Anna M
|
A sailor's litany
|
|
|
|
I was glad to be in that grand harbour, as the north-easterly had plenty of puff. St Peter Port is no great shakes in such wind, and these days we heard later that sadly someone was drowned in Braye Harbour, Alderney, when his boat broke her mooring; that's no place at all in a north-easterly. It was still blowing, fortunately well moderated, when Mary and I sailed for Guernsey again, though we were able to lay not too far west of the Hanois light and made St Peter Port as darkness fell, and so to another pleasant weekend with Bella and Gavin and the Granny. By Monday the wind was NNW and well moderated, but Mary and I sailed in the evening, as a shortish window of S or SW wind was given on Tuesday. |
| It was a beautiful night, a gentle north-west breeze scarcely ruffling the calm sea, the sky very clear, a velvety cavern hung with twinkling lamps. Leaving St Peter Port, we turned north with the tide, and close-hauled on the port tack were soon half-way to Alderney. We went about then, and spent much of the night making slow progress against the tide off the NW coast of Guernsey. At the chilly hour of dawn, we were well west of the Hanois light, not very far to the north of the Roches Douvres. |  |
| But we got our reward, as the wind backed and began to pick up, and we were in the right place to take advantage of it, making good progress towards Lands End with very pleasant sailing. | |
|
|
| Soon after passing close to a French trawler as evening fell (pic, evening shot), we picked up the great flashing light on the Lizard. With the wind freshening, the glass falling, and a somewhat ominous lump in the sea coming in from the West, we careered past Mounts Bay, the Tater Du Light, the Runnelstone buoy, the Wolf Rock, the Eddystone, the Seven Stones, famous names all that make a kind of sailor's litany for that cross-roads of the sea. | |
E-mail info(at)gannetsway.com - www.gannetsway.com
Revised:11 July 2002Copyright © Joe Aston 2000 - 2006 All rights reserved.
All photographs are © Joe Aston unless otherwise stated, please do not reproduce without permission.