Alderney to Guernsey.

 

For the second time we have vowed never to go back to the Alderney anchorage. The very first time we stopped there it was flat calm, despite being known to be a ‘rolly’ anchorage and we had a great time looking around the island with all it’s history. Every time we have been since then we have had a very uncomfortable time with the swell rolling in.

We left after two nights without going ashore and headed to Guernsey.

Ti Gitu arrived in the tiny Fermain bay about a mile South of St Peter Port. We have spent time in the bay in the past and we had one wonderful night at anchor there before late the next evening the swell began to roll in there as well.

Not wanting another bad rolly night we upped anchor and headed for Victoria marina in St Peter Port arriving just before dark.

The marina was packed and we had to raft against another yacht for the first night but moved to an alongside berth the next morning as the place cleared out.

We are staying for a few days (despite the very high marina charges) and have cycled a little and taken a hop on hop off bus around the island for a day. It looks like Sunday will see an event along the quayside with lots of stalls and a classic car show which should be interesting.

After that we hope to top off the diesel and head South East to Jersey.

Newtown and across to Alderney

 

We spent two nights in Newtown creek actually taking a mooring rather than anchoring as it was the weekend when the whole place fills with boats anchoring and many having problems with getting too close to each other.

We left on Sunday at 08:30 and bucked the tide to the Needles before heading off South towards Alderney. Despite the wind forecast being favourable there just wasn’t any for most of the passage so we motored. The wind increased as we approached the island and we arrived just as it was getting dark.

First we tried to anchor but in the pitch black eventually borrowed a mooring until the following morning when we went out on anchor.

This island is really special. I just wish the same could be said for the harbour. We have visited in good conditions but as usual this time the swell is creeping in and making all the visiting boats rock and roll. Mo says the harbour is yachtsmans ‘hell’.

We have deployed our ‘flopper stopper’. Not a bra but a device hung over the side of the boat to help stop the rolling. It is working but the anchorage is so bad we will leave as soon as possible.

The anchorage has a sea wall built in Napoleonic times but never completed as the Napoleonic wars ended and the harbour was no longer needed by the navy. Great shame as a full wall would probably be a great improvement.

After two really poor nights we are both looking forward to stopping somewhere calm and getting a decent rest.

The Channel Islands are getting really expensive for visiting yachts. Braye harbour is now £10 a night just to anchor and roll your guts out and St Peter port marina on Guernsey is now £54 a night. They really should look South where the French towns are much less. Both of us are getting really fed up with some official holding his hand out for 50 quid wherever we stop. We have met a lot of sailors really angry about it. Perhaps the Golden Goose is being cooked!!

 

Dreadfull weather

 

We moved down to Cowes on Thursday morning and went into Cowes Yacht Haven. This is a Trans Europe Marina the same as Emsworth where we can berth for a few days for half price. This is reasonable unlike the full price which is £60.00 each day!!!

Weather is beginning to look reasonable so will head to Newtown river anchorage for tomorrow night and hopefully sail across to Alderney in the Channel Islands on Saturday.

Away at last.

 

So 2025 was a dead loss, we had Ti Gitu lifted out of the water to make some repairs, change the cutlass bearing, change the propeller, sand the bottom and re antifoul.

Along with a few other things we hardly did any sailing at all and really hope to do a bit more this year.

We left the marina on Saturday 30^th and went to East head to dry out and replace the propshaft seals. There are 2 ordinary looking seals which Vetus the manufacturer of the seal unit will only sell fitted into a bronze fitting for over £90.00. I purchased a set of high quality replacement seals and a spare set for £20.00. Difficult to get at being aft of the engine but only took a few hours to fix.

The next night we anchored in Thorney channel and then left for the Isle of Wight the next morning.

All of the lovely high pressure Easterlies of the previous weeks had gone and we had a hard sail on the wind with a couple of tacks to Newtown river where as it was blowing fairly hard we took a mooring. We sat there for two nights and then as a gale was forecast ran to Newport arriving on the Wednesday.

We have often been to Newport and usually lay alongside the wall where it is a hard gravel but level bottom on which to dry out. On this occasion for the first night we went on the pontoon and dried out at a very awkward angle so the next day moved to the wall again which is where we are currently sat.

It is looking like the weather will improve for sailing towards the Channel Islands next weekend so will wait out the poor weather here.

Back to home

 

Ti Gitu went to Dunkerque for a night and then crossed to Dover in very light winds. We had a couple of nights there and as the wind went North Easterly we headed West. The problem was that the tides were at the wrong times for decent daylight passages so we headed for Rye to anchor off the beach, which we have done before in Northerly winds. However the wind was North Easterly and the West going swell was finding its way into the bay and we had an awful night with little sleep as Ti Gitu rolled and bucked over the swell.

We were on our way by 7am the next morning and had a really fast run to Newhaven reaching over 8 knots in the swell. From there the next day it was a light wind sail back to Chichester harbour before entering the marina the next morning.

Really nice to have had some good travels this summer but it will be nice to stop traveling for a while.

Along to Nieuwport

 

We went down the canal to Flushing and spent the night in the marina there before locking out into the sea first thing the following morning.

It was a really nice light wind sail along to Blankenburg where we waited for a favorable wind to continue along the coast.

It looked like the wind would have enough South in it for us to make it to Nieuwport so we decided to take the chance. The wind was off the coast at a sharp angle and close in the seas were a little rough but get just a couple of miles out and it became really rough and as we were hard into the wind it was a difficult passage but not too long. We did sleep well that night.

Our poor bikes which live on deck do need regular maintenance and mine had a crank bearing fail but as everyone here cycles there are lots of bike shops and new bearings were easily obtained and fitted.

Blankenburg and Nieuwport marinas are both members of the Trans Europe group as are some marinas inside Holland which saves a lot of cash and we have made good use of Emsworth’s membership this visit.

Next Ti Gitu will cross to Dover and hopefully after a couple of nights there the wind will go Easterly to give a run along the coast back to Emsworth.

Veerse Meere

 

Once in Veerse Meere we anchored opposite Kortgene waiting for me to see a dentist as I had broken a tooth. We spent a couple of nights in the marina while the tooth was fixed and then went further down the meere.

There is an offshoot from the meere which we have always found wonderful and it is just a three mile ride to a supermarket.

Well we had never been in there in the height of the summer holidays when we found it to be absolutely packed so we only spent a couple of nights there before going out to anchor.

One thing we did discover was the local airport which has a really good restaurant where you can watch the planes and parachutists while eating. We went there twice.

The winds have been Westerly for ages and so we waited for things to change which it hasn’t so in the next few days we will take advantage of the odd days of fair wind to get along the coast to Blankenberg and Niewpoort before crossing to Dover.

The plan will be to take the canal past Middleburg to Flushing and wait overnight before heading to Blankenberg first thing in the morning.