05/01/2012 BBC Channel Islands News

Welcome to BBC Channel Islands. The headlines tonight: Raging storms

leave ferry passengers stuck out at sea for hours. Very rocky. It was

long enough to get her stomachs going.

Also tonight. Too big for the bin, but your Christmas tree could help

a good cause. And the choir that has helped

Record waves, stranded ferry passengers and a cargo ship adrift.

The Channel Islands have been battered by gale-force winds over

the past 24 hours. Jersey's Met Office measured a 33-foot wave off

the south coast of the island this morning. That is the height of a

standard house. Meanwhile ferry passengers from Portsmouth had to

endure a day at sea, after their ship could not dock in St Helier.

The club arrived at 2:40pm this afternoon, after 25 hours at sea.

She spent much of the day sailing up and down the east coast of

Jersey, before arriving here. Passengers on board say their plea

is to be back on dry land. -- they are please.

Sticklepath nudges her way back to port, of the south coast of Jersey.

She had been at sea for over a day, with 125 passengers and a dog on

board. As she docked at Jersey's Elizabeth Harbour, the relief for

passengers was clear to see. Very rocky and very long, but they were

brilliant, so we can't complain. was rough. A lot of people went

into cabins after Guernsey. I will do it again, and I am booked for

next Christmas. The vessel left Portsmouth

yesterday at midday, left Guernsey at midnight but did not eventually

dock in St Helier until 2:30pm today. This map shows the track the

ship was forced to take as it tried to ride out the storm in more

sheltered waters. Making a -- making an approach into Jersey is

difficult, so the decision was made after careful consideration.

The staff are trying to turn the ship around, so she can continue to

jerk -- Guernsey then on to Portsmouth. Passengers and bosses

are hoping that there won't be a repeat performance of the past 25

hours. Meanwhile there was more drama at

sea, after a ship carrying thousands of tonnes of urea

suffered engine failure and started to drift in the English Channel,

about 20 miles north-west of Guernsey. The Antiguan-registered

Federal Miramichi was travelling from Russia to Brazil. A French

boat is on the scene and has attached a tow line. Its cargo is

water-soluble and non toxic. A UK company has been chosen to

take over the running of Guernsey's buses. CT Plus, part of London-

based social enterprise organisation, HCT, has been

selected as the States' preferred partner to take over from Island

Coachways from 1st April. Exact details of the contract will be

hammered out in the next few weeks. A new chairman is being sought for

the States of Guernsey-owned airline Aurigny. The outgoing

chairman, Paul Fairclough, says his contract was terminated by mutual

consent. Treasury and Resources are not commenting.

If you have got a Christmas tree that has done its duty, Jersey

Hospice would like to help. The charity will pick up unwanted trees

and take them to be recycled, in return for a donation.

The first call, we will head for the Esplanade. And we have five

calls. Neil Mourant and Mervyn Richardson

are volunteer Christmas tree disposers. Today they are

collecting from businesses which have had enough of Christmas. At

the weekend they will be collecting from private homes. For a donation

to Jersey Hospice Care, the cousins will go anywhere on the island.

Last year the charity raised a record �23,000 by taking away more

than 1,600 trees. That was with the help of 50 volunteers with 20 vans.

One it is a very worthwhile charity, the hospice. It costs a lot to run.

It is a case of putting time and vehicles, and a bit of contribution.

How great for our people when you arrive? They are appreciative, in

that the trees can be very messy ones they are finished with, and we

can dump them for them. It saves them a lot of hassle.

Over the seven years it has been running, the collection has become

increasingly popular with users now able to book the service online.

Tomorrow is Twelfth Night, traditonally the last day of

Christmas, and the volunteers are expecting a rush.

The Trust is hoping to find even more volunteers to help this

weekend. They are interested in anyone who has their own van, and

people who can donate time and fuel for free.

If music really is food for the soul, it's a three-course dinner

for Jersey's Park Life Choir. Formed by the Grace Trust, it aims

to give people living on the streets, or with alcohol and drug

problems, a focus. And with scores of concerts under their belts and a

new CD out, it looks like it is It is all about getting some people

who would not normally be in a choir, into a choir and situation.

It is a case of getting people off the streets who originally, but we

haven't brace that, and it is now people who are coming in suffering

from depression, mental disorders for argument sake, and all sorts of

One day I was coming along the parts, and all of a sudden I heard

the music. And I thought, that is strange. I went inside to have a

look, and saw the choir. Terry said, why do you not come and sing along.

Anyway, he got me singing, and I've never looked back. I love coming

I started to drink quite heavily, my wife had just had enough with me

coming back from work every day and see me in this state. And we split

up. That was devastating at the time. Still is now. But everything

has changed for the better. Things seemed to get better more --. I

still have bad days, but I try to The final straw was getting signed

off work. I could not afford my rent, so I had to move into the

homeless shelter. Once you hit there, it is not a great deal to do.

I have got myself out of it now. I I am at college now, the training

in health and social care. We will All these people have got a story.

They might be drinkers, or depressed people. But there is a

reason for it. Some of it is an illness, some of circumstantial,

and we should never judge people. It is not for us to judge people.

We should help people, they are very special people. I look on them

Sounding a very good. Will the wind be whistling around the islands?

There is no surprise that the seas have been so rough. We have had

consistently strong winds for the past few days. It was pretty lively

first thing this morning. The strongest gusts have been around

Guernsey and Jersey, 60 mph. It is still lively this evening, with

north-west winds. More cloud will develop later in the day tomorrow,

with some showers in the afternoon. At the weekend, we will stay cloudy,

and misty with some drizzle at times. The winds are mainly from

the north-west. This evening and tonight, a lot of clear skies.

Temperatures dropping into single figures, between 6 and seven

degrees tonight. The wind will steadily drop overnight. A quiet

start to the day tomorrow which will gradually cloud over. A few

showers by the end of the day. Temperatures getting up to 11

degrees, 52 degrees Fahrenheit. The forecast for the coastal waters,

the winds R Weston north-westerly. Showers developing and generally

The forecast for into the weekend is a bit dull, grey, and at times

we will see some reins. Further outbreaks of light rain on Sunday.

A little bit brighter and mainly dry on Monday. More importantly, a