Herm to Guernsey

Sunday 30^th Aug 2009 Herm to Guernsey 4.5NM

 

Wind S F4, light rain at first and then fair.

 

The overall purpose of the trip was to make the Vale Earth Fair at Vale Castle in Guernsey, a music festival taking place Midday to Midnight on the Sunday.

 

I managed to sail this passage most of the way, setting off south and then through the Percee and Corbette Passages between Herm and Jetou. I made a mess of the Little Russel, but luckily it didn't make a mess of me; The wind was against an unforeseen current and I wasn't properly prepared for the pilotage. I wouldn't like to be in the same position at springs. Another lesson learned. The motor stepped in again to save the day.

I had planned to use Bordeaux Harbour, just north of Vale castle, but with no depth marked on the chart, it turned out to be dry on my arrival and with quite a rocky bottom in many parts. Just to the north of this I noticed a sheltered bay of moorings. I snuck in here and initially anchored, until a friendly local fisherman offered me his spare mooring. I tried it, but it was exposed to the southerly chop from the Russel so I moved back inshore on the hook. This was the best anchorage of the trip, very snug, and a perfect fit for a Seawych. I walked a couple of miles to a petrol station to fill up the fuel tank in case of having to motor back the whole way to Jersey the next day. A sensible precaution as it turned out, and fortunate too, because until recently petrol wasn't available on a Sunday in Guernsey.

The festival was great, with many Jersey friends there too. I believe the Vale Earth Fair holds the record for having a higher number of piercings per square mile than anywhere else on the planet. OK, I made that bit up, but it's that kind of festival. After so much solitude, being around thousands of people at once was unnerving and I had to take a break back on the boat for an hour at dinner time.