For the yachtsman St Helier has the appeal of providing perfect shelter and a strategic position in the middle of the sea area west of the Cotentin. Once inside there is a good marina and every sort of diversion you might require.

Getting there from the north-east requires a bit of concentration, though in good visibility and reasonably calm weather the experience is not as forbidding as the chart might suggest. Having given the rocks of Les Ecrehou a wide berth by keeping east of the south cardinal Ecrevière, head for the Anquette Channel between the white tower of the Gde Anquette and the less conspicuous mark to starboard of it. You can then buoy-hop through the channel before turning in towards the yellow and black pillar of Demie de Pas on a course made good of about 295º from the Canger Rock west cardinal.

From the north-west, things are more straightforward. Give the white lighthouse of La Corbière on the SW tip of Jersey a wide berth and then come inside the offshore rocks to the south of the island leaving the north cardinal of Les Fours to starboard.

Once inside the breakwater, proceed up the buoyed channel and through the concrete jaws of the harbour opening to the right, then on to St Helier marina at the far end. This is now the only option for visitors, but none the worse for that. The gate is open HW±3 and the depth over the sill is clearly indicated by the digital display. If the display is 0.0 and the traffic signals are red you will have to use the waiting pontoon to port, rafting up if necessary. A flashing light means it’s about to close. Predicted times can be downloaded from the Jersey Harbours website in the tides section.

While waiting you will probably be visited by a marina official. However, if no berth has been allocated by the time you get in, use E, F or G. Fuel is only available outside the marina from the pontoon at the entrance to La Collette nearer the harbour entrance, so if you have to wait to get into the marina and need to fill up it’s a good moment to do so. The Cruising Guide booklet is worth picking up, being considerably more useful than most of its kind.

The very best restaurants on Jersey tend to be outside St Helier but there are plenty of options in the town itself, though not necessarily cheap ones. Breakfast croissants and other supplies of a limited kind from the general store on the quayside just landward of the shower block. Wifi in the marina or, more cheaply, in cafés nearby.

© 2008 Yachtpilot