Its entrance, more like a trapdoor than a harbor mouth, is
not wide, only about thirty feet, and it is not deep – in fact to get in you
need seven feet of a rising tide – but Beaucette Marina on Guernsey rewards
those who dare to enter.
We arrived at low tide at sunset, so had to wait a
couple of hours until the tide came in and gave us the five feet we needed
under our keel to get over the rocky entrance. Ricky the admirable harbor manager
came out in his dory at dusk and I jumped in and he took me into the harbor through his “trapdoor” and showed me the slip
into which we would park. Then he ferried me back out and left us on the
waiting mooring ball as night fell, and fall heavily it did! No light, just a
pitch black night!
Out he came again at 9.45pm to tell us “There’s water enough
to get your keel over the sill, just follow me in.” And so we did. Wow. This was quite tricky anyway, but in
blackness and with the light out on the starboard side of the rock face
entrance, we held our breath……and then we were in to the marina with its
lights, and tied up securely in just a jiffy.
Only the next day did we watch boats entering in broad
daylight and then laugh at our insanity!
By all means visit Beaucette Marina in your yacht: but don’t enter at just
after low tide on a dark night!
We are thrilled with Beaucette and the welcome and the
facilities, and we are happy to be in Guernsey again, with its cosmopolitan St Peter Port
and beautiful coastline. And so we will
enjoy this spot before heading East to Normandy.
Sunrise as we leave the Chichester River at 5:30am
The "Trapdoor" entrance into Beaucette Marina
The old fort at the North East corner of Guernsey
Myron and Julia with JFK: we passed many happy hours with these Limey Sailor friends whom we had met in Cherbourg
Watch out! Here come the Energizer Bunny Ricky! Always smiling and keen to help, Ricky makes a mean cup of tea and is the best marina manager we have ever met!
St Peter Port's inner harbour
Colourful flowers and a pretty girl!......
....who looks happy especially when the food is on its way!
Beaucette Yacht Harbour from the cliff top: island of Herm in the distance
Top left gives a low tide view of the "trapdoor" entrance, and center right is Adventuress tied alongside the floating pontoon
