:00:13. > :00:22.Welcome to BBC Channel Islands. The headlines tonight: Raging storms
:00:22. > :00:24.leave ferry passengers stuck out at sea for hours. Very rocky. It was
:00:24. > :00:28.long enough to get her stomachs going.
:00:28. > :00:33.Also tonight. Too big for the bin, but your Christmas tree could help
:00:33. > :00:43.a good cause. And the choir that has helped
:00:43. > :01:00.
:01:00. > :01:03.Record waves, stranded ferry passengers and a cargo ship adrift.
:01:03. > :01:06.The Channel Islands have been battered by gale-force winds over
:01:06. > :01:09.the past 24 hours. Jersey's Met Office measured a 33-foot wave off
:01:09. > :01:12.the south coast of the island this morning. That is the height of a
:01:12. > :01:19.standard house. Meanwhile ferry passengers from Portsmouth had to
:01:19. > :01:26.endure a day at sea, after their ship could not dock in St Helier.
:01:26. > :01:31.The club arrived at 2:40pm this afternoon, after 25 hours at sea.
:01:31. > :01:35.She spent much of the day sailing up and down the east coast of
:01:35. > :01:45.Jersey, before arriving here. Passengers on board say their plea
:01:45. > :01:51.is to be back on dry land. -- they are please.
:01:52. > :01:56.Sticklepath nudges her way back to port, of the south coast of Jersey.
:01:56. > :02:05.She had been at sea for over a day, with 125 passengers and a dog on
:02:05. > :02:09.board. As she docked at Jersey's Elizabeth Harbour, the relief for
:02:09. > :02:16.passengers was clear to see. Very rocky and very long, but they were
:02:16. > :02:22.brilliant, so we can't complain. was rough. A lot of people went
:02:22. > :02:25.into cabins after Guernsey. I will do it again, and I am booked for
:02:25. > :02:28.next Christmas. The vessel left Portsmouth
:02:28. > :02:32.yesterday at midday, left Guernsey at midnight but did not eventually
:02:33. > :02:36.dock in St Helier until 2:30pm today. This map shows the track the
:02:36. > :02:44.ship was forced to take as it tried to ride out the storm in more
:02:44. > :02:52.sheltered waters. Making a -- making an approach into Jersey is
:02:52. > :02:56.difficult, so the decision was made after careful consideration.
:02:56. > :03:00.The staff are trying to turn the ship around, so she can continue to
:03:00. > :03:03.jerk -- Guernsey then on to Portsmouth. Passengers and bosses
:03:03. > :03:09.are hoping that there won't be a repeat performance of the past 25
:03:10. > :03:12.hours. Meanwhile there was more drama at
:03:12. > :03:15.sea, after a ship carrying thousands of tonnes of urea
:03:15. > :03:17.suffered engine failure and started to drift in the English Channel,
:03:17. > :03:20.about 20 miles north-west of Guernsey. The Antiguan-registered
:03:20. > :03:24.Federal Miramichi was travelling from Russia to Brazil. A French
:03:24. > :03:30.boat is on the scene and has attached a tow line. Its cargo is
:03:30. > :03:33.water-soluble and non toxic. A UK company has been chosen to
:03:33. > :03:35.take over the running of Guernsey's buses. CT Plus, part of London-
:03:35. > :03:38.based social enterprise organisation, HCT, has been
:03:38. > :03:44.selected as the States' preferred partner to take over from Island
:03:44. > :03:49.Coachways from 1st April. Exact details of the contract will be
:03:49. > :03:51.hammered out in the next few weeks. A new chairman is being sought for
:03:51. > :03:54.the States of Guernsey-owned airline Aurigny. The outgoing
:03:54. > :04:00.chairman, Paul Fairclough, says his contract was terminated by mutual
:04:01. > :04:04.consent. Treasury and Resources are not commenting.
:04:04. > :04:07.If you have got a Christmas tree that has done its duty, Jersey
:04:07. > :04:17.Hospice would like to help. The charity will pick up unwanted trees
:04:17. > :04:19.
:04:19. > :04:25.and take them to be recycled, in return for a donation.
:04:25. > :04:27.The first call, we will head for the Esplanade. And we have five
:04:27. > :04:29.calls. Neil Mourant and Mervyn Richardson
:04:29. > :04:32.are volunteer Christmas tree disposers. Today they are
:04:32. > :04:36.collecting from businesses which have had enough of Christmas. At
:04:36. > :04:46.the weekend they will be collecting from private homes. For a donation
:04:46. > :04:47.
:04:47. > :04:50.to Jersey Hospice Care, the cousins will go anywhere on the island.
:04:50. > :04:54.Last year the charity raised a record �23,000 by taking away more
:04:54. > :04:59.than 1,600 trees. That was with the help of 50 volunteers with 20 vans.
:04:59. > :05:06.One it is a very worthwhile charity, the hospice. It costs a lot to run.
:05:06. > :05:11.It is a case of putting time and vehicles, and a bit of contribution.
:05:11. > :05:15.How great for our people when you arrive? They are appreciative, in
:05:15. > :05:20.that the trees can be very messy ones they are finished with, and we
:05:20. > :05:23.can dump them for them. It saves them a lot of hassle.
:05:23. > :05:26.Over the seven years it has been running, the collection has become
:05:26. > :05:28.increasingly popular with users now able to book the service online.
:05:28. > :05:35.Tomorrow is Twelfth Night, traditonally the last day of
:05:35. > :05:39.Christmas, and the volunteers are expecting a rush.
:05:39. > :05:43.The Trust is hoping to find even more volunteers to help this
:05:43. > :05:47.weekend. They are interested in anyone who has their own van, and
:05:47. > :05:50.people who can donate time and fuel for free.
:05:50. > :05:54.If music really is food for the soul, it's a three-course dinner
:05:54. > :05:57.for Jersey's Park Life Choir. Formed by the Grace Trust, it aims
:05:57. > :06:02.to give people living on the streets, or with alcohol and drug
:06:02. > :06:12.problems, a focus. And with scores of concerts under their belts and a
:06:12. > :06:17.
:06:17. > :06:27.new CD out, it looks like it is It is all about getting some people
:06:27. > :06:28.
:06:28. > :06:32.who would not normally be in a choir, into a choir and situation.
:06:32. > :06:35.It is a case of getting people off the streets who originally, but we
:06:35. > :06:40.haven't brace that, and it is now people who are coming in suffering
:06:40. > :06:50.from depression, mental disorders for argument sake, and all sorts of
:06:50. > :06:54.
:06:55. > :06:59.One day I was coming along the parts, and all of a sudden I heard
:06:59. > :07:09.the music. And I thought, that is strange. I went inside to have a
:07:09. > :07:10.
:07:10. > :07:16.look, and saw the choir. Terry said, why do you not come and sing along.
:07:16. > :07:26.Anyway, he got me singing, and I've never looked back. I love coming
:07:26. > :07:31.
:07:31. > :07:38.I started to drink quite heavily, my wife had just had enough with me
:07:38. > :07:48.coming back from work every day and see me in this state. And we split
:07:48. > :07:48.
:07:48. > :07:55.up. That was devastating at the time. Still is now. But everything
:07:55. > :08:05.has changed for the better. Things seemed to get better more --. I
:08:05. > :08:11.still have bad days, but I try to The final straw was getting signed
:08:11. > :08:20.off work. I could not afford my rent, so I had to move into the
:08:20. > :08:30.homeless shelter. Once you hit there, it is not a great deal to do.
:08:30. > :08:37.
:08:37. > :08:47.I have got myself out of it now. I I am at college now, the training
:08:47. > :08:51.
:08:51. > :08:54.in health and social care. We will All these people have got a story.
:08:54. > :09:00.They might be drinkers, or depressed people. But there is a
:09:00. > :09:04.reason for it. Some of it is an illness, some of circumstantial,
:09:04. > :09:09.and we should never judge people. It is not for us to judge people.
:09:09. > :09:19.We should help people, they are very special people. I look on them
:09:19. > :09:35.
:09:35. > :09:45.Sounding a very good. Will the wind be whistling around the islands?
:09:45. > :09:45.
:09:45. > :09:50.There is no surprise that the seas have been so rough. We have had
:09:50. > :09:58.consistently strong winds for the past few days. It was pretty lively
:09:58. > :10:04.first thing this morning. The strongest gusts have been around
:10:04. > :10:14.Guernsey and Jersey, 60 mph. It is still lively this evening, with
:10:14. > :10:15.
:10:15. > :10:21.north-west winds. More cloud will develop later in the day tomorrow,
:10:21. > :10:26.with some showers in the afternoon. At the weekend, we will stay cloudy,
:10:26. > :10:34.and misty with some drizzle at times. The winds are mainly from
:10:34. > :10:38.the north-west. This evening and tonight, a lot of clear skies.
:10:38. > :10:42.Temperatures dropping into single figures, between 6 and seven
:10:42. > :10:48.degrees tonight. The wind will steadily drop overnight. A quiet
:10:48. > :10:51.start to the day tomorrow which will gradually cloud over. A few
:10:51. > :10:57.showers by the end of the day. Temperatures getting up to 11
:10:57. > :11:04.degrees, 52 degrees Fahrenheit. The forecast for the coastal waters,
:11:04. > :11:14.the winds R Weston north-westerly. Showers developing and generally
:11:14. > :11:22.
:11:22. > :11:28.The forecast for into the weekend is a bit dull, grey, and at times
:11:28. > :11:31.we will see some reins. Further outbreaks of light rain on Sunday.
:11:32. > :11:41.A little bit brighter and mainly dry on Monday. More importantly, a
:11:42. > :11:45.