St Helier
Gryphon II
Chris and Lorraine Marchant
Fri 3 Oct 2008 17:39
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We left the Rance in flat calm weather en route to
St Helier. Making good time we decided to look at the way into the Minkies.
These are similar to the Isles Chaussey in
that they are a minefield of rocks which at high tide consist of 3 or 4 small
islets one with a few houses. At low tide the scene is transformed and at
springs an area larger than Jersey is exposed. Needless to say their is some
pretty serious pilotage required to visit them. We were at half tide with 4
knots going across the narrow channel.We also saw the rocks sticking up like
broken teeth waiting to chew up over-confident yachtsmen, so we decided to give
it a miss this time, although we were able to identifty some of the leading
marks required to take us in.
In any case it was just as well we decided not to
try to stay there, as we have been gale bound for the last few days; autumn has
arrived in the Channel Islands in a rather sudden and dramatic way with strong
winds, sudden squalls and cool nights. We think there will be an opportunity for
us to head up to Alderney tomorrow before the next front comes through but we
are anxious now to be across the right side of the
Channel!
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