Volunteers to 'drive' between islands for charity

Volunteers from Guernsey's marine ambulance are hoping to 'drive' a car across the ocean from St Peter Port to Herm in order to raise funds.

The Ambulance and Rescue service said it was preparing a car to "make it seaworthy" for its challenge and that it was a repeat of a similar challenge it completed in 1993.

Volunteer operations manager and former coxswain Gary Ward took part in the first event which took him and volunteer Paul Phillips about two hours to get to Sark in a trip he described as "quite pleasant".

Ward said as the Flying Christine III was currently undergoing an essential mechanical overhaul it was a good opportunity to re-enact the experience to raise money.

He said: "We marinised a car and sailed it from Guernsey to Sark raising several thousands of pounds.

"When we got to Sark, the Sark folk were extremely generous and they towed us around the island behind a tractor.

"At the time, the new marine ambulance Flying Christine III was being built and funds were very short, so we wanted to do our bit and raise the profile."

Ward said more than three decades on, the charity was "in a similar position where funds are much needed".

Phillips, volunteer engineer for the Flying Christine III, said although at the time of the last sailing he had felt "a bit apprehensive" it was overall "a great feeling".

The service said it would be launching its fundraising initiative at the Seafront Sunday event.

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.