Dolphins Guide Us In

It was airless inside the deep, red granite walls, of St Helier Marina, as we waited for the tide to turn. Then a relief to get underway. The jagged rocks of the Violet bank looked menacing as we hoisted full sail and aimed SE for Granville. The rocks released another hidden, and unwelcome, suprise as we passed. Flies. Thousands of flies. The boat was covered. We were covered.

Dolphins played alongside, as we furled sails, and made our turn across the sunken rocks, into Granville. Leaping ashore, Luke secured the boat with one hand, and grabbed the hose with the other. From stem to stern, the water cannon pursued the plague of “black spots” 'till all were washed into the scuppers.

The tides are big here, only in the Bay of Fundy, Canada, are they bigger. We were here on springs, so careful planning was a must. From the safe haven of the Marina, locked in by a granite wall, we watched as the tide fell a full 30ft, and a hidden world of rocks, gullies, sand and shingle emerged.

The Vieux (Old) fortified town of Granville, with its cobbled streets sits high on the escarpment. Its classic, old French, an architecture a delight. Tonight, perhaps in honour of our arrival, there is a concert there. Now where did I put that clean shirt......