First Channel crossing

Lizzy Bolan recalls her first Channel hop to France and Alderney in a 30ft Gibsea 92

Iwas introduced to sailing by my husband, Rob, who I met in 2014. He had a Gibsea 92 cruiser racer called Cloud Nine, and after spending the summer and autumn sailing in the Solent, we wanted to go further afield. We joined Fareham Sailing and Motorboat Club and were warmly welcomed. After hearing the amazing stories of places our fellow members had sailed to, we were inspired to undertake our first Channel crossing. We planned the passage carefully to take into account the Portsmouth tide times; there would only be enough water to leave our Fareham berth two hours either side of high water. We also had to consider the fast tidal flow in the Needles channel.

One Friday evening, with our passports packed, we sailed out of Fareham, feeling very excited. We stopped at Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, and set our alarm for 0400 to catch the tide through the Needles, and sail across the English Channel to Cherbourg.

It was still dark when our alarm woke us. We left Yarmouth, eager but a little nervous now. What a reassuring sight it was to see nine other yachts leaving at the same time; we had got our tide times right.

CONFIDENCE BUILDING

We were treated to a beautiful golden sunrise. It was a gorgeous sunny day; a moderate breeze of 12 to 15 knots filled our sails and gave us perfect conditions for our first Channel crossing. We gradually lost sight of land, and soon lost sight of the other boats.

Totally alone, we glided through calm, sparkling water, in the middle of the English

Channel on our yacht. After 11 hours, we glimpsed something on the horizon. We looked through the binoculars and were so excited to finally see the French coast.

At the entrance to Cherbourg harbour a pod of dolphins played around the bow – it felt like they were welcoming us to France.

We arrived in Cherbourg Marina after covering 70 miles in just over 12 hours. The visitor finger pontoons were very short, low and narrow, compared to what we were used to, and quite wobbly. I nearly fell in, stepping off the boat, but fortunately managed to steady myself, to avoid an untimely swim.

How proud we were to have made our first

Yarmouth Harbour, the afternoon before leaving for Cherbourg

Port Chantereyne, Cherbourg. Simply buying a genuine French baguette is exciting on your first foreign sail

Lizzy Bolan discovered sailing aged 46 when she met her husband Rob. They quit their jobs and sailed to the Mediterranean. En route to Yarmouth as the sun sets over Osborne Bay