In planning this trip I looked forward to spending a day in historical Portsmouth Harbor. The wharves feature a number of museums and attractions. However, for me there were but three items of interest and each was a battleship considered a creation of the “cutting edge” technology of its time. They were King Henry VIII’s 16th Century “Mary Rose”, Admiral Horatio Nelson’s 1805 flagship “Victory”, and Queen Victoria’s 1860 ironclad, the “Warrior”. It was remarkable to see the strides in defense and lethality that were made in the years separating each of these leviathans. It was just as remarkable that these vessels lay within a few hundred feet of each other.

First the Mary Rose:

She was launched from Portsmouth England in 1511 as a part of young King Henry VIII’s efforts to expand his navy and project his power across the oceans.

She carried up to 91 cannon and was manned by a combination of approximately 500 sailors and marines. It is estimated that her construction required over 600 large oak trees, the equivalent of a 40 acre forest. Some of these trees (such as those required for the masts) would be difficult if not impossible to secure today.

She was approximately 40 feet wide at the beam and her keel was over 100 feet long, although she was certainly much longer overall. The exact dimensions have been lost to history.

The Mary Rose would have been one of the earliest ships capable of attack by a cannon broadside. However her primary offense remained the tried and true technique of close, grapple, and board the enemy ship. Heavy reliance was still placed upon longbow archers firing from raised platforms at the ends of the ship. The English longbow archer was able to accurately fire up to 15 arrows a minute at the enemy from 200 yards!

In 1545 the Mary Rose sank in battle, not because of enemy action but because a gust of wind caught her sails immediately after she launched a broadside. The ship heeled over and the open gun ports allowed water to rush in. She sank within minutes, taking all but 35 of her crew to an unmarked watery grave.

In 1836 an early deep-sea diver was hired by fishermen to investigate a hazard that was snagging their nets. He uncovered the first signs of Mary Rose seen in nearly 300 years. She remained undisturbed for another 150 years before serious salvage efforts were undertaken in the 1970’s. That ocean salvage operation remains the most expensive and difficult ever undertaken.

Most of the Mary Rose was consumed by rot and sea creatures. However a significant portion of her hull, stores, and the remains of 179 of her crew were recovered. The excavation was so complete that even the bones of a rat and the ship’s dog were preserved and cataloged.

Forensic examinations determined all the crew were male, the youngest being age 10 and the oldest over 60. Facial reconstructions were accomplished of a number of the crew. Human remains, including a complete skeleton are displayed.

The main efforts to raise the ship occurred between 1979 and 1982, involving over 500 volunteers and over 22,000 dive hours. Even the Prince of Wales personally participated in dives on the wreck. Her preservation out of the water was to then take another 34 years. In all over 26,000 items have been secured, cataloged, and preserved. Dives continue to this day recovering more artifacts of the vessel. She is considered a national treasure and is on display in a high-tech environment that utilizes temperature and humidity controls and holographic imaging.

Significant to the experience, everything on display is an original artifact and not a replica.

Next, Nelson’s flagship, Victory. Until then…

Peace Everyone. Pete

Yesterday we took in the urban delights of Saint Helier. After breakfast today I set off on bus 4 for the remote north coast of Jersey Island. Christine chose to again “chill-out” in town. We were each rewarded in our own way… I will focus on my most remarkable day:

The north Jersey coast is verdant and rugged in a way that congers up memories of last year’s hike along Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher. Given a few days, one can easily walk the 45 mile circuit of this 45 square mile island. The Jersey features over a hundred miles of well marked and maintained footpaths.

Unfortunately, I only have the one day for a serious hike which is something that I hope to rectify in a future visit. I chose a portion of the coast that was represented to be both rugged and beautiful.

Starting out at Bonne Nuit Bay the well maintained trail makes a serpentine course east along the coast. A choice was soon presented; whether to take the upper or lower cliff path. I figured that what comes down must eventually go back up, and elected the lower (and more rugged) lower path.

Paradoxically, Bonne Nuit (“Good Night”) Bay derives its name from a local legend when on a night in the 6th Century, pirates destroyed a monastic community that was situated there.

The vistas were stunning! This was a day that featured an electric blue sky, and radiant sunlight that made the green foliage fairly explode before the eye. The path not only wound into and out of countless inlets, but up and down the precipitous cliff sides. Most of the time hobnail covered timbers were provided as steps on the steeper portions. This was nothing short of glorious!

In the distance I saw a fortification that I was soon to learn was the early 19th Century La Crête Fort. It has been modernized and is now maintained as an event space that is available for hire through Jersey Heritage.

A few more miles into my hike I came upon a monument to the tragedy of a failed Allied commando raid during the 2nd World War. An older gentleman, very fit and perhaps in his mid-80’s, stood before the stone and casually remarked to me, “Isn’t it a shame that they are allowing Phillip’s name to degrade like that?” I politely agreed as I noticed that the name of the honored dead was “P. Ayton”. I was left to wonder if the gentleman actually knew the deceased Captain. From some post hike research I learned that “Operation Hardtack” was a series of commando raids conducted by the Allies in the Channel Islands. These were intended to secure intelligence and German prisoners that might prove valuable in making plans for the eventual D-Day Invasion. Captain Ayton died of injuries caused by the explosion of an anti-personnel mine.

About 5 miles on I came to Bouley Bay and the welcome sight of toilet facilities and refreshments. Signs pointed the way to “Mad Mary’s”. Rounding the corner I found a series of tables just above the beach and a small trailer with signage that touted crab sandwiches. Inside was “Mad Mary” in the flesh! Mary Seaford is originally from Ireland and she has been a larger-than-life personality since her arrival in Jersey over 30 years ago. Her beachside cafe is a “must visit” for anyone who comes within 10 miles of Bouley Bay… in other words anyone who visits Jersey.

I was not disappointed. Her homemade crab sandwich and “millionaire shortbread” are to die for. The experience of meeting Mary is alone worth the visit!

Continuing I encountered an 18th Century Guardhouse,

and later I passed a curious formation of house sized rocks. I regret not taking a picture as I later learned that these were remnants of a thousands of years old neolithic fortification. The coast of France was visible in the distance.

My hike concluded by locating a roadway and bus stop. For the price of £2.30 a 50 minute bus ride brought me back to Saint Helier where Christine was waiting for me. We later enjoyed dinner at a wonderful Portuguese restaurant that was recommended to us by our hotel host, Rebecca.

I did not bring my serious Camino walking boots on this trip. I will have pleasant memories of this 9 mile walking day long after my less pleasant reminders have healed.

Peace Everyone! Pete

Dawn broke on our second day on Jersey Island with an unwelcome suprise.

I began receiving email notices of a series of small charges to our credit card from “Taxibeats” of London. Within a span of minutes 3 of these “Card Not Present” warnings had arrived. I was then on the telephone to our credit card issuer. Fraud! Some miscreants had started testing the waters on my card number. They did not have the card or supporting details of the account, but it was a virtual certainty that these small “test” charges were a precursor to a much larger spending spree.

Card Services locked our account but gave me a telephone number to call with a special code to temporarily enable the account for 15 minute periods when needed. This happened to us once before while traveling in Canada. We learned from that incident to always have backup cards handy. Imagine being 6,000 miles from home without the means to convienently finance the basics of food, shelter, and transportation.

Stress resolved, the rest of the day was much the traveler’s equivalent of “just breathing”. With a few exceptions one proceeds in an automatic and unconscious way. For me it is a sign that my thoughts are becoming more homeward centered.

(We just received a video call from Tom and Nanci who are currently in Italy. The 15 minutes of conversation and laughter were a real boost. The times that we spent with them on the Portuguese Camino, in Ottawa, and on the Narrowboat have forged a cherished friendship.)

The morning view from our window at the charming Hotel DeL’Etang is of a large 19th Century tidal swimming pool that was built in the 1800’s as the result of a tragedy that took the lives of two young boys.

We walked the streets of Saint Helier, the capital of Jersey. It is more modern and developed than Saint Peter Port in Guernsey, yet we understand that most of Jersey remains pristine with expanses of beach, natural cliffs, and woodlands. The island is also laced with miles of dedicated bicycle paths… something to consider for a longer future visit that would include travel to Normandy.

As with Guernsey, the harbor is dominated by a fortress from the Middle Ages that became a Nazi fortification during the Second World War.

Elizabeth Castle dates to the 1500’s. During the early 1600’s Sir Walter Raleigh was placed by Queen Elizabeth as its governor. This assignment (banishment?) may actually have been a punishment for marrying one of the Queen’s Ladies-in-Waiting without first securing the Queen’s permission.

The Castle is connected to land only 4 out of every 12 hours. The rest of the time the tide submerges the causeway. Unaware pedestrians risk drowning if caught by the rising tide. During the remaining 8 hours access to Castle Elizabeth is made via a 10 minute ride in an amphibious bus.

The site of the Castle has an earlier history dating to the Sixth Century when it was the home of the hermit Hellerius. His lofty hermitage allowed him to see approaching raiders and issue warnings to the residents living ashore.

His claim to sainthood derived from his efforts in the year 555 to tame and convert a band of the Viking pirates. Legend has it that they promptly beheaded him, but he just stooped down, picked up his head and then continued about his business by walking hundreds of feet back to Jersey Island. He was sainted, renamed Saint Helier, and a monastery was founded on the site of his former hermitage. It remains to this day a place of pilgrimage. Saint Helier is the patron of Jersey and the capitol city bears his name and symbol, two upturned crossed axes.

As with Guernsey, we continue to be amazed by the tidal range. I delight in taking low vs. high tide photos for the comparison.

Our hotel features a well regarded Greek restaurant. Unfortunately, it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Walking along the seawall we came upon a quirky but popular Thai restaurant, The “Dicq Shack”.

It is little more than a shack that has served great Thai food to beach customers since 1963. There is no inside dining. Instead one places an order and takes a seat at one of the colorful outside picnic tables where the food is served.

The only complications occur nearing high tide. Customers often find that they must hastily move their tables or risk being overtaken by the surge. Unusually high tides deny access to the restaurant, causing it to suspend operation until the waters recede an hour or so later. This place is a BYOB affair and the nearby mini-mart is happy to oblige with inexpensive wine and plastic glasses. This was fun, memorable, although a bit cold.

Enough for now, and of course…

Peace Everyone. Pete