Outdoor adventures operators and beach concessions have seen a spike in the number of people taking to the Island’s waters, while Jersey Heritage have been ‘inundated’ with membership requests.
Sean Kinsella, operations manager of Absolute Adventures, said: ‘As a summer it’s been really good. The weather has been great and there’s been lots of kayaking tours, coasteering tours, lots of people on staycations.
‘We’ve had people saying they can’t believe how beautiful Jersey is, so I think with the push for people to get outdoors and get in the sunshine, people are now starting to realise this.’
Jasper Jones, a surfing instructor at the Splash Surf Centre, said that this summer had been the busiest season he had experienced in the past three years.
‘There’s been people booking in constantly,’ he said. ‘It’s been pretty busy, with a good mix of first-timers and people just wanting to improve, so yeah it’s been good.’
Jake Elms, lead lifeguard supervisor in Jersey, said:
‘It’s definitely been a busier year than usual on our lifeguarded beaches. Throughout the season we’ve seen high numbers of beachgoers, with many choosing not to go away for their holidays this year. We’ve certainly seen a rise in the popularity of activities like surfing and paddleboarding this summer too.
‘The majority of our rescues here are to surfers, bodyboarders and swimmers in rip current-related incidents. Remember, if you’re caught in a rip to keep hold of your flotation device if you have one. If you can stand, then wade into shore. If not, swim parallel to the shore to get out of the rip. If you see someone in trouble at the coast call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.’
Roger Le Maistre, director at the Valley Adventure Centre, said that although numbers were still down there had been a ‘bounce in August’ that also saw an increase in tourists exploring what the Island had to offer.
‘We’re still less than half of what we would normally have done this summer, although things did pick up in August, with a great mix of locals and tourists,’ he said. ‘We’ve had tourists that wouldn’t normally have come here who have been blown away – their holiday plans have changed and they’ve decided to visit Jersey – we had one tourist who said he couldn’t believe the history that we have here.’
He added that Islanders had shown more of a ‘will to do outdoor activities’.
Over the bank holiday weekend, rescue teams carried out two major search operations at sea. The Jersey Lifeboat Association and the RNLI launched their all-weather vessels after the crew of the Condor Rapide spotted a capsized yacht near the Minquiers reef while returning from St Malo. The Channel Islands Air Search plane and a French military helicopter were called into action but no one was on board the vessel or in the immediate area, and the operation was called off about two hours later.
And the Coastguard was called out again following reports of an empty kayak drifting near the Demie des Pas lighthouse off Jersey’s south coast, although this proved to be a false alarm.
Despite a reduced number of visitors this summer, it would also appear that Islanders are showing an interest in the Island’s historical sites. Ad-hoc guardian for Jersey Heritage, Matthieu Falle, said there had been an increase in membership requests. ‘We were only really getting members in at first,’ he said. ‘Visitor numbers improved slightly when the borders reopened, but we’ve mainly been inundated with membership requests. It’s to do with staycations – people are looking for different things to do locally and it’s great for children as lots of the sites have outdoor areas.’
