Loch Ryan - Scotland here we come.

On Sunday 11th May the wind was fair for us to sail across the North Channel to Scotland. The tide would also help push us up to the northern end of the Mull of Galloway. We left at 9.30am and after a little drizzle the visibility cleared ahead for us to see the Scottish Coast. By 14.30 we were rounding Corsewell Point and heading into Loch Ryan. At 16.20 we anchored in The Wig, a sheltered anchorage on the west side of the Loch about 3.5nm north of Stranraer. The waters of the Loch were familiar to us as we had dinghy sailed whilst staying in a holiday cottage overlooking the Loch back in 2007. It was wonderful to fulfil a dream of spending the night at anchor in our own boat in the Loch.

Rounding Corsewell Point

At anchor in The Wig, Loch Ryan

View of our 2007 holiday cottage whilst at anchor.

Carrickfergus - May 9th to 11th

Despite a F6 in the forecast we were happy to make the short hop across Belfast Lough to Carrickfergus.

Motoring into a brisk breeze across Belfast Lough.

Our arrival at Carrickfergus coincided with a ceremony to commemorate the D-Day landings. It was entertaining to hear bagpipes playing and see the return of boats from wreath laying in the Lough. 

 D-Day Celebrations at Carrickfergus

The view from our berth in Carrickfergus Marina

Our stop at Carrickfergus also coincided with the Giro d'Italia cycle race. As keen cycling fans we were looking forward to seeing a bit of the action. Conveniently the cyclists were due to pass down the main road within 500 yards of the marina. Ten minutes before the race was due the sun was shining  and we were in place for a good view up and down the road. Then it started to pour with rain, the umbrellas went up and our view was all but obscured. The roar of the crowd as the cyclists flashed by was quite an experience.

 Carrickfergus Castle.

Crowd waiting for the Giro d'Italia cycle race to arrive in Carrickfergus.

The rain seemed to follow the cyclists all day!

x

Bangor - May 6th to 8th

The inshore waters forecast was for south or southwest 4 or 5 increasing 6 for a time in far southeast. Heading down wind in a F6 should not give us any cause for concern. Tidal considerations required us to leave Ardglass after midday to catch fair tide up the coast later in the day.

As we set off it was bright and sunny and we were soon sailing in a F5 with full main and slightly reduced genoa. Over the afternoon the wind increased and we reduced our sail area. Further up the coast required a course change to a more down wind point of sailing.  The main was taken down and we continued, albeit a bit slower, with just the genoa up. The sea was increasing and we did not want to risk an involuntary gybe. The wind was gusting F7, a bit more than we were expecting.

Heading for Donaghadee Sound the wind died, the engine was turned on and with a fair tide under us a maximum SOG of 9.2 knots was achieved. Just after 19.00 hours we were tucked up in marina berth in Bangor, feeling very lucky not to have got wet from the rain which had been forecast.

Bangor was our first new port of call this year so we spent a couple of days exploring. Shopping was easy as the marina was located at the end of the main high street and we had a nice walk along the coast to the west. I was charmed by the local feathered residents, black guillemots nesting on the marina harbour wall. It was a real treat to see them diving and flying under water.

  Bangor Marina Office.

 Black guillemots nesting on the harbour wall by the Marina Office.

 Entrance to Bangor Marina.

Coastal path west of Bangor looking west.

Departing Deganwy

Rob has been busy as his Mum has not been so well, hence I (his other half) am writing the blog. We thoroughly enjoyed our overwintering in Deganwy Marina. Many a good walk was had along the coast, looking out over the sea and wondering where our next adventure would take us.

On Friday 2nd May we left our marina berth just after midday and motor sailed with our new blue genneker up along the north Anglesey coast. The wind was light and dying but with a tide increasing in our favour we made good progress to Cemmaes Bay where we anchored for the night.

First outing of new genneker sailing south towards Beaumaris before our departure.

The next day we were ready to leave Cemmaes Bay just after eight in the morning. A few expletives later and Rob informed me he couldn't start the engine as the new ignition key had broken off in the switch. We suspected it had been knocked and bent the previous day. My mind was racing ahead thinking about how to get back into port without an engine. I need not have worried as ten minutes later there was the happy sound of our engine running. We were soon on course for Ardglass in Northern Ireland.

Again the wind was light so we motor sailed with the blue genneker up. Just before midday the wind picked up and we switched the engine off. Over the rest of the afternoon the wind steadily increased to F5, necessitating several changes in sail plan, to die again in the early evening. With sixty four nautical miles logged we arrived in Ardglass.

This was our second visit to Ardglass so we were comfortable in knowing where to shop, walk and eat out in the rather good local Chinese restaurant. We were not disappointed with our meal on our return. We had two nights in Ardglass whilst some stronger winds blew through and were reminded of the dangers that can be faced at sea when another yacht came in with one of their coachroof windows smashed.

Ardglass Marina

2014 Pre-season review

It's getting towards that time of year again, the evenings are getting lighter ( and a little warmer! ), and plans are being hatched for the new sailing season. It has been an interesting winter, with storms, and tidal surges, and the havoc they have created. We have managed to have several visits to 'Norman James' , and explored the Conwy area a little, but most of the jobs are now done, and we are now waiting for a weather window to allow us to move North. The initial plan is to get through the North channel and into the Firth of Clyde, but if the weather is fair we may move up the West coast, and possibly over the top to complete our circumnavigation - but we will have to see what the year brings. Last weekend we had a short trip out of the marina to check out the boat systems, having a night at anchor at Beaumaris, and christened our new furling genneker which we are now looking forward to using on passage.

Conway.

Conway seems to be a pleasant sort of place, the old walled city is very picturesque, and not too busy with tourists. We took the train home for a few days, then returned with the car to allow us to explore the area .

The river speed limit sign high and dry at low water.

We drove over to Llandudno and had a walk along the prommenade, the sea front buildings ( mainly hotels and B&B's ) all looked well maintained, and we came away with quite a good impression of the town.

Great Ormes head from Llandudno prommenade.

The view in the opposite direction towards Little Ormes Head.

This is the view from Deganwy Marina towards Conway and the Castle.

The Marina entrance at Deganwy.

The top of the tidal flap gate at low water, the gate is dropped when there is 4m of tide.

Conway castle at low tide with the marina training wall covered in sea weed.

The view towards Penmaemawr, and the Menai Straight from Deganwy beach.

Great Ormes Head from Deganwy beach

A large yacht in the channel with Conway marina in the background.

The marina dredger 'Little Orme' moored on the pontoon.

On 8th August we decided to have a night at anchor and re-visit the East coast of Angelsey. At 14:50 we anchored in Red Wharfe Bay, just North of Puffin sound. After a fairly rolly night at anchor we had a look at the area of moorings at Red Wharfe village, using the keel as a 'dip stick' at times.

The entrance channel to Red Wharfe Village.

From here we motored over to Moelfre again for lunch, anchoring in the same place as on our trip down to Conway previously.

On the way back to Conway we raised our big G2 Genneker ( you can see the reflection of the sail in my sunglasses ! ) but the wind soon faded out, and we ended up motoring back to the marina.

We have pretty well decided to leave 'NJ' in Deganwy for the winter, as it is not much further than Fleetwood in terms of travel time, and there are quite a few places to visit in the area.

26th July : Holyhead

We had an interesting crossing from Dun Laoghaire, with cross tides of over 3Kts North and Southbound throughout the day. A bit of good old fashioned navigation the night before had concluded that the overall passage was essentially tide neutral, so we set a direct course for Holyhead, and held this ( with a few minor tweaks ) all day. A large vessel in the Traffic Separation Zone near Holyhead meant that we had to turn uptide for a while, but this helped on the final approach. The cliffs of Holyhead are quite imposing, rising to a height of 150m

The outer wall of Holyhead harbour extends 1.1miles out into the bay in a ENE direction, and provides significant shelter from any direction. The small craft channel runs adjacent to the wall, all the way to the marina itself, with the possibility to anchor inside the wall to gain refuge from bad weather.

The visitors pontoon provided a very easy 'alongside' berth, and we were moored securely by 18:20. The following day we had a short walk, and found some high ground with good views of Holy Head, and the harbour.

One of the larger 'inhabitants' of the commercial harbour was the Supercat ferry - quite an impressive sight as it guns all 115,000 horsepower !

Looking from the boat towards the town, we could see what looked like a fair in progress, a little later when we walked out in that direction it became clear that this was a competition for Majorette troups, with many groups of girls either practicing their routines or being judged on them - quite entertaining.

'NJ' on the visitors pontoon, looking towards the ferry terminal.

Our next destination was to be Conwy ( Conway ) via the Northern tip of Angelsey at Llanlleiana head, and Lynas point. This would take us through the tide race between Carmel head, and the islands of The Skerries, and West Mouse. We needed to catch the beginning of the fair tide through this area, so we set out from Holyhead at 08:45, crossing the bay, then keeping close to the shore to avoid the end of the foul tide.

The Skerries lighthouse.

The boat duly accelerated as we approached Carmel head, and soon we were sailing in a gentle breeze at 6.2Kts SOG. The speed increased steadily, and we recorded 8.6Kts over the ground as we passed Ynys Dulas on the East side of Angelsey. After another couple of miles in an increasing wind, we pulled into Moelfre bay, and anchored for lunch next to the all weather lifeboat.

Wylfa Nuclear Power Station.

After lunch we weighed anchor, and set out for Deganwy Marina ( the smaller of two marinas at Conway ), going outside Puffin Island, then directly for the Fairway Buoy. We arrived at the entrance to the marina at high water, and were moored safely 5 minutes later.