Guernsey Rally 3rd - 6th May
Published 11:10 on 14 May 2024
Well we made it! It seemed that life would conspire to stop the Guernsey Rally this year. Family circumstancs and health problems narrowed the number of boats that were available to make the 70 mile trip to St Peter Port. Undeterred Kim and Johnny Hearth and Wendy and Graham Nurser joined forces to overcome the odds and travelled together on JuJu, the Hearth's J122. After a fine sail over on the Friday before the early May Bank Holiday, and drinks at the Royal Guernsey Yacht Club, they were delighted to hear that Theo Spink and Adrian Parker were just setting off for a night crossing on Adrian's Rustler, Tamarisk and would be joining them for breakfast.
Sure enough the boats were united on the pontoon the next morning at the start of a beautiful day. Relaxation was in order with productive visits to the duty free chandleries A particular bonus was to hand in a substantial bag of out of date flares. Unlike the mainland, the Channel Islands offer a free disposal service. Apparently the locals, with fine gallic flair, detonate them on the beaches rather than pay a disposal fee.
After a rainy start, Sunday also turned into a beautiful day. A small group walked the coast southwards to Fermain Bay, enjoying fine views with dazzling clear blue sea and sky.
A 4.00am start for Juju on Monday was designed to make the most of shifting wind conditions but in the end a light wind was largely on the nose and motor sailing was the order of the day. Not anyone's idea of a perfect passage, but good company and extensive victualling made the day pass very pleasantly before the afternoon return to Salcombe.
With more time available, Adrian and Theo motored over to Sark to anchor for the night before sailing to France for a few days. How lovely!
