The ongoing march of lows across Britain may possibly have saved the English cricket team but the same fit of depressions has left the 26 craft on the MBM Cruising Club fleet stumped, at least temporarily, in its bid for French waters.

Most, bar two boats pinned in Brighton and two already in France, had assembled at Berthon Lymington Marina on Saturday evening (18 August) to hear whether a crossing was in prospect for the following day. There was just a slim chance that a depression already well on the way in would clear through quickly and not deepen. Alas, neither was true.

Our plan for Sunday had called for early departures, to keep westerly wind with tide for a crossing to Cherbourg (shorter and not tide-locked compared to the original plan of going straight to Dives-sur-Mer). On MBM’s Sealine F37 Calm Voyager we had been monitoring weather until 0100 before turning in and it didn’t look great. Then, when waking up at 0430 again, a dollop of rainwater flew through the porthole and the masts of surrounding yachts screamed – it was a pretty big clue that all was not going our way.

In the end the day was not wasted. Being on the doorstep of most participants, Lymington has often been a place for passing through rather than exploring. But with the rain clearing away during the morning there was ample time to wander around the sea wall towards Hurst and through the town’s streets. We even managed an early evening pontoon party under grey skies to prove that the British stiff upper lip is still a mighty force to be reckoned with when it comes to home territory weather.

On Monday (20 August) we make a cross-Channel attempt again, with Cherbourg in the sights. A ridge of high pressure is building and we’ll delay departures just long enough to let matters settle.

More news soon, along with the first of the images from this event.