Normandy France Trip '24 - FULL - pls join the waitlist
Following the success of last year's Channel Islands trip, we are taking advantage of the August Bank Holiday to plan another cross-Channel 5 day sailing trip that only uses 2 days of your holiday.
2024 is the 80th Anniversary of the World War 2 D-Day Landings in France in 1944 - a perfect opportunity to plan a historic trip to Normandy.
We'll meet in Hamble at the boat on the Wednesday evening. Current plan is to leave Hamble late on the Wednesday evening/early Thursday morning to make the most of the tides. We'll do a night sail probably heading East out of the Solent due to the tides, and out into the English Channel.
Heading across the English Channel, 1st stop will be the historic seaside town of Fécamp. It's a fishing port, seaside resort and artistic and religious pilgrimage site. The Palais Benedictine is where monks make a herbal alcoholic liquer called Benedictine. A sampling tour is a must!
Heading west along the Normandy Coast, our next stop will be Honfleur on the Seine Estuary. We'll hopefully moor up in the stunning Vieux Bassin a picturesque harbour which is situated right in the middle of the beautiful old town. Picture perfect, surrounded by gorgeous restaurants/bars with lots of museums and art galleries, it's one of the most popular tourist destinations in France.
Spanning the mouth of the River Seine Estuary, we could sail under the Pont de Normandie the longest cable span bridge in France.
Heading west, we'll visit some of the World War 2 sites, 80 years after the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944.
Arriving at the port of Ouistreham, we will motor up the Caen Canal to the town of Caen, visiting the famous Pegasus Bridge and museum on the way. British soldiers and glider pilots were sent on ahead of the main invasion to hold the Pegasus Bridge which is a highly strategic road crossing over the Caen Canal. This was featured in the movie "The Longest Day".
In Caen, we may be able to arrange a trip to the iconic beaches of Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, and the war graves. We may even visit Bayeux the site of the famous Bayeux Tapestry.
Back along on the coast, the Allies built a Mulberry harbour on the beach of Arromanches it's an artificial port which allowed them to unload heavy equipment without needing to wait for the conquest of Le Havre or Cherbourg deep water ports. During 100 days of operation, 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles, and 4 million tons of material were landed here. Amazingly, parts of the "temporary" harbour are still intact 80 years later.
Our last stop will probably be the picturesque fishing village of St Vaast at the north-east tip of the Cotentin peninsula. The village is famous for oysters and, at low tide, the oyster beds provide a link between the mainland and Tatihou Island with a historic fort.
Finally we will head back across the Channel with another night sail to west Solent, passing the iconic Needles and arriving back in Hamble on the Bank Holiday Monday afternoon.
Please note the plan is subject to wind, weather, tides and the vagaries of LCSC Skipper's inclinations!
COST: The price of this trip is £460 per person (not including food & drink or mooring fees and fuel which will be shared amongst all on board).
Please sign up & pay online to secure your place.
All general queries, terms & conditions can be found on the club website at www.lcsc.org.uk/yacht-cruises/yachting-general
CREDIT to Normandy Tourist Board for all photos.
Last updated 10:10am on 27 July 2024