10th July : Carlingford Lough, The border !

We woke a little earlier than expected in the morning, and left the mooring at 06:40. Today was the spring tide, and although we did not experience it’s full spate, we saw a maximum of 12.2Kts over the ground – very exciting, with lots of boiling water, and eddies. We were spat out at the seaward end in less than half an hour, giving us a little more latitude in the timing of our arrival at Carlingford Lough to catch the end of the flood tide through Greenore Point, and on to Carlingford Marina in time for lunch.

After a short rest to make up for the early start, we had a walk into Carlingford to have a look around, and pick up a few provisions. Helped by the sunshine and high temperatures, the town had an almost continental look to it with many bars and restaurants amongst the ancient castle walls. The following day we took advantage of the laundry facilities, then walked into town to pick up some postcards, stamps, and a few items forgotten the previous afternoon. In the evening we walked back into Carlingford for a fishy meal in a restaurant we had spotted. 

A move south to Howth came next on the agenda; this involved leaving by 08:00 to catch the last of the ebb tide out of the Lough, in the event we left at 07:45, and cleared the entry channel at 08:45.

July 8th : Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland

Motored the 5 miles or so up the coast to Strangford Lough, leaving Ardglass at 11-15 to catch the end of the flood tide through the narrows. On spring tides ( we were now two days before spring ) the tide races through the narrows at up to 7.8Kts so there is no option but to take a fair tide. As it was, we had about 2Kts of fair tide but even so, there were some impressive wakes from various marks, and especially the tidal stream generator which is place right in the middle of the channel. There is a lot of water moving through the narrows; the channel is 60m deep in some places ! 

Having past Portaferry on our starboard, and Strangford village to port, we pulled into Audley’s roads and anchored for a very peaceful night. 

Having had a fairly leisurely getting up in the morning, we decided to have a gentle motor up and down the Lough ( there was not a breath of wind ).

We anchored in ‘Bloody Burn’ bay for lunch, and then intended to carefully work our way through the many reefs ( known locally as ‘Pladdys’ ), It was then that we realised that the fluxgate compass on the autopilot system was giving ( very ) anomalous readings, and as most of the closest reefs were now submerged we decided to re-trace our footsteps for a while, then cross the Lough and explore the larger islands on the western side. 

What we found was a whole network of channels, and islands, with lots of boats moored – we could have spent days in the dinghy exploring this area, simply magical !

Returing to Audley’s roads we picked up a mooring in deeper water, and closer to Portaferry, ready for a quick getaway in the morning, catching the ebb tide to escape the narrows, and help us on our way to our next destination, Carlingford Lough, on the border of Northern Ireland, and the Republic.

6th July : Ardglass, Northern Ireland

Had a great sail across the Irish Sea to Ardglass in about 6.5 hours, and secured a berth in Phennick Cove Marina, a small privately owned outfit on one side of the harbour. The approach is a little ‘interesting’ and it is definitely worth a good hard look at the pilot in advance. Once berthed, we were very comfortable, and booked in for two nights to allow some exploration, and laundry ! The following day we did a little shopping to re-stock supplies, had a very pleasant walk across the links golf course, and had a surprisingly good ( and very reasonable ) meal in a Chinese restaurant on the edge of the harbour – If you ever go there, do try the deep fried ice cream desert ! We tried it for a laugh, but it was absolutely delicious, having a crust of coconut batter, and served with a large jug of syrup – naughty but nice !!!

5th July : Derby Haven, Isle of Man

We left Fleetwood on July 3^rd and had a long and tiring bash up to Whitehaven. We had two nights in Whitehaven to re-charge our batteries, then set out for the Isle of Man. Previously, we had taken a visitor mooring in Port St. Mary but there is another smaller bay close by called Derby Haven which we had made a mental note of. With the winds as they were Derby Haven was very sheltered, and made for a perfect anchorage for the night. Ronaldsway airport backs onto one side of the bay, and it was quite amusing to see the aircraft coming and going. After a very quiet, and peaceful night, we set off across the western side of the Irish sea towards Ireland, and ‘un-charted’ territory, electing to pass south of ‘Chicken Rock’ rather than through ‘Calf Sound’.

2013 : New Season

Having had such unpleasant weather this spring to get final maintenance done, and two elderly mothers with health problems, we have decided to scale back our ambitions for 2013, and explore the northern half of the Irish sea. ‘Norman James’ was out of the water for most of May to dry out thoroughly and carry out the normal ‘out of water’ jobs. After re-launching on 6th June, we had a quick sail in Morcambe bay over the top of the tide on the 7^th  June to check that everything was working, and all the ‘knitting’ was present & correct. 

Having several commitments during the rest of June, we drew up plans to have one or two weeks away at the beginning of July, probably leaving ‘NJ’ in Ireland for a week or so around the middle of the month while we went to our Son’s graduation ceremony. 

Christmas Approaching

We have visited 'NJ' twice since we finished sailing for the season, having some pleasant walks along the promenade towards Blackpool, and from Knot End, on the other side of the river towards the River Lune.

 I am now planning to have a day on the boat to get a few jobs done, such as changing the engine oil, and feeding a few cables to and from the stern for a couple of new bits of kit. I have also made an extra instrument console for the helm position, in which to mount the autopilot control head ( currently tucked behind the compass, and not very accessible ), and the remote microphone for the new VHF radio, so I need to check that this fits OK. On the way back, I shall detour via Liverpool, and drop off the life raft at NorWest Marine for it's triennial service. At least this winter the list of jobs is much shorter than last year ! Well, that's it for this year, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and fair winds for next season.

Seasons' end

We had a fairly vigorous sail from Whitehaven to Piel Island, with heavy showers, and squalls up to 36kts apparent. The wind hardly dropped below a force 6 all day, and after a rather worrying time at Piel ( dragging the anchor in strong wind and tide ), decided to make a run for Fleetwood. We didn't expect to arrive in time for the marina lock, but it was a bit deflating to miss it by about 10 minutes ( at 0300 in the morning ! ). Having picked up the stern of a small training lifeboat which was moored in the river, and been yanked around for another 3 hours, we decided to put 'NJ' on the beach. We dried out at 0630, so we knew that we would have about 4 hours before floating off again, so at least we could put our heads down for a while. Later in the next morning the small lifeboat we had moored to was driven off to the training facility just down river, and we were visited by one of the staff who were just checking that we were OK. We picked up a free mooring, which we hadn't seen in the dark of the early hours, and waited until the lock gates opened. Once through the lock NJ was moored alongside where she had been previously, and we then retired to catch up on sleep. Later in the day we went to see the marina office, and booked in for the winter. Over the next few days the sails were removed, along with the stack pack, which needed a few minor repairs, and the dinghy was packed away. We then moved to the pontoon berth which we had chosen, and secured 'NJ' for the winter. Every month or so we will drive over to Fleetwood and check that all is well, and take the opportunity to finish a few jobs, but for now the season is over.

Norman James out.