Anyone been to Alderney this summer?

[Poey50]

Yes, the only drawback is a lot of businesses in the hospitality sector have closed or not yet reopened. Not a huge problem but the places that are open can be full at the weekends - otherwise happy days.

We were expecting that. In fact now, most places are open; the only obvious one still closed is the Boathouse restaurant next to the main marina in Guernsey. We walked past several open cafes in Guernsey with not a single customer.

 

[James_Calvert]

Re staying in the West Country, as you probably know the pingdemic has been playing havoc with hospitality venues. And booking a table at least a few days ahead has become more normal.

And that's for when they plan to be open. Some short-staffed places are closing say Mondays and Tuesdays to give their chefs a break.

 

[ashtead]

Shame the Boathouse is closed -it made the hazards of those walk ashore pontoons worthwhile even in somewhat breezy weather. Where would you eat if not there ?

 

[Poey50]

Shame the Boathouse is closed -it made the hazards of those walk ashore pontoons worthwhile even in somewhat breezy weather. Where would you eat if not there ?

The same owners have a posh looking place in town ... very disappointing food, but that's another story. There's a good cheap and excellent Italian restaurant about 200 yards up on the right.

 

[ashtead]

Thank you -it sounds if the posh place might be best avoided -I have always found eateries in Guernsey StP problematic though. Will certainly note down the Italian but sadly we’re won’t be visiting this year as on the IoW circuit.

 

[Boathook]

Had a very nice meal at Da Nello Italian Restaurant in the heart of St Peter Port - Da Nello in early July.

 

[Poey50]

Thank you -it sounds if the posh place might be best avoided -I have always found eateries in Guernsey StP problematic though. Will certainly note down the Italian but sadly we’re won’t be visiting this year as on the IoW circuit.

La Perla is a good honest place for Italian.

 

[longjohnsilver]

La Perla is a good honest place for Italian.

La Perla has always been our favourite. Half lobster starter, whole lobster main course, all for under £20. Original owner has now gone back to Italy, but his sister has taken over, lovely family, we were always made to feel extremely welcome.

 

[ashtead]

Thank you both .

 

[lustyd]

First issue is the form needs to be printed

As does the C1331 do you have those on board?

 

[Lightwave395]

There's an increasing number of hostelries and restaurants closing here in Cowes as a result of staff going down with the pingdemic (I guess partly due to Cowes week )

Cowes venues close amid Covid pingdemic

Government data shows sevenfold rise in Covid patients at St Mary's

 

[ashtead]

Oh no that’s very sad for those involved.

 

[skyflyer]

Be aware that if you clear through Braye but then move on to SPP you may be offered (or want, for tide reasons) the all tide walk ashore pontoons which are also being used for isolation etc
if you take one, you and your crew can go ashore (having explained you cleared at Braye) but nobody else can visit your boat (eg if you were planning a crew change or had friends who were resident there). You need to be in the marina for that

 

[John_Silver]

If so, how did you find the entry procedures, Covid wise? I’m on my boat thinking about crossing on Thursday, but they ask for a form to be completed and sent 2 days beforehand. First issue is the form needs to be printed, and I don’t have a printer on board, seems rather shortsighted that it’s not a form you can complete over the internet, unless I’ve got it all wrong. And secondly the weather plays a rather important factor on whether we go or not. I suppose I can send a form every day (or not, if it needs printing) and then choose when to leave.
If you’ve been there, how strict are they with the timings?
As much as I love Alderney, this is rather putting me off making the effort to get there.

Stargazer crossed from Plymouth to St Peter port overnight on Monday. The arrivals process has been simple and efficiently run.

Although we’d managed to arrive (for once) with Victoria Marina cill open, we were met by the usual dory and asked to initially dock on the outer pontoons. These are being used as isolation berths.

A large marquee has been set up on the quayside car park to handle the clearing in process. This took under ten minutes and was wholly digital. I was asked to log into the Tracker form, on my phone, a bar code was scanned, buttons pressed and we were in. Free to move round into Victoria marina.

On the subject of the all important vaccination certificate: although the instruction notes, for the form, lay heavy emphasis on the need for a hard copy, this is not needed in practice - certainly based on this experience. A relief, because I do not have one. What I do have is the NHS app, which gives the option to save the vaccination certificate as a pdf. This is what I uploaded to the Tracker form. And all was well.

As has been noted, Victoria Marina has only a handful of boats in. Instead of waiting for a finger to come available, sometimes in vain, there is a wide choice. Other than that, St Peter Port is its usual friendly self.