Visiting boatowners are welcomed back by island

Guernsey Ports has produced figures for the year to date, indicating that the visitor sector has recovered from the pandemic.

June saw 1,500 visiting boats, exceeding 2019 pre-Covid levels, and 2,000 vessels came in July, which was only slightly down on 2019.

‘We have had a couple of very quiet summers due to the pandemic so we are enjoying welcoming back lots of visitors to Guernsey,’ a Guernsey Ports spokesman said.

‘We are pleased with the season so far.

‘In particular we have seen a general trend towards larger vessels staying for longer than just a night or two.’

These have included motor cruisers, as well as yachts over 45 feet long.

‘The weather has been warm, and we have had some cracking sailing conditions,’ the spokesman added.

He said visitor numbers were largely as expected, although there were fewer European boats than usual, likely due to passport-issuing delays in France.

‘Because of the good weather, we anticipated slightly higher numbers in July and August to date, but I think the difference is due to French visitors requiring passports this year, which many do not have and are awaiting them.’

Boatowners in St Peter Port yesterday said they were pleased to be back.

Chris Jennings, a repeat visitor to Guernsey who lives in Kent, is currently enjoying a month-long stay on his Fairline vessel.

‘What’s there not to love about Guernsey?’ he said.

‘Travelling after Covid is nice and it’s getting back to some normality.’

However, he said fuel costs were causing problems, with his three-hour journey from the UK racking up £1,100 worth of diesel.

‘I think the fuel has put lots of boaters off coming across to the Channel Islands without a doubt.

‘It’s probably now more the fuel than Covid.’

He said he had also been unable to find a hire car this year.

Glad to return to the island after the pandemic was Georgina Gane and her family, who have visited annually from the UK for 10 years.

‘We really like the fact that Guernsey is very easy to get around,’ she said.

‘There’s easy access to the beaches, you can just jump on a bus, and there’s lots for the kids to do.’

French yacht owners Alexandra and Olivier had seen lots of tourists around.

‘Guernsey is beautiful and really wonderful,’ said Alexandra, visiting for the first time.

‘There are many French people here and quite a lot of tourists.’

The pair had enjoyed fish and chips on their arrival and looked forward to exploring the island by bike.