End of Day 26 Beaufort NC USA towards Guernsey

This Blog entry is an edited version of the message we intended to send back whilst we were on the passage.  Unfortunately the laptop we use to work with the modem connected to the HF/SSB radio failed on 13 June so we had no way of sending it at the time it was written.

2359hrs (A, BST, GMT+1) Tue 23 Jun 2020

Dear All,

Motorsailing at dawn on Day 26 of our passage

The wind did indeed die away as Chris Parker had predicted, so Day 26 of our passage started with our motorsailing towards Ushant on the northwest tip of France.  The tidal flows are strong around this part of France and the Channel Islands and we were a bit concerned that we would arrive off Ushant with a strong tide against us.  However, by complete fluke all the way up to our waypoint off Ushant we got a push from the tide and the GPS showed us with a speed of 7-8 knots.

Ushant.  Our first sight of land for 26 days

The imposing lighthouses on Ushant stood out clearly and then the island also appeared over the horizon in the hazy dawn light; our first sight of land for 26 days.  We adjusted BV’s heading to take us through the Inshore Traffic Zone and then set about seeing if we could get any sort of mobile phone signal.  Our priority was to start to talk to the authorities in Guernsey again to see what had changed in the arrival procedures in theses Covid-19 times during the last 26 days.  Our phones, however, had other priorities.  Nicky’s phone was the first to connect with the internet and, over the next 30 minutes, our phones and computers hoovered up the 26-day backlog of hundreds of emails, junk mail, Facebook notifications and messages various.  There was so much that it completely used up her data allocation.  But, sifting through the general inbox detritus she homed in on a couple of key emails and, having arranged for more data, started the email and phone communications that we hoped would make for an easy arrival in Guernsey.

Sadly, it seems that yesterday’s message from Hagen’s work colleague that logic about quarantine requirements will prevail and that, after 27 days in complete isolation at sea, we would be able to put BV in a marina and go straight back into normal life on island, may not be the case at all.  Nicky was firmly told (and directed to the govv.gg website to read it for herself) that the policy is that a 14-day isolation period must be completed upon arrival in the Bailiwick no matter how or where you have come from.  Clearly, the policy it has been written on the assumption that people would have potentially interacted with potential Covid-19 carriers during their travel to the island and/or within 14 days of arriving on the island which, given that most arrivals come in on public transport or travel independently for only a couple of days to reach the island, makes sense.  Disappointingly, no one we spoke to seemed prepared to accept that an additional 14-day period of isolation makes no sense when you have already been in isolation for 27 days.

Similarly, the idea of completing that additional 14-day period of isolation in a marina on Blue Velvet where we would be completely self-contained also seemed to be unacceptable.  The civil servants Nicky spoke to stated that we were expected to decamp to a shore-based address to complete our self-isolation period, which of course will bring us into contact with a taxi driver and need other people to support us getting food etc.

We were a bit concerned that part way through the negotiations and confirmation of our position we would lose mobile phone coverage and would be unable to finish the discussion until we arrived in Guernsey.  However, our route took us close enough to the French coast for us to maintain a signal.  So, we arranged with the marina manager that we would arrive and go directly to our allocated berth, rather than one where we could stay for the period of self-isolation and confirmed with the Harbour Authority that Border Agency officers would be able to meet us at Beaucette to conduct the arrivals formalities.  Meanwhile BV chugged along all day in the totally calm weather making steady progress directly towards Guernsey.

Beating into wind along the north coast of Brittany (with a bit of help from the east going tide) for the final leg of our passage to Guernsey

With the frustrating bureaucracy completed as far as possible and teh tide starting tohelp us again, it was time to do some sailing.  The weather played out as predicted and at 1700hrs the wind picked up to 10-15 knots so we had glorious sailing conditions; the only niggle was that the wind was from the east-northeast, directly on the nose for our final leg between Ushant and Guernsey.  We set about beating east along the north coast of Brittany, but making reasonable progress with the help of the east-going tide.

Sundowners at 1800hrs was technically a bit early, as this far north the sun sets at around 2130hrs, but whilst enjoying a glass of wine together we drew up a list of jobs we needed to do on BV before leaving her to enter isolation and also a list of items to offload and take with us for that period.  Then we ate dinner, some of our ‘storm stew’, and clicked into night watch routine for our last night at sea on this passage.

The last sunset of the passage

Love to all,

Reg and Nicky

Passage statistics:

Position at midday 23 Jun: N48 37 W004 57

Position at midnight 23 Jun: N49 18 W003 40

Midday to midday distance through water (23 hours due clock change): 146 nautical miles (average 6.3 knots).

Midday to midday GPS distance towards destination (23 hours due clock change): 142 nautical miles

Midnight to midnight distance through water: 151 nautical miles (average 6.3 knots)

Midnight to midnight GPS distance towards destination: 151 nautical miles

Total miles covered through water:  4011 nautical miles

Approximate distance to go (GPS route to Guernsey): 46 nautical miles

End of Day 26 Beaufort, North Carolina, USA towards Guernsey