St Peter Port Guernsey has 'no sense of welcome' for visiting yachts

[harry potter]

We picked up a copy of 'GUERNSEY WEEKLY PRESS' dated Thursday 25th July which has a full page (3) spread lamenting the decline in recreational boat tourism on the island and asking what can be done about it. Sean Fuller, who specialises in UK marine management and business development and who lives in Guernsey suggests that rusting bollards, peeling paintwork, bent signs, limited free wifi (which you can get at the yacht club), poor shower facilities, and a rubbish skip with no screen are significant deterrents.

I have emailed him to say View attachment 34757View attachment 34756that possibly the availability / non availability of fuel at Boatworks might be a more plausible reason, having been at the end of a queue of some 15 boats waiting for access to the single hose for diesel when the marina opens, and also passing a sad Dutchman in a classy Hallberg waiting dejectedly at the pontoon wasting his favourable tide at 7 a.m. (they open at 8 weekdays). You may say that the visitors should know better, but they usually find out the hard way, and possibly give Guernsey, for all its prettiness, a miss next time in favour of semi-industrial Jersey where there are no less than 3 Fuel outlets with almost 24/7 coverage.

Sean Fuller at sean-fuller@talk21.com welcomes feedback to his findings.

I have attached scans of the article - I hope they are readable.

 

[billmacfarlane]

The way they cram you in to the inner marina regardless of when you are leaving doesn't help either. They tend to make minimum effort to accommodate your wishes and are only interested in filling the marina. I haven't been for a few years but it was quite cynical the way they worked. I no longer visit the island, which is a pity as it is a lovely place, preferring to make my first port of call Cherbourg or Alderney, then sailing direct to Jersey. So I guess I'm one of the "falling numbers" and the above is my reasons why.

 

[snowleopard]

The queue for fuel is certainly one drawback. Another is the constant scream of mopeds up and down the front next to the marina that allow no peace till the small hours.

 

[Daydream believer]

I have been there several times & found the marina staff extremely accommodating regarding berthing etc
I have, however, witnessed some real pompous idiots in MB' objecting to others rafting against them.
I was at the end of a queue of 9 one day waiting for fuel. The wait would have been less if certain "dicks" were not demanding they be fuelled first or that they be fuelled whilst double parked.
The fuelling staff do their best but i agree it can be frustrating if wanting a tide. If i was in that situation i would come & fuel the day before if in the harbour for a while
You are right about poor internet access but i hardly think that would put me off going
Perhaps the scramble to get a berth could be handled better, the last one to arrive on the visitors pontoon gets admitted first. But if you explain to a harbour attendant that you are staying a while & want a pontoon they will oblige if possible

I would suggest that most harbours are down with numbers. I am currently in ostend with only 8 visitors
Boulogne was the same 6 weeks ago

 

[Daydream believer]

I have been there several times & found the marina staff extremely accommodating regarding berthing etc
I have, however, witnessed some real pompous idiots in MB' objecting to others rafting against them.
I was at the end of a queue of 9 one day waiting for fuel. The wait would have been less if certain "dicks" were not demanding they be fuelled first or that they be fuelled whilst double parked.
The fuelling staff do their best but i agree it can be frustrating if wanting a tide. If i was in that situation i would come & fuel the day before if in the harbour for a while
You are right about poor internet access but i hardly think that would put me off going
Perhaps the scramble to get a berth could be handled better, the last one to arrive on the visitors pontoon gets admitted first. But if you explain to a harbour attendant that you are staying a while & want a pontoon they will oblige if possible

I would suggest that most harbours are down with numbers. I am currently in ostend with only 8 visitors
Boulogne was the same 6 weeks ago

 

[oldbilbo]

There have been a couple of occasions when I've been mighty glad to get into St Peter Port marina, and out of the weather. There have also been occasions when I've been mighty glad to get out of it.... as above.

 

[guernseyman]

Daydream believer has a point in suggesting fuelling before you go. When cruising and I have a timetable I don't want to join a queue of indeterminate duration.. There is, of course, a second fuelling station in the QEII marina where we berthholders can fuel when the tide is down and all is quiet. Tip: above half-tide you can take the shortcut mid-way between the two beacons and the harbour and marina walls.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

You can also add the following to the list.

Lots of noise from the ferries, unless you go to the marina further north.
Staff that seem to want your money before you have finished tying up.
Too much rafting.
No harbour taxi.
No security for your tender if you do row ashore.
Not a lot of room for tenders.
Inconvenient location of offices and showers.

I love Guernsey, but I prefer to fly there.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Attached, my email to Sean Fuller, after reading the same article...

-----

I spent four nights (two lots of two) in St Peter Port recently, en route to Jersey and N Brittany. Happened to see your story on the front page of the local press. You asked for comments - here goes.

G promotes itself as a 24 hour harbour. It's not. If you have a deep keel there are many areas where you cannot go towards low water - especially at springs - and these are unmarked. Some additional bouyage - or better still - some serious dredging - would be good.

The Swan pontoons - surely not beyond the wit of Guernseymen to install shore power on them? Cherbourg does it on its waiting pontoon. The offer to run engines between 0800 and 1000 to recharge batteries is a joke.

The Swan pontoons - would it not be possible to link them with the shore? Even hand-operated rope ferries would do the trick. Obviating the need to haul an inflatable out of a locker, and inflate it to row ashore (then reversing the process before you leave) would be a great improvement and make SPP much more attractive as a port of call.

The visitors' marina. Max depth 1.8 metres? A joke. And why not dredge the marina and an entrance channel and install lock gates, making 24h access available?

We arrived on a Sunday, with an empty gas bottle. Inflated the dinghy, rowed it across to Boatworks, only to find it closed on Sunday afternoon. With sailing being - mainly - a weekend occupation, not to have fuel and gas available throughout the weekend is plain stupid. Incidentally, we went back on Monday morning and they had no stock of gas and couldn't suggest an alternative source of supply. Serious sense of humour failure by my wife, who likes her cup of tea in the morning. She has declared she is NEVER going back to G, except in a dire emergency.

We didn't need fuel, but if we had we couldn't have got any near low water. Why not have a floating fuel pontoon? Jersey does.

What's with the antediluvian customs procedure? It's the only place in Northern Europe I've sailed into where such form filling is necessary. Although maybe in Russia...

The showers may not be third world, but they sure aren't first. Cramped, scruffy, badly ventilated, unhygienic, too few and in the middle of a car park! The days of the spartan yachtsman who scrubbed himself off in the cockpit once a month with a bar of saltwater soap are over. People expect decent facilities. If they don't get them they go elsewhere. G's harbour commissioners should visit Chichester Marina, or Berthons in Lymington. Or even St Helier!

Havelet Bay. Why not install visitors moorings and extend the water taxi service to cover there? Better still, enclose it (God knows, you've got enough waterproof rocks lying around the place looking threatening) and make a deepwater marina.

Finally, what a money grabbing bunch! On our first visit we hadn't even got our lines sorted out before we were being asked for mooring fees. On our second visit, I was still tidying up the mainsail when the demand for payment arrived. Because we stayed an extra day (only because of a rotten weather forecast) we were hauled out of our bunks at 0830 by the ticket collector hammering on the hull. Almost everywhere else trusts the visitor to turn up at the harbour office and pay fees. To demand payment before you've even got out of your oilskins is not good, not welcoming.

This trip we visited five locations. SPP came a distant last.

 

[Seajet]

No service on a Sunday Afternoon! Shock Horror ! You might find the same in the UK.

Fuel pontoons publicise their times of opening and one is supposed to look up the almanac and plan around it; if that doesn't suit then tough - people on low pay are not meant to get up at dawn just to suit some yottie / mobo's convenient holiday schedule.

 

[Gwylan]

Have to speak up for Guernsey and the Marina crew. Always been professional and helpful, if a bit brusque in getting you installed.

Jersey is quite another matter with a free for all and staff who assign berths with little if any understanding of what boat might fit what space.

Diesel in Guernsey has never been a challenge either, fuel up on the way in, or not let it run that low. Only Alderney is even better.

We have always been well dealt with and helped where necessary.

More than can always be said for some of the clients.
There was the large Southerly that wrought havoc with their davits and then pretended that nothing had happened. Sadly the vandalised boat's owner had witnessed the event and remonstrated with the offending owner, who generally maintained a profound air of denial

And I recall the lady of well concealed charm and undoubted sophistication with a turn of phrase that left something to be desired. Her boat was infected with fenders. After being instructed by the mooring master to raft up alongside her on the waiting pontoon she launched into a tirade about where were my fing fenders.
When I remonstrated to the effect that mine were only blue and white and I did not have any fing fenders. Also I suggested that she already had more out than reasonably necessary and all that would happen is that the two sets would become entwined with messy consequences; she demonstrated the full breadth and depth of her grasp of profanities and their creative application that left me speechless.
It was clear that reason was not going to prevail and I've no doubt she graces some yacht club bar with tales of the pillock with no fenders who tried to raft up against her in Guernsey.

The Guernsey staff have a job to get boats in and out in a time window. Not all those arriving are that competent at manoeuvring their boats in the confines of the marina.
They could use some other colour rubber on the dories so the mark they leave when helping you into a confined space is bot murky black.

WiFi coverage had improved - well it was fine in 2013. Collecting a password and code for the facilities can involve and extended walk. The Harbour office could be moved or a satellite created for the marina.
The facilities on the Victoria pier are not up to the demands of a busy period.

Collecting the money the way they do might reflect the number of boats that 'do a runner'.

The outside pontoons are OK, but they are pontoons. I thought they were for larger boats that could not get into the marina.
I thought there was a water taxi of a sorts, just don't have the VHF on, or respond. Also they seem to employ Rupes & Jules to run them - maybe a professional or motivated boatman would make a better job of it.

So on balance a good experience and good value for money. Preferable for all sorts of reasons to St Helier in my opinion.

 

[Twister_Ken]

No service on a Sunday Afternoon! Shock Horror ! You might find the same in the UK.

Not on the fuel pontoons I know. And if its low water on a Sunday morning in Guernsey that means no fuel all day.

Other venues that are actually in the 21st century have unmanned automatic pumps available 24/7. Ain't technology wunnerful?

 

[starboard]

If you want to see the real Guernsey, quiet lanes and lovely beaches go to Beaucette. A gem of a place in a quaint quiet corner of Guernsey.

 

[Ehecatl]

Good ols Seajet, I was beginning to despair!

No service on a Sunday Afternoon! Shock Horror ! You might find the same in the UK.

Fuel pontoons publicise their times of opening and one is supposed to look up the almanac and plan around it; if that doesn't suit then tough - people on low pay are not meant to get up at dawn just to suit some yottie / mobo's convenient holiday schedule.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Preferable for all sorts of reasons to St Helier in my opinion.

St Helier:
• walk ashore whatever your draft unless you're seriously deep
• wander along and pay your fees when you want
• fuel 24/7 (except - I think - at lowest springs) from floating pontoon
• good showers and bogs and lots of them
• no very silly customs procedure
• and a better attitude

 

[jac]

No service on a Sunday Afternoon! Shock Horror ! You might find the same in the UK.

Fuel pontoons publicise their times of opening and one is supposed to look up the almanac and plan around it; if that doesn't suit then tough - people on low pay are not meant to get up at dawn just to suit some yottie / mobo's convenient holiday schedule.

Seajet

You miss the point.

Guernsey are saying they want to encourage more visitors by yacht and what are the barriers?
We as potential customers of Guernsey need to tell them what we want. How they choose to respond to that is up to them.

If they genuinely want to encourage more visitors it will cost them.
They may need to pay for better walk ashore, better wifi, paint, more customer service training for staff or more on staff wages to pay overtime to encourage people to work on fuel for extended hours. How they split the spend is up to them but it can all be fixed if they want to put hand in pocket.

 

[Garold]

Have to speak up for Guernsey and the Marina crew. Always been professional and helpful, if a bit brusque in getting you installed.

Jersey is quite another matter with a free for all and staff who assign berths with little if any understanding of what boat might fit what space.

Diesel in Guernsey has never been a challenge either, fuel up on the way in, or not let it run that low. Only Alderney is even better.

We have always been well dealt with and helped where necessary.

More than can always be said for some of the clients.
There was the large Southerly that wrought havoc with their davits and then pretended that nothing had happened. Sadly the vandalised boat's owner had witnessed the event and remonstrated with the offending owner, who generally maintained a profound air of denial

And I recall the lady of well concealed charm and undoubted sophistication with a turn of phrase that left something to be desired. Her boat was infected with fenders. After being instructed by the mooring master to raft up alongside her on the waiting pontoon she launched into a tirade about where were my fing fenders.
When I remonstrated to the effect that mine were only blue and white and I did not have any fing fenders. Also I suggested that she already had more out than reasonably necessary and all that would happen is that the two sets would become entwined with messy consequences; she demonstrated the full breadth and depth of her grasp of profanities and their creative application that left me speechless.
It was clear that reason was not going to prevail and I've no doubt she graces some yacht club bar with tales of the pillock with no fenders who tried to raft up against her in Guernsey.

The Guernsey staff have a job to get boats in and out in a time window. Not all those arriving are that competent at manoeuvring their boats in the confines of the marina.
They could use some other colour rubber on the dories so the mark they leave when helping you into a confined space is bot murky black.

WiFi coverage had improved - well it was fine in 2013. Collecting a password and code for the facilities can involve and extended walk. The Harbour office could be moved or a satellite created for the marina.
The facilities on the Victoria pier are not up to the demands of a busy period.

Collecting the money the way they do might reflect the number of boats that 'do a runner'.

The outside pontoons are OK, but they are pontoons. I thought they were for larger boats that could not get into the marina.
I thought there was a water taxi of a sorts, just don't have the VHF on, or respond. Also they seem to employ Rupes & Jules to run them - maybe a professional or motivated boatman would make a better job of it.

So on balance a good experience and good value for money. Preferable for all sorts of reasons to St Helier in my opinion.

I like St PP too. Just spent three days in the outer harbour. We used the water taxi because of the very low tide and the muddy dinghy dock on low tides.

Overall a pleasant stay.

Staff were all very chirpy, in spite of it getting pretty busy at times.

Once more, we've found other places quiet too. Braye Harbour had free buoys, and today in Salcombe we tied up straight away onto a very convenient empty buoy opposite the town.

I think St PP may just be suffering from the general decrease in leisure boaters out on the water.

However, upping their game on all fronts can only help to protect the business they have. It seems to have had very little improvement in the last 10-15 years.

Garold

 

[BabySharkDooDooDooDooDoo]

It was clear that reason was not going to prevail and I've no doubt she graces some yacht club bar with tales of the pillock with no fenders who tried to raft up against her

At the risk of a bit of thread drift, I would rather unimpressed if someone tried to raft off me with no fenders!

 

[Pete7]

I like St PP too. Garold

Us too although this was the first year we didn't visit in many. The marina is fine and an external antenna helps sort out the wifi. What is disturbing is the smell of sewage on the shore of Havelet Bay coming from drains in the town.

Pete

 

[prv]

At the risk of a bit of thread drift, I would rather unimpressed if someone tried to raft off me with no fenders!

Even if you already had lots rigged on your outside side?

It's best if only one boat has the fenders tied to it, at least during arrival. Otherwise, unless the new arrival crabs in across the tide, their forward motion is likely to have the fenders snarling up. So I wouldn't normally put fenders on my outside side, because the incoming boat is expected to have theirs. However, if for some reason I did have mine out, I'd nod sagely if I saw the oncoming boat pulling theirs back in (until they were securely tied up, then they can shove them in the gaps).

Pete