Back in Brixham after a lovely week in Guernsey.
We left Brixham at 04:00 when it was just light enough to see the fishing pots and saw a lovely sunrise. The 13 hour crossing of the Channel was all under sail with a nice wind just off close hauled. The weather was murky and the sea quite grey and lumpy but we had a lovely visit by 2 very friendly dolphins who played with us for 20 minutes. A few ships in the traffic separation zone and shipping lanes and land finally appeared out of the mist about 5 miles off Guernsey. M&N had read the tide tables properly and we reached the Little Russel just as the tide turned to give us a nice fast run into St Peter Port. We raised the yellow Q flag and a harbour launch gave us the documentation for clearing Customs when we swapped the Q flag for the Guernsey courtesy flag (see photo). We rafted up 3 deep on the outside pontoons.
Next morning we took advantage of the brief time window (as it was a neap tide so lower high water) to go over the cill into the marina. The cill keeps water in the marina when there is little or no water outside. A German yacht tried to cross the cill a little early and crunched her keel into it! We were given a finger pontoon which was great as it meant no rafting. M&N did a nice walk south along the coast path.
M&N had considered sailing to Jersey but limited time and fog, weather forecasts and wind direction changed their minds and they have learned from the past not to cram too many things into a short space of time.
The next morning brought thick fog but clearing. M&N took the first ferry to Sark and had a great day exploring the lovely island on foot in the sunshine with the low-lying fog gradually clearing. Weary feet were rested for a crab salad and beer lunch on Little Sark, accessed via the causeway.
Other Guernsey adventures for M&N included tours of Castle Cornet and the German Underground Museum, and the Guernsey flower festival activities which took place around the quay and the marina. Meanwhile I was face to face with a Royal Navy cadet training “P boat” which came into the marina for a couple of days. When the tide is out it is impossible to get over the cill, so we were undefended for quite a bit of the two days in case of invasion. It was funny when the boat came in. The cadets were put to work washing down the boat and generally clearing things up while the officers were on the aft deck with large G&Ts taking selfies.
M&N took a ferry to Herm and spent a lovely day walking right around the island. There are several stunning white sand beaches.
All too soon it was time to take the weather window home. A start at 05:20 getting over the cill and catching a strong tide up the Little Russel, reaching nearly 10 knots at one stage. No wind and a flat sea to start with but every time M&N changed into shorts and T shirts it clouded over and was cold. We hit a fog bank and the radar decided not to speak to the chart plotter, but no incidents and the visibility cleared. Radar now OK! M called the Border Force yachtline at the 12 mile limit to clear UK Customs as the Channel Islands are not part of the EEC for Customs purposes. The wind picked up for a lively last couple of hours and mooring back at Brixham. M&N celebrated the journey with excellent fish and chips on board. The end of a very enjoyable week.
Katrina
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