2017-tim-and-viv-sailing-blog

[2017-tim-and-viv-sailing-blog]

So here we are, back on the Hamble river. On our club pontoon as we unload and clean up after a month of non stop living on the boat. It has been a rough sail today but now very calm. Off to the pub for our supper, then tomorrow we will put the boat back on our mooring and drive back to London (we hope the car starts OK after a month!)

[2017-tim-and-viv-sailing-blog]

As we prepare to leave Yarmouth we are visited by a family of swans with lots of cute cygnets. Well it looks calm enough, but it's quire blowy out in the Solent, so we are prepared in our full waterproof stuff for another hard leg back to the Hamble river.

[2017-tim-and-viv-sailing-blog]

So here we are back in Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. And as predicted the weather is very wet and windy, so hatches battened down for typical British summer weather. So we are glad we came back over the Channel before it broke.

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After a really hot day on the water, it's now after 6 in the evening and we have been crossing the Channel in scorching sunshine. Here is Tim on the helm as we pass the Needles and return to our familiar home waters of the Solent. Tim looking rather roasted after 12 hours in the sun.

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Last look back at the harbour in Alderney. It's 6 in the morning and the early morning sun is already bright. It’s going to be a hot day. We are settling out for our return crossing over the Channel. Alderney looks picturesque, and we are hoping for a gentle cruise; the forecasts predict some strong winds and wet weather soon, so we are going a bit sooner than planned to make sure we aren't trapped here.

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Saturday evening in Alderney. Here is the amazing light in late evening, looking northwest to the breakwater. We have just had a wonderful curry in town. It’s quite amazing to find one of the best Indian restaurants we know on this tiny island. Well worth all the hard work to get here.

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Getting the timing right is really important as we approach Alderney. We have to time it to arrive at the south of the island just as the tide goes slack before it turns. So after 5 hours from Guernsey, we have done it just right and it’s calm with no rough overfalls. So here is a picture of the rocks at the southern tip, all white as they are covered in Gannets.

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Saturday, and we are on the way north towards Alderney. On this trip we have seen dolphins and on this leg we have come across a pair of Puffins paddling along on the water. One of them dived under water, but the other seems quite content to watch us pass by. I tried to get a photograph, but it's so small you can't really see it.

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Friday 7th. Here we are back in Guernsey. Hot day, and the marina is much more busy, the good weather has brought them out.

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On the way to Guernsey we decide the weather is so good and winds so gentle (we can't get any wind in the sails, so we are motoring all the way) we take a detour to Sark. And on the way we saw a pod of bottle-nosed dolphins!!! But it's impossible to get a picture of them!! So just belive me, we saw about 5 or more dolphins! And after a brief stop for a snooze attached to a mooring bouy in a bay in Sark we motored to St Peter Port in Guernsey. On the way we saw a cruise ship called "Saga Sapphire" and thought we have our own little cruising boat for us two oldies.

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And up comes the sun over Jersey as we head westwards in the dawn.

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July 6th. Very early departure from St Helier to get the best of the tides on the way up to Guernsey, up before 4 in the morning and off before the sun is up. Here is a shot back towards the docks and the sky beginning to lighten, as we leave.

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And here is an idyllic beach on Jersey, and very few people to be seen.

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A sunny and blustery day in St Hellier, Jersey. Here is the Maritime museum and the docks just next to the marina.

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July 4th and we have arrived in Jersey. It was a bit of choppy sail down here and misty with drizzle and rain. But now the sun has come out and it is very hot. So we found the first bus going to a beach and here we are swimming again. It looks a lot like the Riviera!!!

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Wonderful bus service on Guernsey, it costs £1 to go anywhere, so for a pound we have travelled to the top of the island to this wonderful beach. Lots of space and lovely gently shelving sand, ideal for swimming. This is the best weather so far this week, so we are glad we have stayed a bit longer here.

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Here is another view of St Peter Port. Lots of flowers and lovely vista’s towards Herm and Sark islands in the distance.