Sunrise over Jersey

The day started as early as 03:30 when we were roused from our sleep, and it was time to get ready for watch. Well on deck we were told we would arrive sometime in the late morning around 9 and be guided and welcomed into port by a pilot around 8. And what a welcoming it would turn out to be.

Having watch at 4-8 still feels a bit odd, since we rotated from having watch at 12-4, and we now wake up around the time we used to go to bed. Nonetheless we all crawled out of our bunks and out into the surprisingly warm april night. Once our eyes had adjusted to the darkness a multitude of lights appeared around us from other ships and from the little island looming in the distance.

The previous day we had doused almost all sails since we had sailed far to well and fast and had to wait for a place to dock, which I thought was a bit ironic. Now we had even hove to in wating and were barely moving at all.

Then just as the dawn light started breaking up the night, the vague contours of the island appeared on the horizon. We got word that we could start making our way into the harbour. This meant lots of hauling the lines since we had to brace the yards to take down sail and start motoring in to port.

Just about an hour later the sun started rising over the ever growing island in a fantastic display of colours: The first burning red and then glowing orange sun, the pink sky and and deep blue water. Meanwhile, the lookout was running back and forth to the helmsman to report bouys and boats as we neared port. A small fishing boat passed us on its way out to sea and waved to us cheerfully, and we waved back.

We were now getting ready to moor, which meant readying lots of mooring lines and fenders, but before we were finished or could reached port our watch ended and we all needed a short nap.

I was awoken again some time later by the sudden growl of the bow thruster as we reversed into the harbour. I went up on deck and was met by the picturesque town of Saint Hellier, with colorful houses, green hills and the port itself, which is very different from your everyday harbour since Jersey has the second highest tidal range in the world of almost 12 metres. We were welcomed by a small crowd on the pier which watched us curiosly and one guy snapped some photos of the ship as we approached the dock.

While we are here in Jersey we have a so called ”open ship”, wich means visitors can come aboard for free and tour the ship, and I think its fun that people show intrest in what we do and our ship.

Today we also left the ship with a large group and tried the soft ice cream made from the famed jersey milk, which was very rich in taste. Then we went to the beach and played some rugby, but we did not swim since the water was super cold. Instead, we went for a run along the beach, which I can feel in my legs quite a lot while I’m writing this afterwards.

Overall it has been a delightful day. The people here and the whole island seems lovely. I really look forward to seeing more of it and would love to come back some time.

Erik Brännman, Portside