Sea Cloud II

A slow sail or motor from Honfleur overnight brought the Sea Cloud II to St Peter Port. She sailed down the Big Russel between Herm and Sark before turning towards the Lower Heads buoy to pick up the pilot.

A strong north easterly wind was blowing mid morning as the Sea Cloud II anchored  off the harbour. The Herm Trident was full as she sailed past bound for Herm, a 20 minute ride away. Although looking like a 1930s sailing vessel Sea Cloud II only entered service in 2001. With a capacity of 94 guests this is a rather exclusive liner, for this cruise on charter to Noble Caledonian.

The guests on board waiting for their departure had plenty of ferry traffic to contend with including inter island ferries as well as the Commodore Clipper arriving from Portsmouth.

With a small capacity there are no long queues for tenders and within 30 minutes of the last guests boarding Sea Cloud II sailed. Her next port is St Malo, where she should arrive late tonight.

MSC Opera

The sun shone at the start of the weekend as all the commuters were going home, with St Peter Port Harbour bathed in sunshine and looking rather busy. With the MSC Opera at anchor, the Commodore Clipper is about to leave for Jersey, the Herm Trident is taking some lucky visitors to Herm and the French vedette, Granville, is also in the harbour.

The breakwater leading to Castle Cornet is overshadowed by the MSC Opera as the last tenders make their way back to the liner. She is bound to the Mediterranean when she leaves Guernsey before returning at the end of the month on her northbound journey.

Prinsendam

The Prinsendam was in this morning on another glorious summer's day. The tenders had company this morning on No. 1 Berth as  yesterday afternoon the Commodore Clipper touched the sea bed in the Little Russel. It left early this evening  for Falmouth for a hull inspection.

On Spring tides low water this afternoon showed how the seas around the Channel Islands look treacherous in even the calmest weather.

The liner left in the late afternoon for the Isles of Scilly to continue her Celtic Explorer cruise which began in Ijmuiden two days ago. After visiting ports on the Irish Sea she will return to Ijmuiden via Fowey and Cherbourg. Her guests made the most of the sun on her departure and stayed on deck to get their final photos.