Harbour Master David Barker said that it always involves a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure everything is ready for the first visitors of the season.

Pictured: The visitor marina may soon be as busy as the local marina. 

“We are ready for Easter, and with the forecast for excellent weather over the Bank Holiday weekend we are likely to see a lot of local boat owners taking to the water and visiting boats taking an early opportunity to visit our islands . Then next week we have the first visiting cruise ship, which is due to arrive on 12 April with 1,400 passengers,” said Mr Barker.

“We have had a large number of requests to host sailing regattas and rallies, including the return of Morlaix Race on the 18 and 19 May, followed by Savills Inter Island Yacht Race on 24 June. Then there will be the Tour des Ports de la Manche, with potentially more than 100 visiting yachts arriving on 11 July.

“On the cruise front, we currently have 76 ships due to visit between now and the end of October. Although early bookings are down a little on last year, we are still seeing enquiries coming in, and with some fine weather we expect we will see lots of visitors coming ashore.

“Our staff have also been preparing for the 2023 Guernsey Natwest Island Games, which will see a number of events in and around the harbour. All in all, 2023 is shaping up to be a particularly busy year for Guernsey Ports.”

Pictured: Maintenance work has been carried out over the winter months to prepare for visiting boats.

Captain Barker said, as well as preparing for visitors, local mooring facilities have also been undergoing their customary winter maintenance ahead of the main boating months. That has included the ongoing upgrades to the pontoon fendering and cleaning of deck planking.

Guernsey Ports’ dive team has been carrying out inspections and replacement of the swing moorings in the Pool area within the harbour, and maintenance has been carried out on the local navigation buoys and beacons, which will be used by both visitors and local boatowners.

The walk ashore pontoons, which link the visitor Swan pontoons to the Crown Pier, were put back last week, having been taken down for the winter months.