Guernsey, of Pirates and Poop Decks

We stayed in Guernsey for nearly a week.  Not so much through choice, but because of the pretty awful weather April was throwing at us.  Mostly heavy winds with showers, interspersed with the odd sunny spell.  What fun!

Having visited St Peter Port last year (and getting stuck for several days) we already knew our way around the town and had little exploring to do.  Instead, we made the most of the opportunity to do some more “things” to the boat.  Chris had been concerned during the gale in Alderney by the way his first structure holding the wind generator had wobbled!  He decided to re-triangulate the supports so they were longer and higher.  We contacted shipbuilders, Marine & General (more used to refitting tugs and fishing boats than small yachts) in St Sampsons who had the materials available.  For less than the cost of the drill bits we got through the first time, they cut and drilled the stainless tube to order within a day!  Re fitting was a bit of a fiddle but we succeeded, and now Charlie sits much more securely on the transom.

Talking of the transom, we had some uninvited, overnight guests during our stay in the marina!  Two of the local ducks settled for the night.  They were very friendly and brought new meaning to the name “poop deck”!

Another particularly foul evening we watched an old French pirate ship (Chris thought it was anyway) pitching over the waves as it came into port, presumably to shelter from the gales.  The following day we wandered round to the ferry terminal to have a closer look, and also discovered a lovely view of the town from the rooftop there!

The Albion Public House was the venue for the highlight of Elaine’s stay in St Peter Port, live coverage of the UEFA Cup semi final between Arsenal and Lens.  Quite why Guernsey is home to so many Gunners fans we are not sure, but the pub was packed out and the atmosphere really like being in the stadium. (Well, almost!)  Arsenal won, of course, and we now have to ensure we are somewhere “cosmopolitan” to see the final in May.