Drheam Cup T-2
Purple Mist
Skipper: Kate Cope
Sun 14 Jul 2024 20:25
T-2 to race day. Well we made it to a Cherbourg in pretty perfect conditions. Tacking out the Solent in light winds then the wind died at Hurst so engine on and a flat boat to cook dinner . After the Needles it was downwind all the way to Cherbourg. Even crossing the shipping lane the big ships parted like the Red Sea to let us through . We were met by the youngsters who were getting ready various UK boats and the official rib showed us to a free berth.
The race set up here is impressive with a full race village . There’s a pirate ship and “have a go at diving” for the kids and all sorts of stalls. The fleet of the new Sunfast 30ODs are gathered together with 2 UK crews sponsored by RORC. There is also one on a trailer to view though it’s minus its rudders which we believe were donated to a Griffin boat as their rudders had delaminated .
Check in was efficient but the €1400 deposit on the credit card was a bit steep and meant the youngsters could actually check in boats as not surprisingly they don’t have cards with that level of cash on them. We got a giant goody bag with lots of flags. Now I like a flag but the level of flaggage is crazy ..but it makes a spectacle. I think our Pink Doublehanded flags are a bit outnumbered.
The organisers also complemented me and the UK boats for being so organised which made me very proud as it’s been a bit of a faff getting the website to work and the frenchies insist of a lot of extra documents that RORC don’t need to see.
We got some specialty edition Drheam cup biscuits! We also have a tracker so you can follow the race (details later not yellow brick) and spray dodgers on the side (very professional) though we are number 13 which I hope is not unlucky.
The final armada of UK boats sailed over last night and have just arrived so plenty of chance to catch up today.
