Last night's Rally dinner at the Guernsey Yacht Club was a noisy affair, not because anyone drank too much, just the effect of 37 people talking. (pic) The food was excellent, and went down quickly. The panorama from their balcony is splendid. (pic) We slept in past 9am. Shocking. After a porridge breakfast we went in search of a pharmacy for Lesley's sunburnt face and a map for Nic - he does like a map. We then caught the No 91 bus that goes clockwise round the edge of the whole island. Fixed fare is £1.25 however far you go, so that was a very good value tour. We ate our sandwiches on board, naturally. The whole island is just lovely, although there's hardly any of the road without houses, mostly bungalows, along it. So it feels like one long village. Also we saw none of the Guernsey cows, famous for their milk. Probably they and their green fields are in the centre where we did not go. After the obligatory ice cream (we are on hols), we got down to passage planning for t...
Oops. Missed a day, again. So, yesterday ... Got up late after excellent Dave Hankin Big Band concert the night before. Shame about the singing and the small audience but the 16 piece band was crisp and clean with great solos esp drummer and saxophone. Went for a walk, despite the on/off rain, up to Berry Head (pics). Great views and handy cafe. This is June and we were wearing coats, hats, hoods up and gloves, and leaning into the wind to make progress. On the way back we had a look at the seawater pool just up from the marina; waves breaking over it and full of seaweed. Madness. Afternoon was a few jobs and Nic prepping for another ROS strategy meeting. Evening saw us staggering out into the rain and wind again. 10 minutes down the side of the harbour to the first restaurant. Really good food, comfortable and soft house music at just the right volume. Splendid. Back on the boat early enough to watch 2 episodes of The Crown (just started series 4) on our ancient portable DVD play...
We left Guernsey with some pangs. One day is not enough to enjoy the island. Nic expertly turned Sirena around in a crowded rafted berth, and we waited around for several hours on an outside pontoon for the right hour to set off. Massive tides govern all your timings around here, and we could only leave St Peter Port and enter Carteret in France at specific times. It was a straightforward trip to Carteret but winds were so light we had to use the motor against the tides at first. On the chart, the approach to the harbour is green not blue...in other words, half the time there is no water to get in to the harbour, just mud. We and our rally buddies had worked out when to arrive safely when there would be enough tide to cover the green stuff. There is a metal sill which operates when the tide rises. A tidal gauge shows how many metres of water are available, which is quite comforting! After we arrived safely we did a clichéd yachtie thing, and had a pleasant G&T with two rally f...
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