June was a busy month for R12 and the highlight for us was our trip to Jersey with 18 other members. We arrived at the Poole terminal early on 29th May with many of us staying the night before in the area, and after a somewhat choppy journey arrived at Jersey early afternoon. Scenic Car Tours had booked us in at The Merton Hotel in St Helier on a half-board buffet basis, and the food was exceptional – our diets went out of the window when we saw the dessert selection!
We had informed Goetz and Fiona, the Regional Organisers on Jersey, of our arrival and they invited us to join them in a cavalcade of Porsches along the seafront Thursday evening followed by dinner at The Radisson Hotel. We met up and drove in convoy to the starting point which took a fair bit of organising but worked very well. As the top speed on Jersey is 40mph we expected a sedate drive, but we couldn’t have been more wrong!
We were allowed to do three laps before being ushered off the circuit with huge grins on our faces before parking up at The Radisson. Our thanks to Goetz, Fiona and members of the Jersey Porsche Club for making us so welcome and giving us a night to remember!
The fun carried on the next evening with a “Moonlight Sprint” along the seafront and several of us decided to walk down and watch the action, with cars of all descriptions and motorbikes competing against the clock and each other in front of a large enthusiastic crowd.
Saturday dawned and we enjoyed the hottest day of the holiday with temps reaching 28 degrees. The Car Show which took place Saturday and Sunday was spread over two Parks on the Seafront and Kieran and Bob from Scenic Tours were on hand to park us in our allocated parking space. With some fabulous cars, trade stands, live music and activities going on, including buggy racing on the beach and hill climbs, plenty for us to enjoy.
The Organisation was first class, and we spent some time in the shade chatting to Goetz and Chris Sweeting from the Clubhouse who was helping out and recruiting new members. The remainder of the holiday was spent sightseeing which included a visit to the Jersey War Tunnels which told the story of the German Occupation, and the famous Durrell Zoo where we met some very entertaining Orangutans! We also drove down some very narrow lanes to find beautiful beaches and bays with restaurants serving fabulous seafood and generally just chilling out.
You can enjoy more photos with our gallery using the link below:
2019 Jersey International Motoring Festival Gallery