Early May Bank Holiday Guernsey Rally.
Published 11:01 on 26 May 2023
Its a mad idea but totally practical and its rapidly becoming a tradition. Kim & Johnny Hearths informal cruise to Guernsey, on the first May Bank holiday can look a little daunting to less experienced sailors. Lying in our bunk on Thursday night with the forecast Force 7 howling in the rigging certainly made us wonder if we had made the right decision. Casting off in our Moody S31 Mulberry had been scheduled for 4.00 am. but the wind was not due to abate before 5.00 so we compromised and planned to leave at 5.30. For the most part, modern weather forecasts are wonderful things and those clever people at Predictwind, XC Weather and the Met Office certainly got it right this time.
Admittedly the sea was a bit lumpy passing Prawle Point but the later start with daylight (and some mist) gave us a good chance of arriving at the top of the Little Russell at 16.30 in good time to be swept down to St. Peter Port. It has to be said that the 75nm passage in a boat like ours is not always for sailing purists. After 12-13 hours the crew can get mutinous with a negative result on rations. So if the motor is required to maintain a 6 knot average so be it. Adrian & Theo in their beautiful Rustler 36 Tamarisk had departed an hour earlier and sailed almost the whole way. We watched them drop sail just outside harbour. I must mention that on our last passage home from St. Peter Port we sailed all the way from Les Hanois to Salcombe at an average of 7 knots. Cruising in company with Johnny & Kim is a bit of a euphemism. No wind in the rigging for them. After a good nights sleep at home it was a 7.30 start in Juju, their rather fast J122. The advantage of AIS is that we all watched each others progress in a process akin to a pursuit race (except that we were cheating!). With its black mainsail and shocking pink spinnaker, the mark one eyeball was sufficient to watch Juju pass inside us as we skirted the north Guernsey coast en route to Plat Fougere. The fourth boat on the rally was Swift, the 45 Jeanneau Sun Odyssey of Rob & Sue Sadler. Sadly electronic problems delayed their departure by 24 hours. Fixing the problem was time well spent as they hit an absolute pea souper as they arrived though a near miss confirmed that not all boats have AIS.
We love St. Peter Port with its traditional charm, shopping, Castle Cornet, shopping, views of Sark and Herm, shopping, cliff walks and of course, shopping.
The rally was informal in the sense that nothing was arranged in advance. However a last minute reservation at Da Nello provided a memorable Rally supper. Rallies are such friendly social events. The constant round of coffee, tea and drinks parties make everyone welcome and of course Kim & Johnny are the most wonderful hosts.
Return for Mulberry and Juju was on the Tuesday. Tamarisk and Swift left on the Monday bound for France. Adrian & Theo to enjoy a few days holiday; Rob and Sue on the first stage of the journey to the Mediterranean. Again Mulberry slipped away quietly at 5.00am trying not to disturb Juju. The journey was uneventful though this time we managed several hours of plain sailing. Dolphins abounded and were more welcome than the numerous tankers spewing in and out of the shipping lanes. As Juju slipped effortlessly past us a polite VHF call from the Rallymaster enquired whether our AIS had failed. On investigation we discovered we had failed to switch it on, inadvertently causing consternation in the wider cruiser family back at Salcombe who were charting our progress.
Theres nothing like the pleasure of landfall and as Prawle Point & Bolt Head loomed out of the mist we reflected on a weekend well spent: the thrill of sailing coupled with the benefit of accommodation, food and the ability to make a cup of tea.
