La Corbière, a place of quiet beauty on a good day. A ship killer on a bad one.

We’ve seen this awe inspiring headland from the sea many times in all weathers but for once we were looking out from the land on a calm sunny day. This is La Corbière a name that garners respect amongst sea faring folk. The waves are born off New York, they have over 3000 miles to gain momentum, then they are pushed up from the continental shelf and given a final shove by the huge tides. 2 days ago we sailed by here and were ahead of schedule so I reduced sail to give the boat steering way only - around 2-3 knots but the GPS still read 9-10 knots so 7 knots of tide. Even on a calm day like this it looks benign but the rips will put you on the rocks strewn everywhere if you don’t stay focussed, ship wrecks abound but the sea soon reclaims the wreckage and sadly, the victims. Today though we finished our walk over the south coast from St Helier to La Corbière and I’m reminded of nothing more than The Beauty and The Beast. The beauty is provided by the landscape carpeted in flowers, Sea Figs, Wild Garlic, Gorse and Heather. The elegant Lighthouse though is contrasted by the shadow of ugly concrete bunkers and gun emplacements built by slave laborers many of whom died here of starvation and disease. The Nazi occupation is still part of the psyche of these Islands. The square in town is Liberty Square, even the bus service is called Liberty Bus and the unyielding concrete reminders of those dark times are everywhere.

But on a glorious day like this Beauty wins hands down.