For our second trip to Herm we plucked up the courage to make the more adventurous trip to the east side of the island and dry out on Shell Beach for the day. With Honeychile acting as pilot boat we took an exciting rocky passage close south of the island of Jethou before heading even closer inland and weaving between the isolated rocks which lie dotted along Herm's east coast. A comfortable anchorage lies in Belvoir Bay and we passed by the early arrivals, between Herm and the Mouliere rock, before choosing a spot on the flat beach.

Unlike the harbour there is no ground tackle laid here so we deployed forward and kedge anchors to keep us perpendicular to the waterline. After fitting the legs we still had about an hour to wait before drying out so a shore party took the dinghy to the beach for a hike round the island whilst the skipper stayed on board to supervise the grounding process. The cliff walk round the south side of the island is rocky with steep steps but the stunning views make it well worthwhile. From a southerly point it is possible to see all of the other Channel Islands, the only place from which this view is possible. Our return coincided happily with lunchtime and we used the inverter to power the onboard grill, giving a whole new meaning to the expression "barbeque on the beach". We were an incongruous site amongst the dinghies and dayboats, but did not seem to deter those paddling and sunbathing around us. If anything we were regarded as an unusual find, like a beached whale washed up on the tide.

We had enjoyed another day of gloriously sunny weather and as clouds began to appear the tide obligingly rose so we could recover our legs and anchors, and wend our rocky way home. The position we chose had given us only about three hours dried out and on another occasion we would probably choose a spot higher up the beach, which also seemed flatter and further from a menacing crop of small rocks.

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 15 nm

Total to date: 1900 nm

Avg Speed: 5 knots

Duration: 3 hours

Diesel: 26 litres

Wind: NW-W 4-5

Mooring: Free

Charts

SC 807