Guernsey, and especially Herm, are the spiritual home of drying out on legs and with a day of light winds and sunny weather forecast we took the crew of TimChris across to Herm for a day trip. We started out early so that we could arrive at high water and with the aid of our 'Frankland' guide we easily followed the labelled beacons along the Alligande passage to the harbour entrance. The August rush had also hit Herm and there was quite a crowd of yachts already in situ. Nosing in between them we managed to position ourselves in our favourite position, between the wider spaced ground chains and tied aft to the Island boat's private mooring. Having been offered its use the previous year we had phoned the day before to check on this arrangement and were glad to have at least one fixed point, along with our forward and aft anchors.

After anchoring and positioning the boat correctly, fitting the legs is comparitively straight forward and there was time for breakfast on board as the tide ebbed away. By 11am the beach was dry enough to walk ashore and after coffee at the Mermaid Tavern we took the easy walk across the island to Shell Beach.

This is another popular spot for beaching and anchoring and we took the opportunity at low water to see where we might sit another time. The marginally more vigorous walk via Belvoir Bay took us to the central Manor Village, home to the crenellated Manor House and the 11th Century Chapel. Back at the harbour, lunch on the patio at The Ship Inn filled in much of the afternoon until it was time to jump back on the boat before the necessity to swim.

On taking in the legs we found that one could no longer be retracted and traced the problem to a seized thread inside the mechanism.Despite the efforts of our manly crew it couldn't be released but on telephoning for advice we were offered prompt assistance by The Yacht Leg Company in the form of a replacement part. This would be delivered to the harbour office within a few days and in the meantime we could continue to use the legs so long as we wouldn't need to adjust their height.

As high tide approached we were joined in the harbour by Richard and Christina on board Honeychile III and enjoyed a drink on board in the evening sunshine before heading back for supper at The Moorings and the security of our overnight berth.

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 6 nm

Total to date: 1885 nm

Avg Speed: 5 knots

Duration: 1 hour

Diesel: 9 litres

Wind: NW-W 2-3

Mooring: £5 donation

Charts

SC 807