Wednesday 26 May around the isle of Bute

Lunch stop at the top of the Kyle

The narrows at the head of the Kyle and the view from down below

Tuesday 25 May Lamlsash to Millport

Another cold but sunny morning and a gentle sail to the Little village of Millport on the isle of Cumbrae. The rocks surrounding the bay were covered with seals sunning them selves. Cumbrae is about 3.5 miles long and a mile wide with all the houses around the bay but everybody had a car and must catch a ferry to the mainland.




The houses were built for the customs men who stopped the traffic up the Clyde,and then the island changed into a holiday resort for the residents of Glasgow.
The island has many churches and the smallest cathedral in Britain

Monday 24 May Campbeltown to Lamlash (Arran)

Beleive it or not I was in the pool at 7:15, 30 lengths before breakfast !!!! is good to be able to do something else for a while. The pool has a picture window at floor level in the shallow end giving views along the loch at the end of every length and as the fog had gone it was a good incentive. A quick walk around the town and checking out the two distillarys but no visits today . The Afternoon was spend with a gentle sail across to Arran.

Another Lighthouse
We moored up in the bay outside Lamlash where the ancorage is sheltered by Holy Island a reigious retreat. All the bay is now a no fishing area and conservation zone. The dinghy was blown up and a trip ashore to the pub finished off the day.

Sunday 23 May Bangor to Campbeltown

Bangor at 8:00 in the morning

Bangor was left in sun but with mist and fog but at long last it was a hot day.
We left the land of the burger eating orange people behind ( most of the girls had spent too long on spray tan booth and looked like they had been tangoed) the 45 miles to Campbeltown was motor/ sail/ motorsail in various combinations .
The fog lifted as we neared the coast and I got the shorts out , what a sight. At last other people are out on the water but by no means can it be described as busy 6 other yachts all day. Campbeltown Loch is a very attractive inlet with a visitor pontoon designed to attract yachtsmen into the town and only £16 a night so we have some beer money left .The shower block is in the local swimming pool so 7:00 tomorrow a swim is called for , I need some exercise.

Island Danvaar at the entrance to Campbeltown Loch


Looks a bit different on the chart !




Home for the night.





As I write this the fog has returned and i cant see the end of the pontoon , is summer over already

Friday 21 May Strangford Lough to Bangor N Ireland

It should have been a 6:30 start but I woke up to thick fog 10m visibility so rolled over and woke up at 9:00 visibility was now 30m . At 12:00 it finally cleared up and we motored out of the Lough on the last of the ebb and hit the dense fog just as we wee in the narrows , the yacht in fromt of us turned round at this point looming out of the fog 20m from us.

Entering the fog

The rest of the was was spent motoring checking the chart plotter and radar since we could only see 100m most of the day and entered the 50m wide channel at Donaghadee Sound perfectly between the buoys even though we could not see them.

Then suddenly the fog cleared and within 10 minutes we could see miles and the wind came up to allow us to sail the final 5 miles into Bangor.

During the fog we had another visit from the swifts which must have got lost in the fog .

Bangor Town

Monday Campbeltown Scotland

Tursday 20 May Ardglass to Strangford Lough

Its was only 5 miles along the coast to the entrance to the Lough so a mid morning start after a sausage breakfast was ideal, only the second cooked breakfast in 3 weeks , not bad.

Strangford Lough which ia a massive deep salt water loch with a narrow entrance approx65m deep . The tide runs through the entranch at up to 8 kn so timing is critical. We were washed through at 4 knots with the water boiling underneath us and experienced some interesting whirlpools. Two tide power generators have been installed but in 65m of water there is no chance of hitting them.

Once inside the Lough it opens up into a very attractive island studded inland sea, seals and purpoises were spotted but only one other yacht sailing . We weaved our way around many attractive islands and picked up a vacant mooring for the night , closed the hatch and put the heating on. A phone call home revealed the uk is having their summer , its not arrived here yet.

Tuesday 18 May Dun Laogharie to Carlingford lough

A leisurely leaving this time and the wind from astern. The genoa was polled out and we were soon making a steady 8 kn reaching a maximum of 11.5 . Where was everybody ? so far on the trip we have hardly seen anybody else . As the rain was forecast we dropped the idea of sightseeing and pushed onto Ardglass where we could use proper money and afford to stock up.
Ardglass is a wonderful little harbour set amongst the rocks, with a really welcoming old fashioned Marina Master . As we moored up we could see seals playing on the rocks 50m away.


That night it rained hard and the fog horn started, we were glad we were not going anywhere the next day

Wednesday

Rest Day with Sun during the day and fog in the evening

Ardglass Tower House ,one of ten in the town

Thursday off to Strangford Lough

A horrible forecast F4-5 occ 6 with rain

Saturday May 15 Milford Haven to Arklow ( Ireland)

Yet another early start to give an easy crossing of the Irish Sea.



We set off in sunny but calm conditions which soon increased to 25 kn from the South providing great sailing at over 10 kn at times, at least we could see where we were going .
W had a few visitors on route , swifts I think , which must have been delayed in France due to the month of Northerly winds, a few came aboard for a ride.





This was a bit of a trip into the unknown as the SE coast of Ireland was missing from the electronic charts , it was a nice change to use the paper chart and have the position verified as we approached the coast and saw the offshore wind farm on the Arklow Bank. The crossing had been made in such good time that we decided to push on to Dun Laogharie ( Dublin) as the Guinness was calling .
The forecast was for rain and a F6 which finally arrived as we docked around midnight with the rigging whistling.

The Sunday morning walk to the showers was interesting as the marina had the longest pontoon I have ever seen 1Km long , and the boats in the marina were on the large side also making us look quite small.


We met up with a friend of mine and were invited for breakfast at the Royal Irish Yacht Club , just the thing before a few pints of Guinness ! The boat was re stocked with fuel and stores, but not over filled due to the exchange rate. £ 2:10 for a loaf of bread and £30 for a pair of sailing gloves that are £ 19 at home.
In the evening we were introduced to the pubs of Dalkey a few miles down the coast and finished up with a superb Thai meal before catching the Dart back to the Marina.

Monday was spent sightseeing in Dublin and visiting Dublina which showed the links to the Viking past of the city

Friday 14 May Milford Haven

A well deserved rest day in milford Haven at a marina at Neyland. This is a few miles up river from Milford Haven away from the oil terminal and the tankers. The area has an historic background with a large Brunel influence which is reflected in the stone quays.

Thursday 13 May Scilly Isles to Milford Haven

A fantastic morning and the forecast was just what we needed as it was 4-5 veering westerly Ha Ha We left at 10:30 in a flat calm and motored from the islands, The wind came in at lunch time a sw F4 and had 8 hours of superb sailing as we waited for it to veer westerly, as the 16:00 forecast reinforced.At 21:30 as the chilli and rice was being served the boat gybed , I caught my finger in the door ( it looks like I will lose the nail and hit my head hard, ads covered the galley in chilli. By 22:00 the gusts were 25 knots from the south and we were making 9 knots. and the cloud cover was total , but visibility was good.At 2 in the morning it had got up to 40+ knots a true force 8 , by then the auto pilot was being overwhelmed and I took over hand steering and the visibility closed in with the heavy rain .

It was time to practice my down wind sailing for the upcoming dinghy race at Southwold, the boat was hitting 17 knots with long surfs in total darkness sometimes even the bow was not vi sable through the spray. What an adrenaline rush, image driving your car at 20 mph for 4 hours with the lights off.
Landfall at Milford was at 6:30 in the rain and still force 8 , the radio forecast was still occasional force 6, we almost phoned them to complain.

So two hours sleep and the rest of the day cleaning up the chilli :(
610 miles covered so far and off to Arklow in Ireland on Saturday . That should then be the end of the rush to get to Troon for the end of the month.

Tuesday 11 Wednesday 12 May

We only expected one rest day but the forecast forced two. The Scillys are so beautiful that there were not any complaints. Tuesday was a walk around the fort and sorting the boat and Wednesday was rain in the morning so a retreat to the pub was just the order followed by bike hirein the afternoon, a trip arond the island can easly be completed in an hour.

The islands are on the Cruise ship route and one arrived Tuesday and Wednesdayaw the island invaded by two.

The age of the visitors mut be in the 70s so I was the youngest in the pub.

Monday 10 May Falmouth to Scilly Isles

The normal forcast Ne 4-5 dropping to F3 occasionally F6 they dont know whats happening to the wind.

Another early start 6:00 and nobody else is sailing we must be the only idiots out . The wind was not strong enough to sail so we had 5 hours under engine but in SUN what a change. This time the highlght was passing the Wolf Rock and its light house and leaving the sight of mainland England. (The game of I spy is now down to I spy something beginning with S ) As we neared the Scillys the wind increased to finish the trip under sail, another 64 miles under the keel.

The final few miles into the abchorage provided views of stunning beaches and seclued coves.

Sunday 9 May Falmouth

A rest day , our mad dash along the south coast has stopped for the laundry


refueling and a trip to the Maritime Museum. One exhibit is Firefly No1 in which Peter has sailed. I could not persuade him to stay as an exhibit. Part of the museum is an underwater tower with 15 ft high windows to watch the fish.

Saturday 8 May Dartmouth to Falmouth

Another earlyish start :( only 7:00 today but its necessary for the 65 miles we would be travelling . The day was slighty warmer but is is still thermals weather and a good NE force four with F6 forecast, so once again a brisk reach at 7.5 knots towards the Eddystone lighthouse.






Good time was made and then the wind dropped , following an hour under cruising chute it dropped so much it forced us to motor the last 10 miles. In the entrance to harbour Falmouth a basking shark surfaced within 12 feet of the boat , it was huge the fin must have been nearly 1m2. We finally tied up at the visitors marina at 18:00.

Now to look forward to tomorrow , its washing machine day.

Friday 7 May Weymouth to Salcombe

Following a noisey night caused by the generators running all night on the Condor Ferry it was up at5:30 and off at 6:30. A fine morning again and the temperatue is rising , it must be as we near the equator ( I must remember this is not the log of Donald Crowhurst).

I have finally acheived an ambition of mine, 3 dolphins came up to the boat off Portland .

Salcombe or Dartmouth ?
The forecast was for 4-5 ->6 so a good sail was had but the wind dropped off at Dartmouth and landfall was made under engine at 16:00. The best thing about passage plan is not to have one, some day we will end up where we have planned to go.

We wanted to moor at the town Pier which is only available to visitors from 17:00 so the harbour master suggested that we took a trip up river , The river Dart is very scenic and well worth the trip with steep wooded sides.



We finally moored up at 17:00 on the town pier opposite HMS Kent Only £18:50 a night here against £50 in the marina a few yards away. With the Dartmouth music festival on tonight it should be a night of wine women and song or in our case Beer ibuprofen and peanuts .


Its a hard life this blogging lark !!!

Thursday 6 May Rest Day

Rest Day and a lie in. Visit to Nothe Fort and a walk around Weymouth, with a wave to those at home on the Weymouth Harbour web cam. Did you spot the beards ?

Thursday 5 May Poole to Weymouth via Lulworth Cove

Up at 5:30 and off at 6:00 a beautiful morning crisp and clear and so quiet only us and the birdsong . The notice posted on the harbour masters office stated no firing on the ranges until 7 June so an inshore passage was ok. Once out of the entrance past the chain ferry the temperature dropped slightly . A fetch to Anvil Point and onto St Albans Head and across Lulworth Firing range, half way across( 8:20) the radio burst to life with range control announcing firing was to to commence at 9:30 , thankfully he GPs showed we would be clear by 9:05 but we still had a quick visit by the range guard boat . Breakfast was had while taking photos of Lulworth Cove , and then onto Weymouth arriving 10:30 at the Town Quay. A pretty fishing town so tomorrow is a rest day time to stock up on Gin and Bacon , you don't find our diet in any weightwatcher cook books.

Tomorrow is a rest day and Friday is to either Dartmouth or Salcombe

Wednesday 4 May Gosport to Lymington

Having spent the night at Gosport moored next to the Mary Mouse 2 a converted lightship housing the showers and bar but painted bright green. The water and fuel tanks were topped up and we were off at a leisurly 10:30
The forecast was N 4-5 and dry a superb day for a sail and for once they were correct. A wonderful sail reaching down the Solent under reefed sail heading towards Lymington. upon arrival the pilot book was consulted and it was noticed that Yarmouth now has walk ashore pontoons so a slight change of course to Yarmouth . As we approached Yarmouth the talk was if we wanted to leave for Weymouth we would be leaving now . The conservation then went "Why don't we carry on" , " Ok Why not." I think if they had a distillery it may have swayed our decision. The reef was taken out and 3 hours later we had arrived at Parksone YC in Poole harbour , £33 a night ouch only one pint in the bar and an early night for a 6:00 start tomorrow.

Eastbourne to Cowes !!!

Early start today, the forecast was favourable in direction but not strength N 5-7 occ f8 but since off shore we knew it would be a flattish sea.


Off through the 6:00 lock with a few fishing boats in bright morning sun and a building wind, by the time we were off Beachy Head we had two reefs and the small headsail reaching at 7+ knots and it was bitterly cold.




Beachy Head



As we headed offshore towards the Isle of Wight it started to get colder with the wind building enough to put in the 3rd reef and part furl the jib at one point we hit 9.8 knots , so now we have a target speed to beat. We have hit 13.5Kn in the past so we have a way to go yet.

Peter enjoying the weather

As we approached the Island a tall ship was sighted the TSS Royalist it was a super sight unfortunately a few hours later we heard that a trainee had died had falling from the rigging and hitting the deck.

On entering the Solent we finally spotted some other yachts, we were not the only idiots sailing after all . At this point we decied that Cowes would be an uncomfortable marina so we diverted to Gosport entering throught the historic entrance to Portsmouth Harbour.

Log reading 1994 so 201 miles down about 2000 to go !!!! lets hope it gets warmer.

We have left

Woolverstone to Ramsgate

First of all a big thank you for all the good luck wishes we have had, we hope we don’t need the luck only good weather.

The first leg was a short shake down sail across the Thames Estuary to Ramsgate as we had not even had time to raise the sails this year.
We cast off from the Royal Harwich Yacht Club Marina after receiving many good luck wishes and waves from envious (?) members crossing the club start line at 11:39 and the log reading 1793.3 even having Mr and Mrs Commodore chasing us down the river in a rib taking photographs.




We knew the tide was not ideal for the trip but we wanted to get started and get clear of the bad weather forecast. In the end it took 10 hours to do a short hop that can normally be done in 6 . The weather was changeable to say the least, it was light winds and t’shirts when we left soon to be force 6 to 0 and back to f6 on the nose all the way .
Ramsgate hove into view and we finally docked at 21:53 a 10 hour slog , lets hope tomorrow will be better. A quick run into town and Curry for supper at halfpast ten ,it could not have tasted better.

A word of warning Ramsgate is not now a all tide harbour , the harbour control even called to check our draft to ensure we could get in .

As we awaited the tide for two hours to give enough depth for us to clear the mud the lifeboat arrived towing a square rig training boat that had lost its rudder during the night . Two of these boats had been giving training in the Thames.

Ramsgate to Dover

The weather was still looking to come in from the North F8 after a day in the South so is only a short hop to Dover today.

We left with a light wind on the nose again and a late start due to the lack of depth in the harbour. It was boring trip under engine for the 15 miles ending in a very bumpy crossing of the ferry lanes , and on entering the harbour the wind got up , typical.

Dover to Eastbourne

Forecast Westerly turning North Easterly 4-5-7 occasionally force 8 later with Rain and cold
For once the forecast was correct and did it rain all day , what else should we expect on a bank holiday weekend.
So up at 05:30 leaving t 06:30 and arriving at Eastbourne at 15:30 , 9 hours under engine in bitterly cold rain. We have found the new radar works really well as a means of telling if its raining ahead , we don’t know much about yachts as most of the time we are the only fools out .
Once in our berth the wind started to build as was forecast leavingus planning the passage for the next day to Cowes , a 6:00 start in winds forecast up to force 8 but at least it was in a favourable direction.

Tomorrow :- The Solent and Cowes
Hopefullyno rain but F8 gales forecast