Sabra Sabre Meeting 2023

André and Carine organised an excellent Sabra Sabre Weekend based in Le Wast, less than an hour’s drive from Calais, during the first weekend in September. We aranged to meet John Valler at the Shuttle terminal and completed the journey to our hotel in convoy.

This year’s theme was relaxation. No long drives and plenty of time to chat. The weather was superb. We all arrived, 10 Sabras/Sabres and one Jaguar (see below) at our hotel, the Chateau de Tourelles, on the Friday afternoon and enjoyed a relaxing drink on the terrace before the first of our excellent dinners. On Saturday we set off to visit the St Joseph Village, Andres, a drive of about 15 miles. This is a collection of heritage shops and workshops spanning the period 1900 to 1970. As we were about to leave for our next visit a group of Morris Dancers arrived. I didn’t know they had Morris Dancers in France and, sure enough, they don’t unless they are visiting from the UK! So we delayed our departure to watch this quintesentially English scene. A little later than planned we set off for our next visit, the Musée du Mur de l’Atlantque, a museum based on an old World War 2 German gun emplacement. Luckily there was a bar/brasserie nearby where we could go on to enjoy refreshments in the warm afternoon sun. Chris and Brendan detoured to the nearby Cap Gris Nez where they were able to enjoy a fantastic view of the White Cliffs of Dover, 20 miles away. Saturday evening saw us enjoying a fabulous dinner in the restaurant of our hotel.

On Sunday morning we had another unplanned distraction – the village market right outside our hotel. Some of us found trinkets to take home as souveneers. We then drove 10 miles along near deserted roads to Boulogne, parking under the town ramparts. Here we split into groups to explore the various parts of the town again in glorious hot sunshine. Most of us found a place for a light lunch before returning to our hotel for drinks and a chat on the hotel’s sunny terrace and, later, our final dinner.

In most previous years I have been happy and proud to report that all our cars were reliable but the gremlins crept in this time. We had problems with our radiator fan thermostat, resolved when Peter offered us an identical item from his spares box. Philip had dynamo problems – worn brushes – which he skilfully repaired allowing him to limp home on the Monday in convoy with Chris. Jacques left home in Belgium with his Sabra on the Friday when it soon started to rain very heavily. Unfortunatly his windscreen wipers failed so he decided to return home and exchange the Sabra for his Jaguar! Two other of our cars suffered tuning issues, perhaps brought on by the hot weather. All problems were dealt with and we were all able to complete the weekend and return home safely without the need of a recovery service.

10 Sabras/Sabres in the hotel carpark

At the St Joseph Village

A drink on the terrasse

100mph on Le Shuttle