It was the perfect weekend for JD Yachts to hand over a stunning Fairline Targa 62 to the proud owner’s family and friends. My brief as Captain was to continue with the hand over and be available while the new owner and his family acquainted themselves with their new baby whilst they relaxed and enjoyed the cruise over to the Channel Islands.
We headed through the lifting town bridge and opened her up gently heading due south to Alderney with the sun roof open. We all looked around and did a double take at the SOG (Speed over ground) and could not believe that we were already at 20 knots! It felt a mere 15 knots. A smooth and graceful crossing over the English Channel avoiding the all-important container ships and traffic separation schemes, we arrived and moored up to a buoy at Alderney and caught a water taxis to land to find a nice restaurant for lunch.
A few hours later we departed heading west around the Casquets and then after another hour or so we were rolling into St Peter Port, with the wind picking up the timing was perfect. Having moored alongside the island pontoons we took it upon ourselves to start playing with the toys, namely the jet tender in the garage! It roared in to life and the owner couldn’t resist a quick trip out to have a play, while the rest of the crew enjoyed champagne and iced G & T’s.
The next day was spent understanding the under deck systems and giving the boat a good clean while a few crew were enjoying the delights of St Peter Port town. After a few hours we headed out to sea in slightly windy conditions, around to the eastern coast of the island of Herm to explore beaches then a short passage to a beautiful anchorage north east of Sark, where we anchored for lunch and the owner explored the caves in his jet tender.
A few hours later we made our passage in to Jersey, mooring up behind a British navy ship with all the traditions of listening to their crew whistle senior officers on board and more interestingly the daily ceremony of the ensign being lowered at night and raised in the morning.
As it was the Jersey boat show, the crew explored the quay side shops whilst watching mad bungee jumpers doing their thing over the marina. We finally ventured in to the beautiful Jersey Yacht Club for dinner.
The final day led us back to Weymouth on a perfectly smooth passage around the eastern edge of Jersey, making full use of navigating using transits and the radar systems on board. A perfect crossing to end a perfect weekend.
"I am having the best time in boating I have had in years, so many thanks for all your help and advice. 5 stars" - Alex