Submitted by Graham Broadway on Mon, 03/05/2010 - 13:08
Date/Time: 19:30 on Friday 30th April

Place: Cowes JOG line
Event: JOG race to St Vaast
Yacht: Juno

 The weather forecast for Friday and Saturday was for SW force 5-6 but turning northerly force 7-8 for Sunday evening and Monday.  Our plan was to leave our berth in Port Hamble around 15:00, take on some fuel and then cross to Cowes to have some supper before sailing around to Egypt Point where the JOG start line is situated.

Of course, the best laid plans ..... always seem to go wrong and we found another type of boat moored to the fuel jetty that, judging by the length of time it took to refuel, must have been setting out on a round the world non stop cruise.  This meant that we were rather later setting off than planned and eventually arrived in the starting area not as prepared as usual and were about the last boat to cross the line.

The first leg to the forts was a cracking asymetric spinnaker reach and we made up a number of places with the boat speed touching 9 and even 10 knots at times. At the forts the spinnaker was dropped and the number 3.5 jib hoisted for a closer reach to Bembridge Ledge East Cardinal.

We rounded Bembridge Ledge at around 20:45 and settled down on the rhumb line course of 188M with the true wind at 50 degrees carrying full sail in 20 knots, gusting to 27 knots, spilling wind from the main in the gusts and then winching it in again during the lulls. The boat speed was averaging about 7 knots

At around 23:30 the moon, just after full, rose over the port bow and illuminated our path.  Sunrise, at around 05:30 with Gatteville light bearing about 250M, found us still on the same tack with no change in wind strength and it remained like this until about 06:15 when we passed Barfleur.  Unfortunately we arrived while the tide was still ebbing which now meant we were punching into the northerly tide as we passed  Barfleur.

Typically, as it always seems to do just here, the wind died to 10 to 15 knots and swung more to the south.  Having been sailing rather free for the last 10 hours we now had to tack to lay the finish line.  The larger no 2 jib was hoisted but we held on to Starboard tack for a little longer than the Expedition software advised to try to avoid any lighter wind patches close inshore. For once our timing was perfect. When we tacked we came in on the finishing line, the transit between Le Gavendest and La Dent cardinal marks, on port tack within 5 metres of the mark and finished at 08:43, a total passage time of 13 hours 13 minutes meant that we finished 9th out 18 starters.

Now we had to make the hardest decision of the whole weekend.  We could virtually smell the aromas of Steak frites, vin, calvados and M. Gosselin's emporium but there was still 1 hour 30 minutes until the lock opened and the promise of a northerly gale.  Reluctantly, after crossing the finishing line, we pointed the boat north, turned the auto pilot on, reduced sail and motor sailed back (in a very light and variable winds) to the Hamble. At least the sea was flat and the boat upright and we had a very pleasant picnic lunch in the cockpit and in the sunshine. 

Finally, poor Rhian Deakin had made her first cross channel passage but couldn't reach France.