Night paddling

Thursday evenings during the winter months are the regular pool sessions, apart from one week in March when it is the local Swimmarathon.  A huge community fund raising event so we normally have a week without midweek paddling but last nights forecast raised the possibility of a night paddle out from Belcroute Bay.
Belcroute is a perfect place for a night paddle, sheltered from the prevailing wind and swell and out of the strongest tidal streams, but with plenty to explore including St Aubin's Harbour a few hundred metres to the north.  There are also plenty of navigation markers in the vicinity if you wish to improve the accuracy of your bearings and timings.
We met at Belcroute at just before 7.00 pm and it was clear that the major issue was how we were going to launch.  The 11.8 metre tide meant that the sea was pretty close to the wall and there was the occasional larger swell.  In a plastic sea kayak launching down the slip was a distinct possibility, particularly with assistance.  Launching with a fibre glass kayak was an entirely different proposition, the best option for preserving kit appeared to be to throw the kayak into the sea, jump in after it, hopefully timing your entry into the water so that the retreating swell sucked you away from the slip and then perform a self rescue, all in the dark.  Although there was some initial reluctance regarding the assessment of the situation everybody managed to perform the task without any major drama.
Once afloat we had a delightful paddle around St Aubin's Fort, built during the English Civil War and extended in the 18th and 20th Century it now serves as an outdoor centre for the Education Department.  From there we headed across to St Aubin's Harbour, which thrived as Jersey fishermen returned from the fishing grounds off eastern Canada. The splendid merchants houses along the waterfront known as Cod houses.  A paddle around the harbour is always pleasant, particularly during the hours of darkness.
The return to Belcroute was simple and the landing at Belcroute was easier than anticipated as the tide had dropped slightly but it was still entertaining, having to time your arrival in the steep pebble beach with one of the smaller sets of waves, not always easy to achieve when you can't see what is coming.  A delightful way to spend a couple of hours on a mid-week evening in March.

Listening to Derek's briefing whilst contemplating the upcoming swim.

Plastic kayaks could be launched down the slip although timing was pretty important.

Ruth swimming for it with Alex ready to help.

St Brelade's Parish hall, in a previous life it was part of the railway station.

Heading back to the entrance.

 

On the outside of the harbour, passing the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club, as we head back towards Belcroute.

A kayak tour of Belcroute Bay

Belcroute always feels reasonably isolated although after a cliff fall in 1930 evidence was discovered which indicated that the area had been inhabited since the Iron Age.  Today it always feels a bit isolated although it is relatively close to St Aubins whilst the buildings of St Helier are clearly visible across the bay.

It has been used as a deep water anchorage for many hundreds of years, although it is relatively close to St Aubin, which from around 1700 was the main harbour on the Island. The wealth of the village was as a result of the trans Atlantic trade, particularly the cod fishing industry of Newfoundland.  The merchants in the area grew rich and built numerous substantial properties, which are known as cod houses.

Although parking is limited at Belcroute I have never had a problem finding somewhere to leave the car as it doesn't get particularly busy.  As an East facing beach it is well sheltered from the prevailing wind but the steep land behind the beach means that the sun is lost early in the day.  Access to the beach is via a short but relatively steep slipway, at high water the beach is pebbles but as the tide drops sand is exposed.

Belcroute was used as the quarantine anchorage and in 1721 the Esther with her captain Philippe Janvrin, returned to the Island from Nantes, where there was an outbreak of the plague.  On the second of anchoring in the bay Janvrin died, his body was not allowed to be brought ashore and so he was buried, by 3 of his crew, on a small island in Portelet Bay, Ile au Guerdain, whilst the burial service was read out from the coast overlooking the bay.

The tower in the middle of the bay is known as Janvrin's Tomb, although it is i fact a Martello Tower built in 1808.  There whereabouts on Janvrin's body is not known, although it has been said that it was removed to St Brelade's churchyard, there is no evidence of this.

With today's forecast Belcroute was the inevitable choice, and we weren't disappointed.

 Many of the slipways around the island were built in the 19th century, not necessarily for boat access but to allow horse and carts onto the beach to collect the seaweed which was used a fertilizer.  The edges of the granite blocks are offset so that horses hooves got a better grip.

 Steff heading out from Belcroute.  St Aubins Fort is visible behind.

 Into St Aubin's Harbour.  The white building directly above Pete's head is the Old Court House.  Now a pub and restaurant it featured in Bergerac in the 1980's.  It is thought that the building may have been used by the Privateers to divide the goods they had captured from the French.

 St Aubin's Harbour is one of the most photogenic on the Island.  The large building is St Brelade's Parish Hall, although it used to be the Railway Station.

 Tracey heading towards La Haule.  La Neuve Route is the road running along the seafront, which was built on reclaimed land in 1844, before then it was necessary to head up La Haule Hill and the come into St Aubin's Village via the High Street.

 St Aubin's Fort dates from the 1540's but its present appearance is probably from 1840, although the Germans enhanced the fortifications during the Second World War.

 There was some small surf coming into the bay so we had an enjoyable 30 minutes olaing in the waves.

 There was a bit of bright sunshine as we came past the Fort with the view enhanced by the hundreds of wading birds, particularly dunlin, in the area.

Daily Picture - 7

Beautiful morning, just after sunrise in St Aubins.  Building of the south pier of the harbour started in 1754, with the North Pier, where I was standing, being built in 1816.  It was the main harbour on the Island until St Helier harbour was built.  Today it is just a pleasant place to wander or to stop for a drink

Daily Picture - 5

I have lost count the number of times I have paddled past St Aubin's Fort over the last 45 years but this afternoon was the first time I remember walking around the base of the walls and piers.  Construction was started in 1542, it became a fort in 1643 and by the late 18th century there were 103 soldiers based at the fort.  Today it is used as outdoor activity centre by the Education, Sport and Culture.  What I found particularly interesting is how the rock of the Jersey Shale Formation is integrated in to the wall, with the  granite blocks roughly shaped to fit around the bedrock.

A good day for Brent Geese

Although Sunday morning is a regular time for kayaking the forecast for this Sunday was less than favourable.  Force 6 from the north accompanied by continuous rain was enough to put an end to any thoughts about paddling.

A meal out on Saturday evening resulted in the opportunity to help out with a co-ordinated count of the Brent Geese in Jersey.  These are always interesting had have been taking place for so long that it has been possible to build a reasonably accurate picture  of the status of the birds.

In just two locations yesterday there were 1340 birds present, which is really healthy total, it will be interesting to see the total figures when they are available.

For the latest news check out the Jersey Birds website.

18th December 2005    1280 ( this was the highest monthly count since 1989)
19th February 2006      1131
21st November 2007    1528
13th January 2008        1267
19th December 2009    1243
16th January 2010        1566
20th February 2011      1547
Can't find the data for 2012, if I can put my hands on it later I will update the blog
12th December 2013    1375

 St Aubin's Fort, Belcroute and the fields just inland drew a blank.  Not a goose in sight.

 Looking back towards La Haule, it was clear that there was a pretty good turn out.

 Not the best picture but the weather was awful and I was using my phone.

South Africa via St Aubin

Members of the Jersey Canoe Club have a tradition of entering some of the world's more challenging kayaking races such as the Devizes to Westminster, the Yukon Challenge and the Liffey Descent but next year for the first time 4 people are planning to enter the Dusi Canoe Marathon in South Africa.

My role was to spend a few hours paddling with the group and then make a recommendation as to whether I think that are competent to enter the race.  This seems to be a common way of ensuring that paddlers entering these races have the experience to do so.  I had to find somebody who was prepared to sign to say that I had enough experience to enter the Liffey Descent.  This was actually quite strange because I had signed the forms for previous races for a number of other paddlers but I still had to get mine signed.

We went out from St Brelade's heading towards to St Aubin's with the opportunity to play in the tidal race off Noirmont, for Steve it was a real moment of achievement as he performed his first roll in moving water after an accidental capsize.

For the last Saturday in October conditions were ideal, warm, light winds and beautiful sunshine.  They were conditions which were perfect for exploring this unique stretch of Jersey's coastline. Interesting water conditions set against an historical backdrop.

 The stretch of coast between Noirmont and Belcroute is unusual in Jersey because the trees approach the waters edge.  At times it could almost be the west coast of Canada as opposed to the west coast of St Aubin's Bay.

 Belcroute Bay, a delightful east facing bay which unfortunately looses the sun quite early.  This is 10.30 in October.  In the past there was a superb diving platform on the rocks just to the right of the photograph, obviously in the days before Health and Safety took off.

The plan was to circumnavigate St Aubin's Fort before heading back to St Brelade.  The fort is just visible to the right of the rocky point.

 St Aubin's is one the most beautiful villages on the island.  In the 17th and 18th centuries the Jersey fishing fleet, which worked on the cod banks off Newfoundland, over wintered here.  Many of the houses were built by the merchants and ships captains.  For the older readers one of the buildings, the Old Court House, achieved fame as the Royal Barge in the BBC series Bergerac.

 Work was started on St Aubin's Fort in 1542 and wasn't finished until the Second World War, as there are a number of German additions.  Today it is used as an activity centre by Education, Sport and Culture, although despite its great location for kayaking the main emphasis is on sailing.

 The main tower was extended during the English Civil War, it now provides the main accommodation block for visiting groups.

 The entrance to St Aubin's harbour is marked by the white mark on the end of the southern pier, work started on this in 1754 with the north pier added in 1816.  Up until the building of St Helier harbour this was the principal commercial port on the island.

Records Broken

On a day when record October temperatures were set, we managed to experience some of the finest kayaking Jersey has to offer.  Heading east from St Brelade's the granite cliffs looked stunning in the warm sunshine.  There was a constant stream of small, mainly fishing boats, making the most of what was possibly the last warm weekend of the year.

Lunch was on St Aubin's Fort before jumping on the last of the west going tide, to get an assisted ride back to St Brelade's.  Paddling doesn't get much more relaxing than this.

 Heading into Portlet, a beautiful bay on the south coast of the island.

 Heading west underneath Noirmont.  The German fortifications dominate the headland.  This is probably the key headland on the island for migrating birds in the autumn with significant numbers of birds and species logged here.

 Paddling past Portlet and the start of Pt Le Fret.  It is amazing that on an island where it is stated so openly that the coastline must be protected such a significant residential development has been allowed on the cliffs above Portlet.

 Heading back into St Brelade.  Above Rachel's head is La Cotte de St Brelade

The Journey to Work

The highest tide of the year provided a beautiful backdrop to the drive to work this morning. The high pressure prevented the water rising as far as predicted but it was still fairly spectacular. For those who have been to Jersey I hope that it stirs favourable memories and if you haven't remember we are just a short flight away.

Looking towards St Aubins harbour

Luckily there was no swell otherwise it would have breached the coastal defences, flooding the cycle path and nearby roads.

Looking across St Aubins Bay towards Elizabeth Castle, which dominates the entrance to St Helier harbour.

The water in St Helier harbour provides a perfect reflection.

The entrance to St Helier harbour. If it had been low pressure rather high it is possible that the water could have covered the piers. The island looked stunning in the spring sunshine but the size of the tide was the icing on the cake. Who could fail to have a good day at work after seeing scenes like these, though naturally I would rather have been on the water.