With a fair wind and itchy feet we set off today for an adventurous passage around the Cotentin peninsula to St Peter Port, in company with TimChris who were joining us for the Channel Islands trip. This would involve negotiating the notorious Cap de la Hague headland and the lively Alderney Race. The gate opened at a very civilised 7am and we were off promptly on a still and sunny morning. The harbour office had predicted 15-20 knots of wind but neither the grib nor meteofrance had agreed with this and were proved to be right. We had timed our passage to arrive at Cap de la Hague at slack water to avoid the worst of the choppy waters which can be caused by the meeting of two tidal flows. This meant making the first half of the passage against the tide and we pushed on at 13 knots, confident of refuelling duty free on arrival.

Just as we hit the choppier waters a thick fog fell around us, reducing visibility to less than a quarter of a mile. We had a close encounter with three motor boats who zoomed past only metres away, and were glad when visibility cleared and we could resume our in-flight entertainment. Ou passage to Guernsey was accompanied by a host of yachts and on arrival we found the waiting pontoons stacked out and the Victoria Marina already full. We had arrived in the middle of the August rush and were faced with a night in the pool without electricity or access to the shore (quelle horreur!). Fortunately with friends in the right places we negotiated two berths in the neighboroughing QEII marina, normally reserved for residents or longer stays.

After weeks of cruising and exploring we were all ready for a rest and having secured good berths, decided to stay put for a few days and enjoy some time off in this home from home. It was a culture shock to be amongst English speakers again after so many weeks struggling in a host of foreign languages, and we were caught out first by the time change and then by the return to sterling.

Three days later we made an appointment with the Shell tanker at St Sampsons harbour, and on a wet, windy and foggy morning made the short trip to this neighbouring harbour and took on fuel at a very acceptable 36p/litre (compared to the 45p/litre available at St Peter Port).

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 70 nm

Total to date: 1879 nm

Avg Speed: 8 knots

Duration: 8 hours

Diesel: 278 litres, 37p/l

Wind: NW 2-3

Mooring: £18

Electricity: £2

Water: Included

Charts

AC 1349

AC 2136

AC 2135

SC 2669

SC 807