When we first started thinking about leaving the Azores, our plan was to sail directly to the UK. But as is often the case, the weather had other ideas – incessant north and northeast winds meant that it would be a lot easier and more comfortable to head to northern Spain instead. So after a few fantastic weeks in Galicia, and an all-too-short stop in Western Brittany in France, we finally started to execute our original plan – sail to the UK.
The sail across the western part of the English Channel is too long for a day sail, so we left our beautiful anchorage around midday, conveniently giving us a several knot tail current through the Chenal du Four between Brest and the offshore island of Ushant. The wind built in the early evening and Madrone made tracks northward, dodging freighters (and even a US Navy ship) as she crossed the busy shipping channels of the Channel.
We’d planned for an early morning arrival, and the entrance buoy to Falmouth emerged from the rainy mist just as the sun started to rise. A few minutes later the anchor was down – Welcome to England!
