Sea trials for new Sark boat
THE new Sark boat took to the waves yesterday for sea trials.
After Sark Shipping’s previous passenger vessel started ‘getting a bit long in the tooth’, much like the other steel boats in the fleet, the company decided to purchase a new one from France.
Called the Corsaire des Isles II, the new boat will probably shorten the sailing time between the islands to about 30 minutes.
Although the boat was ready and waiting in France for several months, the timing was only right to bring it to the island earlier in November, mainly because of the uncertainty of the pandemic.
Two weeks of berthing trials are now taking place at St Peter Port, St Sampson’s and Sark’s harbours, which will also allow crew to assess actual sailing times so that next year’s schedule can be determined.
It is hoped that surveys for passenger certificates will take place some time in February and it will be seen in operation shortly after that.
