We waited for some weather to pass before heading to Sark on Monday 1st Aug. Wind on that day was very light, coming from the west which was ideal for a night on the far side of Sark which is only a short trip from the marina. We chatted to our neighbour boat who had visited the day before but returned due to the swell at night. This seems to be a common theme inIt’s this area….

At almost high tide all the waiting boats had found a berth and it was our opportunity to make a dash for it before we got stuck here for another night! We did want to get diesel, especially at this price, but several boats were waiting and it was difficult without the gear controls working correctly to maintain position, so we headed off to Sark.

At just over 10nm, its a short trip with few dangers. A south cardinal mark needs to be observed due to the rocks close by and on the far side of Sark, the recommended route to Derrible Bay is the route shown on the above Navionics snapshot. Sailors will knowledge of the area could take several routes here, but it was nice to see most of the island on the way across. 

When we arrived, we saw two moorings which we believe were for visitors and another Bavaria anchored in the bay. It is mainly sand here so w decided to drop the hook. Due to the large tidal range here, we anchored in about 9 meters of water and put a 5-1 scope down so this was almost all of our chain. After lunch, the tide had dropped enough for us to see the start of a beach and a route up the hill to take a walk on the island. We dropped the dinghy and went to the shore. 

The path is on the right of the picture above, and requires a scramble across the rocks before getting to the railings and the steps. It’s well worth the effort as the views on the way up over the bay are amazing. Once at the top you can pick which way you want to go and walk to the main street or take a different route across the island. We had a walk to the main street and it was a great experience. A series of small shops and places to eat, off a dirt track, no tarmac roads here or cars! We saw a couple of people taking a tour by horse and cart and a couple of tractors working and moving things around on the island. 

After a trip to ‘town’, we walked back towards the small harbour, walked along the top coastal path before coming back down to the beach to explore the caves. The caves were really interesting, how the sea has carved out a path here is something to be seen. After a swim, we made our way back to the boat. Several others were now in the bay with a couple of people swimming off the back, the water was still cold but refreshing. 

We had a pleasant evening on board, the swell returned for a couple of hours but did settle around 10pm which allowed us to sleep through till the morning. We didn’t manage to see any stars due to the cloud filling in. Sark is noted for its lack of light pollution and it’s possible to see the Milky Way from here on a clear night. We will have to come back!