Lamlash to Kip Marina - Wednesday 5th July

No photos for this leg as we busied ourselves cleaning and tidying up the boat. But what a trip, 1,000NM covered over 43 days of passages. Some passages just an hour or two with the longest 18 hours from Milford Haven to Scilly. 

Highlights of the trip would be dolphins, endless blue sun-drenched seas and the Isles of Scilly. Ideal passages were 5-7 hours long leaving enough time to enjoy long walks ashore exploring. There is nothing like visiting a place from the sea...it gives you a very different perspective and would have been the way most travellers arrived when these ports and harbours were first established.

Now for a few weeks back at home...enough time to plan the next adventure...Hebrides?

Portpatrick to Lamlash - Tuesday 4th July

 

After a restful night, apart from the odd guillimot flopping onto the deck above, we climbed the ladder to step ashore for our morning perambulation. Back aboard we readied the lines and chatted to the crew of the yacht next to us who had decided that they would have to head back to Northern Ireland that day as they had finally drunk the boat, and Portpatrick, dry.

We headed north up the Rhins of Galloway into the dying swell of the last few days. Ailsa Craig quickly hove into view as we passed the entrance to Loch Ryan with its fast passenger ferries coming to and fro. It was good to see the rock blanketed in Gannets which appeared to be making a good receovery from the avian flu hit of the last couple of years.

Entering the Firth of Clyde, the Waverley crossed our path and we made for Lamlash on a fair tide. We picked up a large yellow mooring buoy on the outer visitor trot and phoned the Holy Isle ferryman to confirm if it was indeed a visitor mooring with the reply of "If it's free take it". 

Sulaire secure we went ashore and grabbed dinner in the Pier Head Tavern after walking the 3rd mate. Back aboard Sulaire I noted that we were swinging a lot more than the two moorings adjacent to us - one  a French catamaran and the other a dutch sloop. Waking the next mooring the Frenchies had left and I could see why as I looked down at their mooring buoy next to our stern.

Last day of the return passage from Scilly tomorrow...

Peel to Portpatrick - Monday 3rd July

 

Okay, if you’re looking at the photos look at them in reverse order as when I select them (no matter in which order) they embed in reverse chronological order).

Well the third mate agreed not to blot my logbook as long as she was carried around on a palanquin. I said I would see what I could arrange.

We set off with 3 other yachts from Peel harbour on the first lowering of the flap gate of the morning (09:30). The westerly winds would be gusting 20kts from the west and I was expecting continued 1-2m waves. However, the wind was expected to ameliorate by the afternoon. It was only a 6.5 hour passage so we should get into Portpatrick harbour by 16:00.

Weather conditions were better than the day before with ninja squalls (we had one later in the day where the wind went from 10kts to 30kts) luckily I had reefed the sails in before it hit. The 3rd mate stared at me with her beady eyes thinking “Yes, but you should have reefed more in”. 

I called the Harbour Master at Portpatrick on passage and he confirmed that there were 3 berths available on the wall and to stick close into Half Tide Rock in the entrance so as not to run aground. The pilot books are particularly cautious about the entry to Portpatrick Harbour with phrases such as ‘entrance strewn with rocks…a tricky entry…don’t attempt in strong onshore winds’..mmmm.

On approach, the leading marks were spotted and lined up - the cross tide making the angle of approach somewhat jaunty with fairly big waves at the outer entrance. But we quickly popped through and closed in on the buoy marking Half Tide Rock and swung to port once we were passed it and on into the inner harbour.

The Harbour Master was there to greet us and take our lines. Sulaire secure, the 3rd mate demanded her payback. So up the harbour wall we went and strolled along the coast to Dunskey Castle. Back at the boat we settled in for the night amongst the squeaking of Guillimots nesting in the harbour wall…night…night! 

Holyhead to Peel - Sunday 2nd July

 

Having taken a day off to let the winds die down they didn’t, die down that is. The forecast was for W16kts gusting to 20kts but what we had for 7 hours was 20kts gusting 26kts. However, the motion of the boat was a little better with the swell hitting us beam on. But the waves were fairly big at 2-2.5m in quick succession. The 3rd mate wasn’t happy and I fully expected to find a black paw print when I opened my book that night.

As we approached the Isle of Man I decided to go through the narrow sound inside the Calf of Man. We had been through this on our way southbound but we had had the tide with us then and would have it against us this time. The other option was to go around but with the strong westerlies and tidal over falls it wouldn’t be comfortable. As we came into the sound I had forgotten how narrow it was, maybe 50-60m across. There were lots of eddies and the boat lost 4 knots as Sulaire inched through the sound. We finally emerged through into slacker water and the colour began to return to my knuckles as I turned the autopilot back on.

The wind was forecast to drop as we went up the west coast of Man but it didn’t and the seas began to get very confused as we approached South Stack. The 3rd mate’s eyes bore into me.

Rounding the breakwater at Peel just before 9pm came as a relief to all. I called the Harbour Master and he confirmed that the tidal flap gate would open in a few minutes and that we had the choice of 4 visitor berths dead ahead of us on Alpha pontoon upon entry.

With Sulaire secure, the crew headed ashore to stretch legs after our lengthy and tiring passage…back at the boat I was looking forward to reading a few pages of my book…or maybe not…

Resuming the journey north - Pwllheli to Holyhead - Friday 30/6/23

 

A day of buses, taxis and trains to take the crew back down to be reunited with Sulaire in Pwllheli on Thursday 29th June. We readied the boat for a 0930 departure the next morning to make it out of the marina on the ebbing tide while there was still enough water under the keel.

The forecast was for south westerlies 16 gusting 22 knots in the morning and falling away in the late afternoon. Well it was wrong and we had a south westerly that was 20-22 strengthening to 24 knots in the afternoon. 

We stopped at Abersoch to await slack water to go through Bardsey Sound. Two yachts that had left Pwllheli at the same time as us didn’t stop and went straight through the foul, wind over, tide in Bardsey Sound. I was left scratching my head as the crew questioned my planning. I stuck to my guns and we departed Abersoch a couple of hours later and went through Bardsey Sound with the slack water I was expecting.

I promised the crew a better passage leg after battering into the headwinds along the Lleyn Peninsula as we turned north to head across Caernarfon Bay towards Anglesey. However, with the strengthening wind the seas continued to build and the swell was hitting Sulaire on her port quarter making the boat corkscrew when the waves hit. The waves became very confused as we approached Holy Island with waves bearing down on Sulaire from a couple of angles. The third mate was not happy with the unsettling conditions but we ploughed on to Holyhead. A couple of miles out and the winds dropped markedly. As we rounded into Holyhead harbour, I called the Holyhead Sailing Club launch on the VHF and he quickly confirmed that they had a mooring for us and he would guide us to it. After securing Sulaire, we quickly devoured the curry we had made at anchor in Abersoch awaiting the tidal gate at Bardsey.

Another call to the club launch and the cheery driver picked us up to take us ashore. Asking where we had started the launch driver said that there were a couple of yachts in from Pwllheli and that there was an RORC (Royal Offshore Racing Club) race the next day. So sure enough, upon checking the race entry list there were the two yachts that had failed to wait for slack water before going through Bardsey Sound. Sailing racers are different breed altogether!

PS The crew decided upon waking this morning after a very windy night, but good sleep, that we would delay our next leg to Peel for a day or two to get some exercise ashore and await lighter winds. We had a lovely 5 hour walk along the Wales Coastal Path in a blustery but sunny day and returned to the boat feeling reenergised. Night…night!

Fishguard to Pwllheli

We had a very settled night at anchor in Lower Town with the wind barely registering on the instruments. We took advantage of not having to set off too early the next morning to briefly walk the third mate around the pretty little harbour of Lower Town with its eccentric little yacht club.

A couple of yachts had already stolen a march on us by the time we got back to Sulaire and we readied for our trip north east to Pwllheli. As we prepared to lift the anchor it started raining. What! I don't think we had taken out our foul weather gear since we left Sanda Island off the Mull of Kintyre. On they went and up came the anchor and we headed out of Fishguard harbour.  The wind had started to increase with the onset of rain and mainsail and jib were deployed. Contrary to what was forecast, the wind steadily increased from the south to 24 knots. Engine off we were skooting along at 7.5 knots with the following wind. And then the wind died completely in a matter of less than a minute. Away went the oilies as the sun came out, down went the sails and on went the engine. And it remained that way all the way north to Pwllheli some 9 hours later. During which time the crew rested and more dolphins came to play!

On entering Pwllheli Marina, we filled up the diesel tanks, the second time we had done so on our 4 week passage. After topping up the fuel tanks we reversed Sulaire into her finger berth which would allow easier access over the stern for carrying laundry and bags ashore. We spent the next day cleaning the boat, doing laundry, filling the water tanks and making notes of items that would useful for our next passage north. We would be leaving Sulaire for a couple of weeks to head home by train to attend to a few appointments that were in the diary.

We'll be back aboard Sulaire on the 29th June for the final return legs of our Scilly trip bound for her home berth on the Clyde.

 

Milford Haven to Fishguard

 

There were fewer yachts at anchor in Dale than the last time we passed through - either because the need for a good sheltered anchorage wasn’t required or the Castlemartin Firing Range had taken out a few on their final approaches;). 

We had another late start in the morning so as to time our entry into the tidal gates at Jack and Ramsey Sounds as the stream turned northwards. So, in the dinghy we went to walk the third mate ashore. Once ashore we headed off on the north easterly path and quickly came across some perverts blocking the path with their tripods and enormous lenses mumbling something about “great tits”.

Back aboard Sulaire we made ready for our passage to Pwllheli - this time double checking we wouldn’t get shelled. As we approached Jack Sound the boat gained pace in a counter eddie but then began losing ground. I noticed a yacht in front had stuck close in to Skomer going through the sound so I did the same and we only lost a knot or so off our speed. The middle of the sound was clearly still going south, and strongly. I looked back at my calculations and it all appeared correct. Strange, the high pressure system must have delayed the north going tide. As we entered Ramsey sound an hour and a half later the tidal stream had firmly changed to north-going and we hurtled through at over 9 knots. The wind was on our tail and the two yachts in front raised their sails and cut their engines…race on! I kept the iron sail going, albeit at lower revs, hoisted main and genoa and slide past them. If you’ve got it, use it! Particularly if you’ve a dinner to cook followed by a trip ashore to replenish the stocks. Plus we would have glorious hot water heated by the engine for showers.

We pulled into the anchorage at Fishguard which is actually at the hamlet of Lower Town. We had visited Fishguard when driving around the area a few years ago and I was unimpressed but hadn’t realised there was another anchorage at Lower Town. Lovely, protected spot near the harbour that once homed a large herring fleet. We were in the company of 8 other yachts also making a passage stop for the night.  With plenty of room between us all we settled in for the night to the sound of kids giggling as they jumped off the harbour wall into the warm waters of Cardigan Bay…night…night!