthusiasts. And while oysters in Germany seem to some people to be an elitist luxury for snobs, here in Normandy they seem more like a cheap staple food: everywhere on the menu, always fresh and of great quality, and not even expensive. The harbor is quaint, as is the small town, the walk at low tide along the oyster beds to the offshore Ile Tatihou to the fort there is great fun, and the seafood platter at the harbor lives satisfies what you would expect at such a location. From a navigation point of view, this is all largely without any problems, the lock is open for some 2 hours before and after HW, a little longer at spring tide, and at least for boats with a max. draft of 2.50 m there is always a window to come or go of at least 4 hours - fair enough . A maritime attraction is the (private) yacht "NELL" from 1887, based in St. Vaast. It was built in  1887 in Scotland for a painter and in fact designed as a pure "pleasure craft" from the very beginning, i.e. she was not only repurposed after previous use as a commercial ship. This makes her one of the world's oldest original sports sailing yachts. She passed through 36 (!) hands. Her current owner cares for her for some 10 years now, with a lovingly and extensively restoration and maintenance by a shipyard based in St. Vaast. 

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After two nights we moved on to Port-en-Bessin-Huppain, about 25 nm to the east. Since the wind dropped off we took the opportunity to try our luck as fishermen and pulled a few mackerels out of the water - they later ended up on the grill in the harbor. Port-en-Bessin has an advantage and a disadvantage: The disadvantage is that there is actually only one berth suitable for a yacht. At the same time, the advantage is precisely the same fact that that there is only this one place. It is the total cotrary to the marinas or large yacht habors you would usually find in France. You are moored alongside the promenade with many restaurants, furthermore only fishing boats, and this arrangement is as pristine as only a few places in the area. can offer. We moored alongside a boat with a friendly crew of three elderly Frenchmen, whom we later met again in Honfleur, where they then went alongside us - nice.  And while the mooring fees in France are generally slightly higher than in the Baltic Sea (for example we usually paid some 50 EUR/night for our 13 m-SNIFIX for six people, but this was "all-in" with no additional costs for shower, water or electricity), It was amazing here: only 12 EUR per night (no showers, no elctricity ....).

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Our next stop was straight to Honfleur - again with just 40 nm no trip around the world. Initially we had only light winds, then a nice spinnaker breeze came up and brought us to the finish faster than was necessary and useful, because the water level was not yet high enough when we arrived at the mouth of river Seine, and at the same time a threatening squall was approaching. We then decided to simply sail away to the roadstead of Le Havre again, also in the hope to dodge the rain. This plan worked out even, the squall passed behind us, we stayed dry and later sailed into Honfleur with the flood tide under a clear sky and a rising moon - an incredible picturesque scenario! We couldn't go to the inner harbor basin at this time of arrival because the bridge was closed, but the guest jetty in front of the bridge is only a few steps away, and it's a nice and quieter place, so we decided to stay there for the second night too - not least because that left greater degrees of freedom for departure the following day to us regardless of the bridge opening times. There's not much to write about Honfleur - it's lovely, even if some people are bothered by the tourist hustle and bustle. Perhaps we were lucky that the high number of overseas tourists in other years had not yet returned, but in any case the hustle and bustle still seemed bearable to us and the cityscape is undoubtedly delightful. We then took a nice walk steeply up to a chapel above the town and from there back west down to the beach - a nice walk. Here too we managed to find a great restaurant right next to the famous wooden church - amazing.

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Completely committed to the "relaxed vacation" mode, our next destination wasn't far: Deauville - just 15 nm away. We set off from Honfleur precisely to the opening of the lock and were able to make a relatively short trip close to the coast near high water times. The entrance to Deauville is easy and allows you to sail right up to the lock there. Then just a little more time in the first marina basin until the bridge opens to the basin of the Yacht Club de Deauville, and we were at our destination. And what a destination: The yacht club invested heavily in 2019, there is a first-class new clubhouse with a nice bar and first-class sanitary facilities, good berths with a long, comfortable guest jetty, a beautiful new development there on the bank, and then two completely functionless but impressive towers at the harbor entrance, similar to ancient models in Alexandria or Rhodes. Money doesn't seem to have played such a big role here.  The best thing about this arrangement is probably the location, namely right in the center between the very different twin towns of Deauville and Trouville. If you leave the harbor to the left, it is just a few minutes' walk to the promenade of the lively Trouville with restaurants, shops, galleries, the great fish market and alleys inviting you to stroll and browse. If you turn to the right, you are just as quickly in the quieter, elegant Deauville, there are also shops and of course restaurants, but everything is a bit quieter, also more exclusive, and overall it seems more characterized by guests living there with their summer houses and holiday apartments than by hotel vacationers. And then of course the incomparable "Planches", the kilometer-long wooden path along the seemingly endless beach with the typical small beach boxes named after international cinema stars (which you can hardly buy or rent, only inherit...) in which the lucky owners of these small establishments keep their deck chairs and other "flotsam" they make their stay on the beach even more conmfortable. A quite new attraction at Deauville is former cloister which was converted into a museum with a library, event and meeting rooms in an the architecturally splendid manner  - definitely worth a visit. But this also applies to the surrounding area of Deauville. We rented three tandem bikes and pedalled some 20 km to an historic Calvados distillery which had  been put back in operation for a few years now. and were impressed by the beauty and harmony of the surrounding landscape here. It glides along gently hilly, small forests, bends, fields and meadows alternate, with stud farms in between (who's surprised...) and golf courses, everything meticulously maintained, a picture-perfect landscape, all the problems of the world seem very distant here, an area where everyone would like to buy a baguette with a bike, Velo-Solex or an old 2 CV and just enjoy the time.

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After three days in port, it was time to head back to Cherbourg. Not least because of the temptations of Deauville, we had decided to stay there longer and make the return trip in one go (75 nm), especially since cruising from east to west on the coast is not quite as easy as the opposite direction for tidal reasons. In the east of Baye de Seine highwater occurs around one hour later than in the west. Accordingly, the tidal window sailing from east to west around the same highwater is reduced to just under four hours at best. So there are three strategies: short trip only 3-4 hours around the same HW, medium distance wit ha later dearture after one HW and early arrival at the next port before the following HW (as early as the lock at the destination port allows), or a long distance strategy: leaving the port as early as possible before one HW and arrival at the following port as late as possible after the subsequent HW. If you plan enough reserve time, there is little safe route left for the short trip option heading west from Deauville.. We preferred to plan the long direct leg to Cherbourg, particularly since Cherbourg is accessible at all tidal levels. And it went well in NE winds, we made good progress for a long time, until the eastgoing flood started again. Near Barfleur we were sailing with  a some 7 kn speed through water but were down to a speed of just 2.5 - 3 kn SOG. Cruising under less favorable conditions, i.e. against westerly winds, this trip of 75 nm over ground can easily add up to 125 nm through the water. We arrived at Cherbourg after a sailing time of some 12 hours and concluded our holiday trip with a delicious portion of midnight spaghetti there.