Spring heralds a busy season at the harbour
ST PETER Port Harbour is set for one of its busiest spring and summer periods in recent years following a programme of winter maintenance to key facilities.
Twenty-five sailing events and regattas have already been booked in for the next few months, while the first cruise ship of 2024, the Hanseatic, is due to arrive next Sunday.
Some of the work completed over the winter involved pressure-washing all deck planking, improvements to pontoon fenders and around-the-clock care of more than 1,600 moorings.
On several occasions, marina staff also prevented leisure vessels from sinking following storm damage.
‘I lost count of the number of storms we had over winter, starting with Storm Ciaran in November, but the team have done a great job in preventing boats from breaking away,’ said harbourmaster David Barker.
Preparations for the peak season have included craning the walk-ashore pontoons – which link the Swan pontoons to the Crown Pier – back into the water, while the local layby pontoons will be refloated in the coming days.
Some of the upcoming events include the Tresco Trophee, an event held between 8 and 12 May, which will bring up to 100 visiting yachts to the island.
Following that, Crown Pier and Victoria Marina will host the Guernsey Boat Show between 17 and 19 May, while the Inter-Island Yacht Race will be held on 21 June, and the Tour de Ports de la Manche arrives on 9 July.
‘The Tour de Ports typically attracts 500 to 600 French visitors to the island,’ Mr Barker said.
He also said that over 70 cruise ships were booked to come to Guernsey over the next few months, with the largest – the Dutch ship Nieuw Statendam – due to arrive on 18 April with about 3,200 passengers.
‘We are still seeing enquiries coming in and with the weather set to improve next month, we expect to see lots of visitors coming ashore,’ he added.
With unsettled weather over this bank holiday weekend, Captain Barker expected that many local boat owners would wait a little longer before getting back on the water.
‘We have fantastic cruising grounds within the Bailiwick and as the weather improves it will be a pleasure to see our local waters thriving again with local and visiting leisure craft.’
He also encouraged owners to consult their 2024 tide guide books in case they ran into any issues.
‘The guides cover a range of things in great detail and can help prevent a lot of problems.’
