Online bookings for Herm ferry

The island has been slowly reopening as the Bailiwick lockdown measures have eased and has already been welcoming private boaters.

But visiting the island will be within the reach of all Bailiwick residents from Tuesday, as Travel Trident sailings restart.

To ensure social distancing, all day return passenger tickets must be purchased online in advance. The Trident kiosk will not be open.

Return sailing times will be fixed at the time of purchase to make sure the company keeps to passenger restrictions.

Visitors going out on the 10am sailing will return on the 2.45pm, while those on the 11.15am sailing will have to come back at 4pm. The last rotation of the day will be for people going out at 12.30pm and back at 5.30pm.

Online tickets will be updated for the following week every Monday, with the first set of tickets available from 9-15 June.

The website shows how many tickets are still available on any sailing. The ferries can normally carry a few hundred passengers, but this has been limited.

The most tickets available for any sailing yesterday morning was 90 and there are far fewer children’s tickets – for two to 14-year-olds – available than for adults.

Guests staying on the island will be contacted by the reservations team to book their Trident tickets.

There are restrictions for people travelling on the ferry. Children under two must be sat on their parent’s lap throughout the journey.

Dogs are not permitted aboard Trident, except guide dogs, or unless the dog belongs to a Herm resident or a person staying in dog-friendly accommodation.

Hand sanitiser will be on the quay and on board. Visitors will be escorted to their seat and off the boat.

The Herm shop is open, as is the Mermaid, although visitors will need to book a table first.

The Shell Beach Cafe will reopen on Tuesday 16 June. The Ship Inn is staying closed for now, but it is hoped it will reopen in July.

All businesses are operating with cashless payment.

. To book tickets visit https://www.herm.com/tickets.

Alderney ferry restarts, but weather hits early sailings

ALDERNEY ferry sailings have been allowed to restart, but bad weather has forced the first two days of services to be cancelled.

The Little Ferry Company operates a summer service from Guernsey but had to delay the start of its sailings because of the pandemic.

It was given permission to operate from yesterday but those sailings and today’s were cancelled due to strong winds.

Iain Phillips, from the company, said it was unfortunate, but the weather was looking better for tomorrow.

‘We’ve had a lot of local interest and we’ve taken quite a few reservations,’ he said about upcoming services.

The Spike Islander, the company’s ferry, has a capacity of 12 passengers.

Mr Phillips said that, as it was a controlled environment, it was allowed to operate to capacity.

However, all passengers must provide contact details in case they need to be traced. They must also wear a mask, which are provided by the company.