JERSEY CRUISING The southernmost Channel Island has plenty to discover away from the main harbours
Will Bruton heads to the southernmost Channel Island, rediscovering the joy of a fast passage through the Alderney Race and the picture-perfect accessible anchorages that await
Executing your first sail to Jersey E is an experience to be savoured; to go back after a long spell in less interesting waters is a renewal for the yachting senses. Here, amongst seemingly rocket propelled tidal streams and rocky shorelines, is where all the challenges of our amateur pursuit come together. To see double figures over the ground through the channels, or, as can all too easily happen, to be damned back to whence you came by a foul tide is a good litmus test of all that tidal theory.
I had all this in mind on leaving the Solent on approach to Jersey, which could almost be described as starting at Cap De La Hague. Fail to get this crucial tidal gate right and you might as well not bother, such is the strength of tide in the Alderney Race. Fortunately, the ever-dependable all-weather port of Cherbourg makes the perfect spot to wait it out if necessary, being only 14 miles east of the headland.
Luckily, we were soon established on the magic conveyor belt that is the Alderney Race. This scenic fast track to Jersey’s south western tip, saw us sail past a wild Brittany coastline on one side and Sark on the other before our first sight of the island. The seemingly endless St Ouen’s Bay beach is picture perfect but exposed, and runs for most of the island’s western coast. Having rounded the corner, a wellmarked but rocky channel took us into St Helier harbour where protection from all conditions awaits beyond a serious harbour wall.
St Helier, Jersey’s capital, makes the perfect base for visiting the island’s more easily accessible south coast anchorages, many of which are best suited to daytime visits. The visitors’ marina sits beyond a tidal sill (there is a waiting pontoon for all states of tide) and backs directly onto the bustling town, where everything the yachtsman could need is available. The St Helier Yacht Club is open daily and makes a great first stop, offering unrivalled views of the comings and goings through the harbour wall. Right next to the marina office, the Jersey Maritime Museum is well worth a visit if the weather turns foul.
EXPLORING THE COASTLINE
We learned quickly that food on the island is taken seriously, finding a veritable seafood nirvana at the Quayside Grill, a fish restaurant with a sun-drenched terrace. Dig a little deeper into this bustling capital and the diversity of food is a real find. Many have settled here from all over the world, including thousands from the Portuguese Atlantic island of Madeira, bringing their food with them. Even St Helier Yacht Club’s bacon roll comes in Portuguese bread. East and west of the harbour are fantastic beaches within a few minutes’ walk. Accessible via a causeway at low tide, or an amphibious bus at high tide, is the imposing Elizabeth Castle.
It would be all too easy to spend the entire weekend in St Helier, but outside the harbour walls, with a healthy respect for the tides, Jersey offers wonderful fair weather cruising. The most accessible anchorages can be found on the south and eastern coastlines and we decided Portelet Bay, complete with beach, would be the ideal spot.
We headed west from St Helier and across the expanse of St Aubin Bay at high tide, leaving the bay’s drying harbour to starboard. Past the Les Fours North Cardinal, we found good holding in the sand.
Ashore, with commanding views across the bay, the Portelet Bay Café is well worth launching the tender for on a calm day. Following the track on the right of
With a healthy respect for the tides, Jersey offers wonderful fair weather cruising
the beach for five minutes uphill took us to the Portelet Inn, a large pub serving food with a beer garden. It was, however in the early morning that this anchorage really came into its own, a wonderfully peaceful spot where, undisturbed by few other boats, we swam in Jersey’s refreshing, aquamarine water.
Although we could have stayed longer, we retrieved the anchor and sailed a little further west along the coast to St Brelade’s Bay, one of the island’s most popular day anchorages for sail and power, and widely regarded by locals to be the best swimming spot on Jersey’s south coast.
Two rocks on the chart, Fournier Rock and Forché, mark the edge of the anchorage and must be avoided on approach. To the west is Beauport, which is approached by passing east of the Fournier Rock and lining up the distinctive pinnacle rock ashore with a red roofed hut. The holding is good here but we found there wasn’t much swinging room once it got busy: a perfect day anchorage, but, as with most on the island, not one for an overnight stay. Visiting at low tide, we found an Ovni that had anchored just off the harbour wall and dried out.
Ashore is one of the most popular spots on the island for holidaymakers drawn to the beach. The Oyster Box, with its sea views, proved a great lunch spot for local oysters and fresh seafood.
LAZY SUMMER DAYS
Once famous for oysters and shipbuilding, Gorey, on the island’s east coast is protected from all but the south and south east.
This picturesque harbour with its pastel-coloured cottages proved a wonderful place to be on a sunny day. Those able to dry out can pick up one of 12 mooring buoys close to the shore. Further out, with less protection from the weather, it’s possible to anchor with good holding in sand or pick up one of two buoys located in deeper water.
The bay is dominated by the imposing 13th century Mont Ogueil Castle, one the world’s best preserved examples of medieval fortifications. Tucked between the fortifications and the harbour wall, we found a small secluded rocky beach for a cooling dip, before making our way to the harbour front, with its pubs and restaurants, to see what further delights Jersey could tempt us with. It is certainly a place to linger for a long weekend, a month or a season.
This picturesque harbour with its pastel-coloured cottages proved a wonderful place to be on a sunny day