Sark

Of course, we have been to Sark before. We know all about the 10 metre tidal range. Did we learn?

We woke to a wonderfully sunny morning. Breakfast on deck (smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and bagels) and some planning for the day ahead. From the very intermittent internet access we could tell that the north easterlies that had helped our passage across would stay with us at least for the next two days. So whilst we had originally planned to tour the north coat of Brittany, there was a very good opportunity to sail from Sark directly to Scilly Isles; somewhere we had not been, and which had tacitly been accepted as our target for the trip. So the plan was to enjoy Sark for the day, and head off thee following day (when the tide would be favourable) towards the Scilly Isles.

Sark, of course, is a wonderful place and well worth a visit; for day at least. We deployed the dinghy and David of course volunteered to row us ashore. At high tide the cove looks live this, so we lifted the tender high up out of the water at the top of the steps and headed off. A very steep climb (was it 250 steps) up the cliff.

Ingenuity Cove

There is not too much to see on Sark; the usual dusty narrow roads, some delightful properties with manicured gardens, the horse and carts dragging foreign tourists around and of course tractors used instead of cars. Its mostly visitors you see. Even those you think are the locals turn out to be Eastern European. So where is the real Sark?

We had found locals before in the Mermaid Tavern so we thought we would introduce Bob to their "hospitality". We were "greeted" by a rather surly barmaid, clearly not from these parts. The monosyllabic responses were a vast improvement on the "cold shoulders" and grunts we had experienced a few years before. The good thing was that beer was very cheap.

We went to take a look at the bay we would normally stay in on the north east side of the island. We didn't go there of course because of the winds. It was empty and looked decidedly inhospitable.

Back to the other pub on the island; the Belle Air. Very nice welcome, clean and tidy place, and beer at a price that suggested the Mermaid did not want tourist custom.

Bob and David headed off to La Coupee (the very narrow "causeway" between Sark and Little Sark). With no head for heights I decide to wait for them on the cliff above the boat. Surveying the cove below, it was clear that the tide had dropped significantly (as we had expected), and the top of the ladder (see picture) was now 15 feet above the water level. This was was going to be interesting getting the boat back in the water and the crew back in the boat.

Much to the annoyance of the three Frenchmen who were not prepared to tackle the issue, we solved it in a matter of minutes. It was a little precarious lowering the boat down to the water, and even more precarious climbing down a very slippery ladder an into the boat. But the effect on the French who were photographing our every move and, no doubt, hoping for a slip up was well worth while. As we rowed off triumphantly we calculated the French would still be there as we were sipping G&Ts some hours later.

Dinner was Annie's chicken parmesan. She had prepared this for two meals. Need I say more.