Planning Sailing Holidays in Jersey and Guernsey

Here are a few pointers to consider when planning your sailing holidays on the islands of Jersey and Guernsey for a safe and pleasant experience.

Tidal Streams

Trips like these, in colder Atlantic waters with channel tides that rise and fall precipitously, offer more of a sailing challenge because a tidal current or ‘stream’, can either work for or against the yacht and your sailing itinerary.

Tidal streams affect the bearing or heading your sailboat is on and how you manoeuvre especially in small inlets, coves, bays, and protected marinas. You may only be able to enter certain marinas when the tide level is high, for example. Or a low tide might catch your anchored boat unawares, leaving the keel in the sand.

The 3rd Highest Tidal Range Anywhere

The island of Jersey has the world’s third highest tidal range, with a difference between high and low tides of up to12 metres during spring tides. It’s a significantly higher tidal range than the southern coastlines of England and Cornwall which are on average 2-5 metres, making navigation timing in the Channel Islands all the more essential. The only more precipitous tidal ranges in the UK are in the Bristol Channel between England and Wales, reaching up to 15 metres in low to high tide variations.

Strong Winds and Tides

Furthermore, always check the prevailing wind conditions because the apparent wind speed depends on your point of sail, whether the yacht is tacking upwind at a close haul, running downwind or sailing out to a beam or broad reach. Strong winds on the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey can make harbour entries and exits tricky, especially because the tidal streams can also either oppose or support the direction your sailboat is heading.

For optimum safety, calculate the ebb and flow of the tide, the speed and direction of the wind, and the heading of the boat well before you attempt any port entries or anchoring and mooring in narrow coves, inlets, or ays.

Rocky Reefs

Rocky reefs will also be exposed at lower tides, and safely covered by deep water at high tides, making the Channel Islands precarious to navigate without good maps that mark out these danger areas, a depth sounder, and a GPS. Planning sailing holidays in the UK’s southern channels carefully makes the ultimate difference between a safe arrival and docking or an extremely hazardous one.

Guernsey harbour marina

 2 Intertidal Zones Give Jersey and Guernsey their Unique Beauty

The rocky formation of the coastal areas, broken by large open sandy bays and wetlands, and the geography of the sea bed around the islands cause exceptionally high tides and also generate strong currents – over 5 knots in speed during spring tides.

There are two intertidal zones on the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey. Intertidal zones are the shoreline (littoral) areas that are twice daily covered by rising waters – and then exposed to the air by rising and falling tides. Tidal streams never run uniformly but move faster in deep waters and slower in shallow areas.

Sailing boats travelling the coasts will experience two types of shorelines – each with its unique beauty and marine diversity – and particular tidal features.

Steep Cliffs, Promontories, and Inlets | Short Intertidal Range

The cliffs and high promontories of the islands form tight coves, inlets, and natural harbours. These are bounded by a deep sea as the seabed drops steeply off the rugged rocky coastline. Here there are relatively small intertidal areas, and the tides move rapidly in and out.

This formation gives rise to the gorgeous deep clear blue colour of the English Channel, set against the soft green headlands dotted with stone-walled cottages and towns. For example, sailing along the north and southwestern cliffs of Jersey and the southeastern coast of Guernsey.

Because the intertidal range is so low, the tides will appear to rise and drop suddenly – twice a day.