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'Guernsey-Portsmouth-Jersey ferry detour cost us £20k'

Charlotte Cox
BBC News, South West
BBC Joel Hatton, circus manager, faces the camera wearing a blue and gold circus jacket with buttons across the front. He looks serious but with a slightly wry smile. BBC
Joel Hatton says they lost time and money due to the lack of services

A circus boss whose company had to travel from Guernsey to Jersey via Portsmouth due to a "lack of ferry services" between the two Channel Islands said the detour cost £20,000 in lost time and accommodation.

Joel Hatton, manager and ringmaster of Gandey's Circus, said a gap in inter-island freight ferry travel meant they had no choice but to travel the extra 380km (230 miles) by sea.

It comes after the islands' governments chose different firms to operate services to the UK and France for the next 15 years, leading to fewer large inter-island vessels.

Authorities said previously they had been approached by a group, FerryBridge, offering to run vehicle and freight services between the islands.

The BBC has asked the governments of Jersey and Guernsey for comment.

Set against a blue sky is a red and white striped big top with three trailers branded with Gandey's parked in front.
Gandey's Circus lost a day in travel time, its manager says

Mr Hatton said in previous years, the circus had been able to perform in Guernsey before travelling directly to Jersey by ferry on the same day.

But he said they were "surprised" to discover a reduction in scheduled services this year.

So, having dismantled the big top on Monday, he said they then left Guernsey at 4:00 BST on Tuesday, before arriving into Jersey via Portsmouth at 07:00 on Wednesday.

It meant waiting in Portsmouth for five hours, he said, before loading all their equipment back onto freight ferries.

Due to time lost, they had to immediately start constructing the big top on their arrival into Jersey: "We were very tight on time due to losing a whole day travelling and being sat waiting in Portsmouth."

'Really set us back'

Although Mr Hatton said the ferries themselves were affordable, the cost of two nights' accommodation for staff who were unable to set-up on site set them back.

It also meant they lost a day of shows, he said - another financial blow.

"The day of sales of shows and the loss of hotel costs for two days really set us back on our little Channel Islands stint of our tour this year," he added.

"We love coming here, we'll always try and make it possible.

"I don't think we'll stop coming here. We'll just have to do things a bit differently and counter some of the extra costs."

However, he added: "We'd rather see a new inter-island freight ferry reinstalled with more sailing times.

"Our schedule is tight, so the more flexibility the better."

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