Younger Members of the OGA were well represented in St Malo for the Rally organised by the OGA, Vieux Gréements de France: 6 – 8 June, 2025. Eight crewed on ‘Rely’ and ‘Cygnet’, crossing the channel from the East Coast and another six arrived by ferry. They bring some photos and log of the Channel crossing below. Find more photos, video and reports from other participants here.
Everyone enjoyed the festivities and sampling cidre, biere, vin rouge and moules frites! The weather wasn’t too favourable to sailing but during a brief break in the rain, I went out in the smacks boat, ‘Papa Stour’, for a little meander around the harbour. It was lovely to see the festival and St. Malo from a different angle and enjoy a little peace and quiet away from the hustle and bustle. On Sunday, the sun was shining and many boats went out for a sail including smacks boat, ‘Papa Stour’, gaff-rigged wayfarer ‘Papa Little’ and ‘Dirty Girty’ (with me as a lucky crew member!) It was a perfect way to end the festival; a brilliant sail, a lunch stop in Dinard for delicious sandwiches and sailing in front of the walls of Saint Malo.
Ed & Will Roberts joined ‘Cygnet of London’ to sail to St Malo
Setting off after work on Friday we caught the train to Faversham, before travelling by road to Ramsgate to catch up with Simon Harding and ‘Cygnet’ who had a head start. After bumping into the skipper and crew of a returning Dunkirk Little Ship and OGA member ‘Cachalot’, we boarded ‘Cygnet’ and swiftly departed. After safely navigating the inner passage we steamed south dodging lobster pots in the dark. Having lost the tide on the corner we put into Dover for the briefest of stops. At dawn we were back out under engine pushing through fog, lobster pots and into the wind. It was a surprisingly lengthy trip round the corner and over to Eastbourne. Once on the dock we followed the skippers motto of ‘gear before beer’, hastily tidying up and rushing out in search of a pint or two.
With a foul forecast (and prior engagements) on Sunday, boat work and planning were top of the agenda. Fair weather windows were patchy but the chances of crossing the Channel were on the up. As our confidence in the forecast grew, the intended target moved west along the French coast from Fécamp to Cherbourg. Locking out from Eastbourne as Sunday became Monday we set off with sails up immediately, making slow progress into wind and tide. As day came, the wind veered, we passed ships (eventually) and an uneventful crossing became exceedingly welcome as the sun shone. We made Cherbourg in nightfall, navigating a myriad of entry lights.
Another portion of a lay day allowed a restock and catch up on rest as we planned a passage through the Alderney Race following an inside route of the Channel Islands down to St. Malo. The final stretch of the journey saw us benefit from the tidal back eddies out of Cherbourg timing the corner to Alderney Race at slack water, before a storming sail (no power assistance necessary) past Jersey. This gave us the jump start on the distance, gaining hours over our expectations and allowed a stress free afternoon as the tide turned and progress slowed. Nonetheless we made St. Malo by 22:30, with a final quick nap to await the first lock-in of the day 00:34, Thursday 5 June. The only other East Coast Gaffer to have managed the passage across was ‘Rely’ who had been in the harbour for over a week.
Words: Georgina Tall, Will and Ed Roberts
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