John & John across the Channel – June 2009
The crews all together
Nieuwpoort to Calais
Nieuwpoort, Wednesday evening, and our cross-Channel weekend started. We rushed to get out of Nieuwpoort to catch the tide that would take us to Dunkerque. As we left the Ijzer to go onto open sea and the first watch took charge, we contemplated the need to turn on the motor. Fortunately the wind picked up and by the time the off-duty watch emerged 2½ hours later we were almost in Dunkerque and thinking about putting a reef in the mainsail. We moored on a pontoon at 01.30, to wait for the tide to turn once again in our favour and take us on to Calais.
As we got up at 07.30 on Thursday we decided to start with one reef in the mainsail. This proved wise because as soon as we got out from the shelter of Dunkerque harbour we were hit by a F5, which gusted to F6 at times. The wind strength was compounded by its direction – from the SSW, exactly where we wanted to go. Thus ensued a seven hour tack through the narrow Dunkerque channel in 2 – 3 metre seas and the occasional heavy rain.
As we approached Calais the tide was turning against us, but we still needed to sail past Calais in order to pass the Ridens and enter safely. This took longer than we hoped, but eventually we made our way into the shelter of Calais marina and a well-deserved rest. The crew was tired but in good spirits after an exhilarating sail. One hour later saw the arrival of the second John, having just crossed from Dover. The anticipated evening out together was subdued – most of us were more in the mood for sleep than food.
Calais to Ramsgate
Friday saw another early start. We needed to leave Calais marina at 06.50 to get the last bridge opening of the morning. As we left Calais and rounded the pier, we looked back to see a fishing rod flying through the air, evidently attached to our boat, and an irate fisherman gesticulating wildly. A quick MOB procedure recovered the rod, but the real challenge was to get it back to its owner. After getting fishing line tangled in our rigging and hooks in our clothing, the imminent departure of a ferry meant we had to abandon our attempts. An eight-hour channel crossing to Ramsgate gave us plenty of time to contemplate how to return the rod to its owner.
The crossing itself was incident free. We had to alter course to avoid a few large freighters but otherwise the afternoon progressed gently into evening, and the wind dropped but then recovered as we approached Ramsgate.
Our two crews were re-united in Ramsgate, where we immediately turned our minds to finding an Indian restaurant. First we were able to hand over our newly-acquired fishing apparatus to a Calais-bound Frenchman, who seemed quite used to the encounters between yachts and the Calais fishermen (“it happens at least twice a week”). Thanks to John Norman’s relatives, we had a local guide to point out a suitable Indian restaurant and to navigate us around the town’s lively nightlife.
… and the return
On Saturday the flotilla split up as we headed back to Nieuwpoort via Dunkerque and John N and his crew waited for the tide to take them to Dover. Our return trip took longer than we hoped as the wind first dropped and then died altogether. At every slight breath of wind we had the sails up to see if we could sail, but it was in vain and six hours of motoring saw us arrive in Dunkerque at 23.30. The prospect of a 06.00 start weighed on us as we prepared dinner.
We got up on Sunday morning to driving rain but still no wind. And that was how it was to remain for almost the whole of our journey back to Nieuwpoort. In fact, as we approached the entrance to Nieuwpoort the rain stopped and the wind started to pick up. It wasn’t how we would have planned our final leg given the choice. A last meal together onboard and we were able to set off home by lunchtime, to give us time to recover for work the next day.
John B, Katrien, Willem and Ann
[You can find more photos from the trip in the Photogalleries section. Click this link to go to the relevant album, or look in the album "Channel / North Sea"].