This year’s Little Ship Club Calais Rally, its 87th, was held from the 24th to 26-th of May, and I was lucky enough to be offered a berth on Pete’s “Silver Pearl“, a 26-foot Sadler, berthed at Brightlingsea.
Thursday – London to Brightlingsea
I rode to Brightlingsea directly from work, and unfortunately got practically drowned in one of the worst downpours I’ve experienced in London, however by the time I arrived I was dry(ish) again and the weather on the seashore was fantastic. Pete and I had a rather nice curry in the local indian ashore, with Pete being cavalier and rowing us to and from the boat. He certainly worked for his curry!
Friday – Brightlingsea to Calais
Early on Friday morning, Michael, another crew-member for the trip, joined us and Pete and I took the “Silver Pearl” to the main jetty to let him aboard. Not long after we were off on our way to Calais. The initial sail was somewhat uncomfortable, with a strong headwind and short, choppy waves, however the vista was great as we sailed out of the River Colne and into the Thames Estuary, passing several of the large windfarms in the area.
Surprisingly there were practically no ships about. Even crossing the Channel’s Traffic Separation Scheme we only saw 2 ships in the distance. I had imagined there to be a lot more traffic! Just before Calais we saw a beautiful double-rainbow, heralding some rain, although it was only a shower and soon over.
All up we took nearly 14 hours for the crossing despite motor-sailing practically the entire way due to the wind. Either it was on the nose, or not there at all, so I was a bit disappointed at the lack of actual sailing, but that’s the way the wind blows! Once in Calais we had to let a couple of ferries through before we could enter the harbour, and had to wait half an hour or so for the swing-bridge in front of the marina to open up. We took the opportunity to have a quick bite to eat – ham and cheese toasties.
The evening consisted largely of beers in the Calais Yacht Club, meeting the other members of the Little Ship Club and having a good laugh.
Saturday, Sunday – Calais
A couple of very relaxed days followed in Calais, with a fair few drinks and some very nice food.
After helping to move the “Silver Pearl” from her raft to a finger berth to get some shore power, I spent Saturday morning looking around Calais, the market, the English Cathedral, and the high street. It turns out there was rather more to Calais than the few streets which I explored.
Unfortunately the HMS Puncher was unavailable for the annual rally, so Norman hosted the party on the deck of the “Sir Claude Inglis“, a wooden survey vessel whose skipper is looking to get her certified as a working vessel again and pick up some of the windfarm contracts. A shower briefly interrupted the festivities so the party cozied up in the wheelhouse.
Later in the evening we all got dressed in our best and headed to a dinner party in the Cercle Amicale Maritime, but not before checking out the most famous of local drinking establishments, the Café du Minck.
The evening was rounded off by a few more drinks in the Yacht Club, as well as “a wee dram” (or two) in the cabin of the “Silver Pearl”.
Sunday started as another fine day, starting with a champagne-and-bacon-buttie party aboard the “Sir Claude Inglis”. Pete and I then headed into town to get some supplies for the return trip, and very nearly missed the awards ceremony in the Yacht Club. The “Silver Pearl” won the smallest yacht to attend award!
Following the festivities, the captain and crew of the “Silver Pearl” took it easy, as we had a night passage ahead.
Sunday night, Monday – Calais to Brightlingsea
Michael invited Pete and myself to a “quick beer” before weighing anchor. Pete wanted to catch the first opening of the bridge, which we managed to do along with a few other yachts heading out for the overnight passage back to Old Blightly. We spent the first hour or so in sight of the “Alchemist”.
As there was practically no wind, we unfortunately started off under engine again. The scenery made up for it though, with a beautiful sunset over distant England. Over the course of the evening and night we had several breaks in the clouds and were rewarded with stunning night skies, the likes of which are only a dream in London.
Towards the morning we actually got a bit of wind and enjoyed some sailing, a much smoother passage than outbound!