Chris and Mike in Dublin

From Chris:

I arrived at Dublin Airport to be met by Mike on an overcast Irish summer day and this set the pattern for the next few days. Sun, rain, sun, rain and thunder, sun and then more rain!  None of this stopped us getting out and about and immersing ourselves in Irish history.  From a Neolithic passage tomb at Newgrange and the Hill of Tara, spiritual centre of Celtic Ireland and the seat of Kings up to site of the Post Office Siege at the Easter Uprising of 1916.  We found the bus service from Howth to Dublin City was excellent and we made several trips into the City.  

Howth is a very pretty fishing village with dramatic cliff paths around the coastline which we explored. Around the harbour we found some great places to eat, we enjoyed lovely fish dishes, fantastic pizza and wonderful home-made soup in the pub whilst listening to live Irish music.  Walked to Sutton to provision the boat ready for the next passage, true to form we walked back along the beach in the rain

Chris and Mike at Newgrange neolithic passage tomb

Peel to Dublin - and there will now be a short intermission

We eventually got into the marina at Peel and continued to enjoy the local music scene.  A bus trip round the island also gave us an opportunity to appreciate this wonderful place.   Since we were gale-bound for a couple of days it was great to have something to do.

On Sunday afternoon another brief weather-window opened which was just big enough to get to Dublin.  The residual swell leaving Peel created waves as big as I have ever experienced in Goldfinch, but she shrugged them off with her usual aplomb and we were soon in smoother waters and properly on our way.   Inevitably, the forecast breeze was coming from Dublin itself and we were forced to motor much of the way in order to arrive before the next gale.  In fact we arrived at about 1 am, and after negotiating a very tricky harbour entrance in darkness, were alongside just as the wind and rain arrived.

Howth, which is just north of Dublin, is on a lovely peninsular with good walks around as well as easy access to the city and airport.   Goldfinch is staying here until 30th July with Mike and Christina aboard while I go home to see the family and to sleep in a real bed for the first time in two months.

The next instalment will be in early August.
    

Local culture

Our final day in Belfast was spent visiting the city itself.   I have been there many times, but always on business of some sort and so it was interesting to see it from a tourist’s perspective.   We visited a few of the ‘sights’ but as the day was what they now dub the ‘Orangefest’ the parades were in full swing.   Drum and pipe bands together with bowler hatted marchers from all the various lodges marched past.   There was a certain air of defiance about it all, and nobody seemed to be enjoying themselves very much – although the rain wouldn’t have helped.  It all left me feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Debbie then left us for the airport, and Mike and I took the boat out to Copeland Island to anchor for a few hours.   The island is a seabird sanctuary and there are large signs threatening egg collectors with prosecution.  I had no idea this was still a problem.

At 2:30 am (everything at sea seems to start ridiculously early for some reason) we weighed anchor and set out for Peel on the Isle of Man.  The crossing was straightforward and we sailed much of the way.   Unfortunately, upon arrival the Harbourmaster told us that the harbour tide gate was closed for repair and wouldn’t open for two days!  This is a bit of a problem as gales are forecast and there is no convenient alternative.   We are therefore tied up alongside a fishing trawler which is confined to harbour for quota reasons.  Uncomfortable, but should be secure enough.

In the evening we wandered ashore and stumbled upon ‘ Yn Chruinnaght’.   Any of you not fluent in Manx may not know that this is a Celtic culture festival and translates as 'The Gathering'.   We went into the pub and really enjoyed our evening listening to the two bands.   The atmosphere was joyous and everyone, young and old, seemed to be having a great time.   As visitors we were made very welcome and we have also been invited to other parts of the festivities.

We are currently awaiting a suitable weather window so that we can zag our way back across the Irish Sea*, and in the meantime enjoying this wonderful island.

* Spike Milligan reference not intended but noted.

Day trip to Bangor

We are thoroughly enjoying Northern Ireland.   The Giant's Causeway was truly amazing and we also took a bus ride along the beautiful northern coast.   Great beaches, magnificent cliffs and rolling green hills behind.   Quite different from the Scottish Islands only a few miles in our wake.

We took an extra day to enjoy the area, mostly because of a southerly near-gale being forecast.  Of course this didn't materialise as we didn't actually go to sea and so we moved down to the quaint village of Glenarm on Saturday afternoon.   This being the 'Twelfth week of July" as the Ulster folk put it, everywhere is crowded for the bank holiday weekend, and we had to 'raft up' to another boat on arrival.  This is a less common practice these days, but no real problem.  Very shortly afterwards another boat literally drifted in with an engine failure and we had to get lines to them and tie them up alongside us for the night.

The bad news (particularly for them) was that we had to get up at 4 am in order to catch the big tide southwards to Belfast and a fair bit of un-knitting needed to be done so that Goldfinch could leave and the other boat safely made fast.

The early morning trip to the pleasant harbour of Bangor (NI) was uneventful and we are currently parked in their large marina.  Possibly uniquely, their 'facilities' include hot baths which are very welcome.

Mike eschews his organic muesli for an Ulster fry

Debbie, who as well as being ship's photographer and ace helmsperson, has been ably contributing in the galley.  As she leaves for home on Tuesday,there is a possibility that Mike's health food regime may get re-established. However, even he has the occasional fall from grace.

Grab a chance ...

Today worked out rather differently than we had expected.  We were waiting in Port Ellen on Islay for the weather to improve for our next hop South.   The forecasts at the moment generally seem to be for strong winds coming from wherever we want to go, and looked set to be set contrary for a while.

Port Ellen is a lovely place, but apart from visiting distilleries (it has three, but you can have too much of a good thing!) there isn't much else to do.

Port Ellen

And then, suddenly this morning the wind swung round to the North West.  Granted it was also a force 5-7 which is stronger than we would normally consider, but it would be behind us and so off we went.  And we were so glad we had!  Goldfinch picked up her skirts (well, the big genoa actually) and raced southwards in bright sunshine, surfing at times down the big rollers racing in behind us from the Atlantic. Exhilarating stuff!

Rathlin Island

Mike, lowering our Saltire courtesy flag.

And so Scotland was left behind in a trice and we said farewell to this beautiful country. We loved your scenery, but perhaps not your weather.

We covered the 25 miles to Ballycastle in Northern Ireland in less than four hours, coming in past the beautiful scenery of Rathlin Island.  This is the most westerly point of the trip.

The weather is about to turn again, so a touristy day is planned for tomorrow. The Giant's Causeway is a must, as is the conveniently located village of Bushmills.

What a difference a day makes

We awoke to a misty morning and set off down the Jura Sound.  The mist soon thickened to actual fog, and we lost sight of the land around us.  Thank goodness for electronic navigation devices!  It took a couple of hours for the fog to clear, during which time we saw nothing else but a couple of other boats on the radar, two seals, a dolphin, and numerous sea birds.  

Once we could see again the wind picked up and we were able to turn the engine off and sail.  For a while we were having fun.  But as we neared our turning point off the Isle of Islay, the wind grew stronger and the sea became quite rough.  Eventually though we reached the refuge of Port Ellen, which has a small marina which was full so we had to raft up to another boat, but we were pleased to arrive.

One of our alternative mooring places was Luce Bay, until we noticed on the chart that it said ‘Live firing practice area - unexploded ordnance (buoyed)’.   There were two rocks in the entrance called ‘Little Scare’ and Big Scare’ so we took the hint!

Oban to Crinan

5^th July 2015 – Oban to Crinan

We arrived in Oban in sunshine around lunchtime on Friday.  Yet more stunning scenery.  The marina is across from the town on an island called Kerrera – a courtesy water taxi ferries sailors back and forth once an hour.  A walk around the island (getting slightly lost), an ice cream, a shower and another of Mike’s delicious meals served on deck as it was still warm.  Squally showers had been forecast for the following day so we decided to stay put.  On Saturday we took the water taxi over to the town for provisions and to have a look round.  Oban seems to consist largely of fish and chip restaurants, and it was just a question of picking which one to go to for our evening meal.

Sunset from Crinan

As the bad weather had blown through (for now) we set off again this morning.  We were able to sail for a time, but as usual the wind was coming from where we wanted to go and so we had to turn the engine on.  We passed through the narrows into Loch Luing where the strong tide swept us along, at times more than doubling our speed and shooting us out of the other end like a champagne cork out of a bottle.

Crinan (at the North end of the Crinan Canal) proved to be yet another very pretty place.  We picked up a mooring buoy, and later after dinner sat on deck with a glass of port watching the sunset, and were blessed with the sight of a couple of dolphins playing around another boat as it came in.

Oh the Crinan Canal’s for me

For I don’t like the wild raging sea

Those big foaming breakers, they give me the shakers

The Crinan Canal’s for me.

Crinan

Back in salt water

Yesterday (Thursday) we said farewell to Mark and continued out towards the sea.  This involved transiting the famous Neptune's Staircase of eight locks so was a fairly slow process.   We then had to sprint along to the sea lock and out to the sea again.

We spent the evening on a mooring buoy near Fort William and then moved down the coast to the shelter of Oban Marina.   There are strong winds forecast for tomorrow so a day of laundry and shopping is probably in order.   Beautiful sunshine this afternoon though, so a walk around the island of Kerrera seems like a good idea,

Early morning mist on Loch Linne near Fort William

  

Hills of the North

On Monday it was a short hop to Loch Ness itself, a long and very deep expanse of water framed by towering green hills, fading to blue in the distance. The wind was blowing briskly and we lost no time in getting the sails unfurled. Needless to say it was blowing from the south-west – that is, the direction we wanted to travel in – but Goldfinch was in her element and we spent the whole day tacking with exhilaration along the loch. At lunchtime we dropped anchor in a sheltered little bay overlooked by the romantic and picturesque Urquhart Castle. 

In the afternoon the wind picked up more and we were visited by some quite intense rain and strong breezes. But as they say in Norway, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes: all togged up in our oilies we enjoyed a fantastic sail. By early afternoon we arrived at Foyers Bay, another sheltered inlet where we found a mooring buoy and tied up for the night.

The rain stopped, the wind abated. In this idyllically peaceful spot we had one of the most magical evenings of the trip: one of Mike’s best-yet dinners on deck, a bottle or three of wine, some Elgar and good company, amid stunning scenery. Very close to being a perfect day. This is what we came for!

Goldfinch sailing on Loch Lochy

Now available in colour

Our motto has become ‘if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.’ On Sunday morning it alternated between light showers and sunshine. We motored round from Inverness marina to the sea-lock at Clachnaharry, which is the entrance to the Caledonian Canal. Until now the colour-scheme of the trip has been based on grey: the grey North Sea beneath (usually) grey clouds, the coastline grey and dotted with grey buildings. At sea the wildlife mostly chooses its palette mostly from the grey tones, too, with only the delicate yellow of a gannet’s head or the occasional multicoloured flash of a puffin’s bill to relieve the monotony: even the whale we saw a few days ago was grey. But once inside the Caledonian Canal, suddenly the scenery switched from monochrome to vivid colour. At the lock the sun came out, lighting up the intense green of the hillsides and picking out the vivid yellow gorse and other bright hues.

Kessock Bridge at Inverness

The lock-keeper at Clachnaharry was immensely friendly and helpful, as was the man at the swing-bridge a little way along the canal. At Seaport we did some victualing at the local supermarket before carrying on to the Muirtown Flight, a chain of five locks. We were joined at these locks by a number of other boats: a large motor vessel and two yachts run by the Sea Cadets, plus a couple of other sailing boats. As you enter these locks the walls tower up on either side of you; the trick is to get a crew-member or two ashore so they can take your lines. Once the boat is through the first lock of the series the crew can then walk the boat through to the next one like a dog, helped by a lock-keeper who, as the lady in the boat behind us remarked, wasn't there the day they did charm school. Working your way through the complete flight takes a good hour.

Then we were in the canal proper: green banks and views of the softly rounded hills and mountains. A slower, gentler pace of life. We stopped at Dochgarroch and had dinner at Oakwood Restaurant, a little place that is unlicensed but does not charge corkage if you bring your favourite tipple. The food was excellent here, and the skies cleared by evening. For the moment...