The Island of Guernsey is a known financial centre, which allows it to offer certain allowances, offering perks like cheap fuel. We’re planning to fill our tanks up later today. Despite this, there are only two windows of opportunity to cross the Channel: tomorrow and a week from Saturday. Unbelievable, but c’est la vie.
More money than sense
Havelet Bay is quite large offering plenty of anchoring space. We sat and watched a large luxury cruiser manoeuvring alongside before dropping its anchor, and then some more! “Too close, mate. Way too close!” We were even close enough to see the captain high in his control room. Three expletive hand signals from our foredeck, a nod from the embarrassed captain, and the cruiser moved away.
We set off to town in the dinghy, arriving at the end of the pier. The dinghy was lifted onto the slipway, where it remained unattached; the tide had four hours to fall and rise again. This gave us our parking time. Now to declare our arrival with the Customs Officer and explore this bustling seaside town. The cruiser had moved again.
The best seat in town
Firstly a visit to the chandlery for a shackle, then the amazing fresh fish shop, followed by the Marine office (Customs Declaration), and finally, a Thai restaurant perched high above the street. We unashamedly jumped from table to table until we grabbed the corner seats. The views out over the harbour and islands beyond were exceptional. And we could even look down on the ‘ little people ‘ on the street below. The best seat in town!
Open but closed
Safely back on board Liquid Asset, the cruiser had disappeared. We relaxed and waited for the tide to rise a bit higher. The rock behind seemed to be getting closer, check the transit. The rock behind seemed to be getting even closer. Wow, too close; we were dragging our anchor in the strong winds. Time to go, and go quickly.
16:30 We motored around Castle Cornet and entered the busy harbour. Vessels varied from small to very large, from yachts to cruisers to passenger ferries. There are even traffic lights at the harbour entrance.
The strong north wind made tying up tricky. Furthermore, there wasn’t enough water below our keel in order to reach the fuel pontoon. We waited nearby, as the spring tides were rising very rapidly. However, they wouldn’t rise fast enough before the garage closed at 17:00, leaving us with only 0.5 metres under the keel. With such strong winds, we couldn’t afford to take the risk. No fuel today.
Havre Gosselin, Sark
The lights changed from red to green allowing us to slip out of the harbour and head across the waters to the island of Sark. Dolphins all around came to visit, but only briefly, for they were too busy fishing to play with us.
The destination was a known spot under the cliffs with moorings. We moored easily because there was no-one else here.
Brecquou link to Wikipedia (population of 1)
We did have a busy day and experienced the flavour of the Channel Islands. However, with no choice, we had to leave these beautiful scenes and dash back across the Channel.
Until it was time to leave, we soaked in the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks nearby as darkness shrouded our view. A powerful tidal race, resembling a waterfall, squeezed between the islands due to the differing water levels of Havre Gosselin and the Big Roussel. Wonderful to behold.
Zzzz
Experience Sailing 