December Days

The last few months seem to have been mainly occupied with courses so it was a real pleasure at the weekend to just get out on the water for a paddle.  The wind, which had been such a significant feature of the last few weeks had died down to a southerly force 4 so Bonne Nuit on the north of the island was the chosen venue.

We headed east, hoping to find some interesting water off Belle Hougue, but we were a bit late to have any real fun so we carried on to small bay underneath the Club's cottage at Egypt.  A small part of the island with a rich history.  After a paddling a bit further into Bouley Bay it was time to head back. west

 Steff, Janet and Jim underneath the Canoe Club cottage at Egypt.  I wrote about the history of this area in an earlier post.

 Returning west.  The main headland is Belle Hougue, the tallest headland in Jersey.  In the distance is Ronez, the site of a large quarry, where chough's bred in Jersey for the first time in 100 years this summer.

 Rachel and Dean paddling around Belle Hougue.  It was one of those winter days when the light seemed particularly flat.

 Close to Wolf's Caves there was a pretty spectacular blow hole,  Angus was the first to paddle in close but John caught the larger swells.

 My last photo of the day.  There was no cleaning the lens after the soaking it received from this amount of spray.

Another Bonne Nuit Sunday ( Remembrance Sunday)

It seems as if we have launched from Bonne Nuit fairly regularly over the last couple on months, which is not a problem as it is always enjoyable.  On reflection we have headed west every time, again not an issue as there is plenty of entertaining paddling along that stretch of coast.  Today though as is the tradition on Remembrance Day we headed east to land in front of the Jersey Canoe Club cottage at Egypt.

Although we were there to observe two minutes silence we still experienced a surprisingly varied paddle and only covered a total distance of 4 nautical miles.

 Bonne Nuit harbour was the departure point.  The pier was built in 1872 and today provides shelter to a number of local craft.  It is the finishing point for the annual Sark to Jersey Rowing race.

 From further away the harbour its location under the highest land on the Island is apparent.

Nicky passing just to east of La Crete Fort it was built in 1834 for the magnificent sum of £971.  Today it is available for rent from Jersey Heritage.  It sleeps 4 adults and a child under 11, when it was built it provided accommodation for 1 officer and 30 other ranks.

Belle Hougue is one of my favourite headlands and the waves which form seem just right for sea kayak surfing.  Today we had missed the best of the spring tide but still spent an enjoyable 20 minutes playing in the tidal race.

We landed on the small pebble beach in front of Egypt.  There is an interesting history in this area, which has been described elsewhere but today we were coming to pay our respects on Remembrance Sunday.

The 17 members of Jersey Canoe Club paid their respects in front of the monument which, commemorates Operation Hardtack, an allied landing into occupied Jersey at Christmas in 1943.

This nearby bench is inscribed "In appreciation of past and present members of the Special Boat Service"

 We did take time to explore the cottage at Egypt, which is looked after by the Canoe Club and is available to hire by its members.  It is just a great place to wake up and have breakfast, sitting in the warm summer sunshine.

On the way back to Bonne Nuit we did practice rescues in what was left of the moving water off Belle Hougue.  No photographic evidence though as I was busy swimming.  The water was surprisingly warm, despite it being the second week of November.

Rainy Rozel

The easiest thing to do this morning would have been to turn the alarm off and roll over, as the rain hammered down on the conservatory roof and the trees swayed in the south westerly force 6.  Fortunately I resisted the temptation and headed east towards Rozel.

This small bay is located on the north east of the Island and is potential departure point for trips to the Ecrehous but today the paddling agenda involved a trip along the coast, to the west.  Conditions were not ideal photography and I ended up deleting more than twice as many as I kept but they give a flavour of sea kayaking off the north east coast of Jersey on a rainy Sunday morning in November.

A rather grey start to the day on the beach at Rozel. 

Approaching Bouley Bay.

L'Etacquerel Fort didn't look particularly appealing on this November Sunday morning.  Built in 1835-6 to defend the eastern side of Bouley Bay, it is available for rent for accommodation.

 Approaching the Jersey Canoe Club cottage at Egypt.  It was areal surprise to see how much the trees had grown.  The small building used to be clearly visible from the sea.  Probably time for some gardening.

 We have been fortunate over the last couple of months to have a number of Tiderace sea kayaks on the Island, for people to try out, thanks to Paul at Seaborne.  Chester from Absolute Adventures is trying out the Xcite-S.

 This is a really poor photograph but I have put it in as it represents one of the highlights of the day.  At the top of the photograph there is a small fin, which is all that I managed to capture of a sunfish which swam through the group.  In 45 years of messing about on the sea this is only the third sunfish that I have seen.

 Entering the harbour at Rozel, the small pier was built in 1829 to provide shelter for those boats engaged in the oyster fishing industry, which could not be accommodated in Gorey.  As if ordered the rain ceased and the sun came out so that it was very pleasant getting changed and a dry walk to the Rozel Bay Hotel for a welcome pint.

Egypt is not only in Africa

On the north coast of Jersey, is a small cottage known as Wolf's Lair, which is maintained by the Jersey Canoe Club.  It is located at Le Petit Port, a small rocky cove between Vicard Point and Belle Hougue.  The cottage is located in the trees just above the small cliffs and it must be the most isolated building in Jersey. Although there is a good path running down from the cliff top, the easiest access, particularly if carrying equipment is by kayak.
On a warm summers morning there can be few finer places in the Channel Islands where to eat breakfast prior to starting a days paddling. 
Although the built in the early part of the 19th Century it was in the 20th Century that the most interesting events have taken place in its vicinity.  During the Second World War it was the site of a landing by Allied troops on the night of 25th/26th December 1943.  Operation Hardtack was led by Captain Phillip Ayton. Without seeing any Germans during their brief visit the leader was seriously injured when he trod on a mine and he was to later die from his wounds.  A plaque commemorating the landing has been placed close to the entrance to the cottage.  
The second dramatic event occurred in October 1964.  The Jersey based motor yacht, Maricelia, left St Malo for St Helier.  She was caught in storm force winds with a gust of over 90 knots in Jersey.  In terrible conditions, near to Corbiere, the crew were thrown into the water, only Alison Mitchell survived.  She was carried by the tidal streams and washed ashore in this little bay after nearly 20 hours in the water.  She then managed to struggle up to Lower Egypt Farm, an incredible feat of endurance, from where the alarm was raised.
Today's visitors should have a much calmer experience in this quiet corner of Jersey, which has a special place in local sea kayaking.

Approaching Belle Hougue on an overcast winters day.  The cottage is just visible in the trees above the head of the paddler in the blue and white kayak.  Generally sheltered from the worst of the winter storms we paddle in this area fairly regularly during the shorter days between November and February.

Seen from the cliffs to the east.  The cottage is perfectly located to catch the early morning sunshine.  There is an easy landing place but it is hidden by vegetation in this photograph.

This memorial has appeared close to the cottage and on most Armistice Days members of the Jersey Canoe Club paddle here to observe two minutes silence.

Another arrival in recent years is this bench which overlooks the memorial.  The inscriptions says "In appreciation of past and present members of the Special Boat Service".

When sea kayaking in this area of the north coast of Jersey it is important to be aware of the historical significance of this little corner of the Island.