Rouen to Honfleur

Slaves to the tide

We’d never really given any thought to the city of Rouen, but discovered that it is very old (actually mediaeval) and amazingly beautiful.  We wished we could spend more time here but found ourselves slaves to the tide.  It is recommended that the trip from Rouen to the sea (Le Havre or Honfleur) should be taken in one day and yachts are prohibited from travelling during darkness.  So, if we didn’t leave within the next few days, we would have to wait nearly two weeks, and Mike was keen to get to Carentan by the end of the month.

Tuesday 23 August

Before re-stepping the mast we wanted to fit a new VHF antenna and a mechanical wind indicator which we bought at the chandlery.  The men in the yard helpfully lifted our mast off the deck and set it on shore for four hours whilst we re-attached the spreaders and tried to sort out our mast fittings.  Typically, neither the VHF antenna nor the wind indicator was compatible with the fittings already on Forever’s mast head.   Mike fitted the base of the wind indicator but we will have to make some amendments to the actual contraption.  We went ahead with the re-stepping of the mast (a terrifying business but managed without accident) and the next day exchanged the VHF antenna for one that fits at deck level.  Our super kind neighbour, Frédéric, spent most of Wednesday helping Mike to fit it on the back of the boat.

Eric, our lovely marina manager lent me a pressure washer and I washed Forever’s decks.  We sorted the rigging and hoisted our foresail and everyone who’d helped us came for drinks that evening.  Later we went for dinner - Moules Frites volontiers (eat as much as you like) for €7.45 (Mike thought he’d died and gone to heaven) with Eric, Frédéric and his wife Chantal.  It was a good evening - we chose the blue cheese sauce with our mussels and it was delicious.  The secret of finding good restaurants is in knowing local people, of course.

Thursday 25 August

Arrival in Honfleur should be at high tide, which was 9pm on Thursday – also sunset.  Allowing 11 hours for the trip, we left Rouen at 10am, escorted out of the basin by Eric.

A very short while later, the internal cooling system developed a sudden leak of fluid and we spent a rather hysterical half hour, Mike trying to repair the leak whilst I held Forever in a slow tidal drag back towards the marina.  A couple on bikes saw us and started shouting at me that we were on the wrong side of the river and I shouted back that the motor was ‘en panne’ and that we didn’t have the power to cross to the other side.  They looked awfully worried.  Happily, there was no traffic about and we slid along well over to the side and out of anyone’s way.  Eventually, Mike repaired the problem, we turned around and continued on our way but a valuable amount of time had been lost.  We’d started the trip against the tide, then it turned and we hurtled along at 6 to 7 knots and then it turned again and we slowed right down to 3 knots, with the result that we finally arrived in Honfleur two hours after high tide, an hour and a half after dark and in the pouring rain.  Par for the course for the Banfields! 

We entered the lock into the harbour and after a long wait got locked through easily.  There were floating bollards, it was dead calm and we only dropped about one metre.  Once in the outer harbour it was confusing and there seemed to be no places, but there was a line of boats rafted up double everywhere except one nice big English motor boat, March Hare, so hoping they were nice people we went alongside and knocked tentatively.  In spite of the unsociable hour, Garry and Hilary were lovely and welcoming - Garry helped us tie up (getting thoroughly soaked, poor chap) - and we had breakfast with them the next morning.  We’d originally intended to leave Honfleur at the 7am high tide for Carentan, but were so tired the next morning we decided to rest for a day.  Despite quite a bit of rain, we managed to visit the town which is terribly pretty but absolutely crammed with tourists and tourist shops, endless restaurants and dozens of wonderfully interesting art galleries.

That evening Garry and Hilary came for drinks on Forever and we discussed our trips.  We’d now missed the last good day to get to Carentan in one day, and the wind had moved from southerly to westerly (i.e. right on the nose) so on Garry’s recommendation decided to do it in stages, starting with Ouistreham, 17 miles away.  March Hare were also heading west along the coast but intended to leave the day after for Deauville.  Garry very kindly prepared all the tidal information we needed for the area from Le Havre to Cherbourg, so we could plan our voyages properly.  We agreed we’d probably all meet up in Carentan by the end of the week.  Ha, we wish.