Fierce waves batter coast
GUERNSEY’S west coast escaped the worst of the storms as overnight wind speeds died away before the morning’s high tide.
But even without the forecast wind, one of the highest tides of the year still led to States Works closing the road around Perelle and shut the northbound side of the road at Rocquaine.
On the east coast the 10.1m spring tide led to flooding along the seafront and police closed the Quay to southbound traffic as seawater streamed across the road.
The combination of high spring tides and a low-pressure weather system resulted in particularly high water – with yesterday’s tide peaking at 15cm above the predicted level.
Fierce waves battered parts of the west coast, knocking down the storm boards at Perelle slipway and leaving grapefruit-sized rocks strewn across the road.
States Works were out early to clear up along the coast from Cobo down to Portelet.
The maximum wind speed of force 7 came shortly after 9pm on Thursday, with gusts exceeding 32mph.
But by high tide at 7.41, the wind had dropped to force 4, blowing at just 15mph.
Businesses along the west coast opened as normal.
The doors at the Morrisons at Perelle opened at 7am despite saltwater and seaweed covering much of the car park.
‘It’s been a little quieter than normal this morning,’ said one member of staff.
‘But this storm is nothing compared to two weeks ago, then we literally couldn’t see out of the windows.’
Vistas Cafe was also operating as normal, despite photos showing waves breaking clear over its roof.
The combination of spectacular waves, sunshine with lack of high winds did attract a number of thrill-seeking cyclists.
Dave Marley was out on a tour around the island, and passed through Perelle on the stroke of high tide.
‘I’ve got wet feet, but I’ve dodged most of the worst waves. It’s great to witness the power of the sea like this. It’s proper Guernsey cycling.’
Guernsey Ports has urged owners to ensure any boats or leisure craft left on beaches or slipways are properly secured above the spring high water mark.
The warning comes as two small craft were overturned at Les Amarreurs yesterday morning.
Winds today are forecast to exceed 50mph and with tides expected to be over 9.5m, the Met Office has already issued a tide warning for this morning.
It added that it would be likely to issue further warnings and alerts over the coming days.
