03/01/2012 BBC Channel Islands News

Good evening, welcome to BBC Channel Islands. Coming up: From

the box to the booking line, is this 2D at reviving tourism's

fortunes? Plus cleaning up and counting the

cost, thousands of pounds are spent clearing oil that is still there.

And we really at the highs and lows, the medals and promotions, looking

back at a year in Channel Islands Jersey's tourism website had its

biggest ever day yesterday. 10,000 more potential holidaymakers

visited the website than on the same day last year. It has raised

hopes 2012 could be a good year for tourism. But will those clicks be

converted into visitors? Today's weather may not show Jersey of in

its best light, but hopes of getting more visitors this year are

being pinned on days. It is the new advert by Jersey Tourism. It was

launched on Boxing Day and features locals like Nerina Pallot, Arthur

Lamy and Nick Romeril and it seems to have done the trick. Yesterday

compared to last year we had 14,000 visits to the website compared to

just 4000 last year. Simon Le Huray is in charge of marketing, but can

he convert that interest into cash- spending tourists? We will be

working very closely with the tour operators and we will be working

with the hotel accommodation providers to make sure they have

got as best visibility they can to convert those who are looking into

booking and coming. One of those hoteliers is Steve Clipp.

advert is 30 seconds and they have done a wonderful job, but we have

still got to get the message out there about the quality and the

value we can offer. Whether we are doing that on that is a matter of

debate. Some welcome and positive news, certainly for the bosses in

the building behind me. They will be working to ensure the interest

generated from the advert converts into people coming over to the

island and spending their money in 2012.

Clearing mud from St Ogden's harbour will cost Jersey �300,000.

A mound will be removed in March, followed by dredging in September.

The boats will be moved during the work which is being paid for out of

the harbour's department Trading Fund. It is 10 years since we last

dredged the harbour. It causes problems for the boat owners to

access their boat. Meanwhile, work starts tomorrow on the first stage

of Guernsey's airport runway redevelopment. This junction at

Route de la Tourelle is being realigned. It should be completed

by the end of the month. Work within the airport boundary is

expected to begin in March. There will be a little bit of disruption,

Route de la Tourelle will be closed for about three weeks. Long term it

improves quite dramatically that junction area. We have had feedback

from members of the public during the consultation process and they

were expressing concerns about the way the junction currently works.

It is unclear how much it will cost to completely clean up an oil-

filled quarry in Guernsey. Last year, �30,000 was spent trying and

whilst it has made a big difference, the problem remains.

It is thick, smelly and pretty disgusting and it came from a ship.

The Torey Canyon oil tanker struck a reef off the Isles of Scilly in

1967. More than 30 million gallons of oil poured into the sea, some of

it ending up in Guernsey. At that time the decision was taken to

store it at this quarry, but 40 years on it is still causing

problems, although this is nothing compared to a couple of years ago

when the authorities started using special bacteria. It has been

successful and if you look at the quarry there is not much or left on

the surface, but what is there is very thick. We would have liked all

the oil to be removed, but we are at the mercy of the micro organisms

and they will eat the or at their own speed. We would like to see it

all gone. We have now got a manageable amount that we can

mechanically removed by hand, using buckets, and then it will go off in

tankers to be recycled. But with no idea of how much oil remains hidden

beneath the water it is impossible to predict how much it will cost to

keep the quarry clear or how long it will take.

You are watching the BBC and the Channel Islands. Later in Spotlight

we meet the man who is determined to become a Chelsea pensioner.

A New Year brings new challenges for the Channel Islands' elite

sportsmen and women. 2011 saw Jersey rugby club and Guernsey

football club enter English leagues. 2012 has a lot to live up to. Tim

Pryor looks back on some of last year's highlights.

Guernsey's first big winner of 2011 was Alison Merrien, becoming world

indoor bowls champion in January. The gee-gees brought Jersey's first

big win when Balla Briggs won the Grand National in April.

In football and in May the inter- insular clash, the Muratti Vase,

was reclaimed by Jersey in a dramatic penalty shoot-out, but

only after a lacklustre match, leaving the balls and Happy and

demanding more of sanding. performance was quite shacking. --

shocking. They have to get things together and do ex-professional a.

The big football story was Guernsey St being officially accepted into

the English league. They are playing in Division One of the

Combined Counties League and begin this year the top of the table.

It is a fantastic opportunity for the current players in the Guernsey

team, and also the guys who are trying to get into the squad. It

gives us an opportunity of a number of games to play week-in and week-

out. Promotion could be theirs in 2012. Promotion is what Jersey

rugby club will be chasing as well. They moved up to National League

One at the end of May by beating Loughborough students 30-5. Jersey

is going up! They are off to a flying start this season, currently

second in the league. Another promotion would take them into the

championships. We do not fear anybody in this league. We have

played every side. On our day we can beat anybody in this league and

in any given conditions will stop we have to have a bit of luck with

injury and referee decisions, but we feel as though we are in control

of our destiny. In June we are all going on a summer holiday to the

Isle of Wight for the Island Games. Guernsey topped the medals table

with an incredible 41 golds. Jersey got 21, zag got one gold and one

bronze, but ordinary left empty handed. All eyes are now on Bermuda

2013. Here are some of our Everyone has really enjoyed it, we

have had some magnificent performances with lots of records

broken. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. And what of the Channel

Islands' international sporting superstars? In October Matt Banahan

played in three of England's rugby matches in the World Cup in New

Zealand. He is hoping to make the squad next month for the Six

Nations. Its Jenson Button Dennis second in

the Formula One rankings and he will be chasing the top spot next

season. Our big tennis hope, Heather Watson

of Guernsey, broke into the top 100 women players in the world. Playing

in the seniors competition has been a challenge, but she is young and

determined, so watch out 2012. Rest assured BBC Channel Islands

will be there every step of the way bringing you all of our sporting

achievements in 2012. Strong winds and rough seeds -- sees it minute

high-speed ferry services to the UK and France have been cancelled for

the next 24 hours. Condor's slower ferry is still running to and from

Portsmouth and passengers will be rebooked on to the Commodore

clipper. You can hear the latest on any travel disruption on the radio.

Let's see what else the weather has After that very wild weather we

have seen today it is a little quieter overnight tonight. Still

areas of one or two showers, but the strong wind is moving away from

us. There will still be some showers over the next couple of

days. A brisk westerly wind giving some quite strong gusts of wind and

there will be a few showers. By the time we get into Thursday we will

have had some white weather overnight, although Thursday itself

is mainly dry. Those wins that will drop overnight tonight. Also colder

air follows the rain. As low as eight degrees tonight and the winds

from the north-west will remain strong. Tomorrow morning it is a

bright start, then it clouds over in the afternoon. By the end of the

day it is thick enough for showers. Westerly winds back will be strong

to near gale force at times. They made up first thing in the morning

and pick up again during the day. The residual strength of wind will

keep the waves sizable over the next few days. They could be up to

eight feet and rather choppy. This is the forecast enter the weekend.

Friday is mainly dry, less windy, but temperatures of a similar

figure. On Saturday there is some sunshine, but also the risk of a