13th-17th July – Layover in Guernsey
By about 0900 we were able to go alongside the fuel pontoon to top up the tanks. Having been used to paying nearly £2 per litre in France I was astounded that I was only paying £95p per litre in St peter Port. As we filled up with 50 litres that was quite a saving! Then into the inner harbour where we parked next to a German Hanse – SAGE – that was making its way to the Mediterranean.
You are guided into the inner harbour by the harbour launch who are very helpful. They make sure there is enough water above the sill as well as show and if necessary help you onto the berth. There are limited places to park for boats with a draft of 1.9m or more and I don’t think they allow anything in over 2m.
We had one last day together before Andrew flew back to UK and Gillian flew in for what was supposed to be the start of the RSrnYC Summer Cruise. We had drinks at the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club and then supper at 57 Restaurant – the one I had booked for the Monday evening as the start of the Summer Cruise Rally.
Early the next morning The Irish One- Gareth – picked up Andrew and I then spend the rest of the morning cleaning the boat. I had just finished when Dirk from SAGE asked if I would lend a hand to get him up the mast to fix some instruments. I introduced them both the wonders of an ewincher – electric winch handle – and motorcycle intercomms which makes life much easier when you are short handed. In the afternoon, he order both to be delivered to Roscoff for when he got there!
Gillian arrived in the afternoon and I talked her through the plan which at this stage I felt optimistic that we would be able to join the Summer Cruise even if a couple of days late after they had fixed the sail drive. I had booked a couple of nights in the Old Government House Hotel – which was the cost of a lift out for the boat! Whilst it is an expensive hotel it was more so as King Charles and Queen Camilla were visiting Guernsey the following day.
On Monday we had planned to come out of the Inner harbour around 1130 when we had sufficient heigh over the sill and take Purrfect Tale up to St Sampson’s. I had done a recce the night before by bus as it was a marina I had not been in and not one that is used by visitors to the Guernsey – more of a local and commercial port. Ken came along t lend a hand as we set off in very wet weather. I let Alex (MGE) know we were leaving and he came out in the rib to escort us in. The entrance looks tight and it has a very large lump of rock in the middle that is covered at half tide as well as strong cross currents. I had been advised to keep close to the southern side and watch the transits. Once inside there was a sill to go over which seemed to be just below the 2m mark on the tidal post but I was assured I would be fine! I was.
They had the slings ready for me to drive straight into and made sure that they were positioned correctly before being lifted out. Within 40 minutes of arriving I was out of the water and the propeller was off. The the bad news started!
There was no external damage to the sail drive – no damage to shaft or seals and nothing caught up on the saildrive. But they agreed the water intake was excessive. The get you home pack they felt was high risk due to the emulsification of the oil and a feeling that they would not be able to flush effectively and refill. So after a lot of discussion we decided to leave the boat with them; they would drain, pressure test, disassemble, clean and replace parts. They would bring forward the replacement of the major seal that has to be changed every 7 years as the saildrive would have to be removed in its entirety. Once the decision had been made we then started to remove food and essentials from the boat and book flights home. It was expected to take 2-4 weeks to complete the work – with timings being driven by their ability to get replacement parts.
That evening we joined the 10 other boats and 30 people that were taking part in the Summer Cruise. A very enjoyable evening, although we were both a little depressed and tired.
Tuesday morning the RSrn boats departed and we spent the day walking around St Peter Port trying to catch sight of the King and Queen – which we did from a great distance – and making use of the spa in the hotel. After lunch we walked along the coast towards Havelet Bay. Despite the number of times I had been to St Peter Port I did not realise that there were some very smart sea swimming pools – 3 of them – which were very popular. Must remember my swimming kit next time!
For an evening meal both Gillian and myself fancied something different. We found a Thai restaurant in Mill Arcade – bottom end of the Old Quarter. Highly recommended. Very small with one Thai Chef – so you need to be patient. But does excellent and large cocktails that will keep you going till the food arrives. They describe many of the dishes as hot……. they are………….very very hot. I went asked them to make it medium rather than very hot and I still looked like a red tomato half way through the meal. The food was exceptionally good.
The following morning I made a dash back to the boat by bus to finish off packing before we were picked up the The Irish One and caught a 30 minute flight back to Southampton.
We now await news of the repair before the adventure continues……………….!
Purrfect Tale 