Part 2: The Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey.
Guernsey
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St Peter Port (20th April, 78 miles)
Yesterday we had arisen at 0530 with a sail from Dartmouth to St Peter Port in mind
but the F7 winds quickly sent us back to bed. Today it was bitterly cold but we
had a fantastic sail even though we were stung at both ends of the passage, as you'll
see below.
We set the alarm for 0445 and surprisingly got up at that time, breakfasted and
readied our selves for the off. The wind was from the NE and perfect for the passage
if it would just stop pressing us firmly onto the pontoon and let us leave.
I shunted about a bit and set off with loads of revs on. Bang, I had collided with
a large floating steel bollard and ripped a hole in the gel-coat. Oh well a job
for tomorrow if I survived the tongue lashing from Janet.
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The passage. Once at sea the wind became a NE of about F5 and on our beam
so we were off like a rocket. For the first 6 hours the speed was never below 6
knots in spite of the 2m seas from yesterdays near gale. About midday the wind died
so on went the motor and I went to bed for an hour leaving Janet on watch. 30 minutes
later the wind returned and although the wind was now lighter the sea was also flatter
so Janet soon coaxed Mithril back into the sixes again. This continued until we
were at the North end of the Little Russell Channel where, as we had been really
flying, we decided to drop the main and sail a little slower with genoa alone. Bad
move. The sea started to boil as currents from 3 different directions merged creating
2m waves in random directions and, as those readers from last year will remember,
we once again found ourselves with a 4 knot current against us and a very confused
sea. That last 2 miles took an hour but we still managed to tie up in the harbour
with the log showing 77.5 miles in 12.5 hours.
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During the passage Janet had seen our first Puffin, very elusive birds to spot at
sea. Once the clouds had cleared the sky was totally blue so we needed sun cream
for the first time.
The harbour at St Peter Port
You can see that the harbour is right in the centre of town. This photo is taken
from above the harbour's entrance at about high water and we are on spring tides.
Mithril is in the centre.
Our first planned job on Guernsey was to refit the Brunton propeller now that it
has been re-profiled, so we rang around for lift-out prices. In Dartmouth I had
laughed when quoted £450 for one week on the hard but on Guernsey we were
quoted £600, and even worse, we could not stay on the boat so would need a
B&B or something like for the week. The only up side to this could have been
the good old fried breakfasts that B&B's still do so well but at that price,
no thank you. We need to give this more thought.
On Saturday we cycled around the lanes at the North of the island. In the town traffic
was really heavy and for much of the time stationary, even though the islands speed
limit is 35 mph. Out of the town there was little traffic and so it was possible
to see how lovely the island is. And in contrast, on one beach we came across sand
racing. This was saloon car and motorcycle racing but on a half mile course on the
beach. It looked great fun.
Observations & Trivia:
- In the Channel Islands VAT is not payable.
- So many Ferraris and Fire-blades yet the island speed limit is 35 mph.
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Jersey
La Collette Marina, St Helier. (26th April, 25 miles)
We decided to take advantage of the strong South going tide down to Jersey and so
leave at local LW. This meant leaving the inner harbour before breakfast and going
to the deep water waiting pontoons in the outer harbour. The morning was wonderfully
sunny with wall to wall blue sky.
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The passage. At 1300 we set off down the Little Russell Channel and followed
the coast to the southern end of the island where we turned SE and headed for Jersey.
At 25 miles distance the hills of Jersey could just be seen as a gray smudge on
the horizon. We had a southerly F3/4 wind and we were sailing hard on the wind.
Two hours into the passage the perfect blue sky gained a dark edge and this soon
showed itself to be heavy rain, just as forecasted. Luckily it passed behind us
but a second cloud looked as though it had our name on it. The sky darkened as it
approached and the the rain started. Then all of a sudden the wind rose to 35 knots
directly on our beam. Having far too much sail up now Mithril heeled
alarmingly and the deck became awash, then the rain became really heavy reducing
visibility to less than 50 metres. We let go the main sheet as this sail, although
a power house, being fully battened does not flog at all, so is safe to let fly.
Then as we came more upright the sail became more efficient and so off we went like
a scalded cat.
The squall (if that's what you'd call it) lasted for about 45 minutes and even though
we now had 2 reefs in the main and only a scrap of headsail we were traveling at
well over 7 knots. The tide adding a further 3 knots.
Whilst rounding the SW corner of Jersey the wind dropped to zero and left us rolling
in the swell. So with full main and engine we motored towards St Helier. Unfortunately
we missed the "West Passage" and so made for "Danger Rocks Passage"
and "Red and Green Passage". Strange names, the first 2 are quite descriptive
but the latter is not buoyed at all so where its name came from we don't know. Anyway
it had leading marks so we followed them in, passing over rocks which dry by over
a metre, hmmm. We tied up in La Collette Marina at 1745 and had a cold beer. It
was needed I can tell you.
Here in St Helier we have arranged to be lifted out on Thursday, and with luck we'll
be in a quiet corner so we can stay aboard. Our aim is to refit the Brunton Auto
Propellor, refill the sail-drive with synthetic oil and paint anti-foul where necessary.
Observations & Trivia:
- In the Jersey Coop supermarkets they still ask for your divi number.
- Jersey is 30% bigger at MLWS.
- Tidal range on springs is over 40 ft.
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Liberation Day .
This is a very important day to the people of Jersey and Guernsey; it is the day
the English Force 135 regained control from the Germans occupations. This year is
the 60th anniversary and what a celebration we witnessed.
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On the 8th May we watched the surviving members of the 135-force parade through
the main street accompanied by a pipe band.
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The parade ended in the civic square and we attended the open-air service that followed.
It was a mixture of church service and drama sketches provided by the local primary
schools. Terry Waite the ex envoy for the Archbishop of Canterbury was the quest
speaker. It was a lovely time, we where amongst people who had been young during
the occupation and at times during the service these people where not ashamed to
show their feelings, it was an emotional afternoon.
On the 9th there was a massive programme arranged, and we attended the following
events, these were by no means all of them:
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11.15 We watched the start of the round Jersey rally for Vintage cars and
the parade of vintage military vehicles, including those which where going to provide
a 21 gun salute later in the day. We believe it is the first time civilians have
been allowed to provide this salute. The guy in charge confessed to Barry that he
was more worried about getting the number right than anything else as he had four
guns each with 8 shells.
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11.45 Red Arrows display over the bay, the crowds by this time were enormous,
but with a massive promenade 5 miles long to watch from it was no problem. Impressive
as always.
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2.45 Re-enactment of the Liberation force 135's arrival on the beach.
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3.05 Arrival of the Queen and Prince Philip, the 21-gun salute was a success.
The route taken was thronged with people including us. Honest the lady in the red
hat is the queen, and the Duke is 6 ft to here right.
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4.05 Watched the Queen unveil this, the Liberation sculpture.
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4.15 Watched Battle of Britain fly past comprising of a Lancaster, Spitfire
and Hurricane aircraft.
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4.30 De Havilland aircraft landed on beach, this was once the original runway
for Jersey. It is first time a plane has landed on the beach since WWII.
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5.15 Free Fall Parachute drop onto beach by Jersey club.
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6.00 - 6.45 Massed bands of the island of Jersey, the Royal Marines and the
Royal Welsh regimental bands, complete with goat mascots, beating the retreat on
Peoples Park. Brilliant music and crowd appreciation.
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10.16 The most superb music and firework display we have ever seen centred
on the Elizabeth Castle in the bay. 3 ton of fireworks were loaded onto the mid
harbour barge alone, it was positioned 200 yards off the beach. Not surprisingly
it was displaying the statutory light pattern for keep clear I am carrying dangerous
cargo.
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After the show we walked back to Mithril as thousands of others walked
back to their cars. All in all a magnificent day full of colour and spectacle, we
will remember it for a long time.
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April's figures
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Distance logged.
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259
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Hours at Sea.
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47
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Engine Hours.
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24
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Average passage distance
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39
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Average distance per week.
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86.5
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Total distance this year.
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259
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Total dist' cycled this year.
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132
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We are generally assuming Gibraltar to be about 2000 miles
from England and when that distance is spread over about 6 months it gives a weekly
required distance of about 80 miles. It seems we are on target here.
Engine hours are pretty poor and mainly due to windless days of
8 hours to the Solent and of 7 hours to Dartmouth.
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