Most of the 61 passengers were late bookings for a service which was aimed at people who had been due to travel on other sailings cancelled in the storm.
The ferry arrived at St Peter Port shortly before 8pm and made two unsuccessful attempts to dock.
‘Apparently there was a 50mph gust when we were trying to get in,’ said John Fernandez, on board with his wife and two young children.
‘We tried again and it looked like we’d made it. Everybody was punching the air because everyone was just fed up and feeling sick after the journey.’
But Brittany Ferries said yesterday that even deploying its starboard anchor, the winds and tide caused the anchor to drag. Passengers were advised that the next attempt would have to wait until 1am.
‘They gave people cabins, which was really nice, and all the staff were brilliant. The captain seemed like he was genuinely doing his best to get us in,’ said Mr Fernandez. ‘So for four hours we were sailing between Herm and Sark. It was a very odd experience. Nobody was being sick any more but it was pretty choppy and everybody just wanted to get off because we were so close.
‘But credit to Brittany Ferries for getting us in, getting us on the boat, and credit to the captain. We were very happy to get back on dry land.’
Brittany Ferries said safety always came first and thanked passengers for their patience. Islander has returned to schedule and left for Portsmouth shortly before 9am yesterday.
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