2023 May 12th, Day 28 Port Ellen to Bag Glean Righ Mor, Loch Tarbert

The ferry arrived in  thicker fog than this, it's fog horn announcing
its presence when over 5 miles away (Measured on AIS). I was
surprised that a French yacht left in the thickest fog (before the fog
horn was heard), fortunately she was AIS equipped so was able to
avoid the ferry by moving into Kilnaughton Bay

I had planned to explore the anchorages along the south coast of Islay and was all set to go at 07:00 but the Mull of Kintyre had disappeared from view 30 minutes earlier and the fog bank appeared to be coming my way so I stayed where I was and sure enough a few minutes later I could not see 50 yards, visibility varied from 50 to 150 yards until is suddenly cleared at 09:45 and I was off.

With the sun out and warm and with a light following wind it was an excellent sail under spinnaker until Ardmore point when the wind disappeared, so on went the engine to head for the Sound of Islay. On arrival the wind set in from the North at 10 - 15 knots and cold, I went from sun bathing to multiple layers of cold weather cloths in about half an hour.

I was half an hour early for the tide and the tide was rather late in turning, not unusual in this part of the world, so I was heading into a knot of so of adverse tide until well into the sound but it did enable me to clear the north end of the Sound before over-falls formed.

With mist and drizzle I went straight for the anchorage to find a French boat, also single handed, in position "A" but there is room for several boats and I slotted in without problem although rather closer to the shallow water than I would have preferred.

Two excellent distilleries in view 

Passing Ardbeg. pic by Leigh from his 50 footer White Cloud.

McAuther;s Head

Bag Glean Righ Mor, Loch Tarbert

31 miles in 9 hours.

Click here for Loch Tarbert to Mull  

2023 May 9th, Days 25 - 27 Browns Bay to Red Bay and Port Ellen, Islay

I seem destined always to motor when going north through the north channel, this was the third time out of three.

Even motoring the tide was not favourable to get past the Mull of Kintyre before it turned foul would mean leaving at midnight which I did not fancy, so I didn't set the alarm and would hopefully get a good nights sleep then work out what to do. I left at  06:15 with some favourable tide left, the engine went off at 07:00 with the cruising chute and no mainsail on a dead run in a light wind but that did not last long - about 10 minutes so the engine went back on and I headed for Red Bay and an anchorage off Glenariff (aka Waterfoot) to wait for the tide to turn.

Entering Red Bay, 40 minutes after local low water the adverse tide
still hit 3 knots.

At Anchor for a few hours and an early lunch waiting for the
tide to change.

I had a cunning plan and this time it worked 😀

My track from Bangor to Red Bay the across the N
channel to the Mull of Kintyre.

The admiralty tidal atlas shows a back eddy along the coast north of Red Bay, starting a couple of hours before the tide changes to the south so I left at 11:55, again under the cruising chute, this time for about 15 minutes before the engine went on and shortly I had a knot of favourable tide which quickly increased to 1.5 knots then peaking at 1.7 knots as I head north hugging the coast rather than heading out for the SE corner of the N. Channel TSS.

Apart from the speed boost this also meant I was further north before heading into the strong south going tide, so there was a better chance that the north going tide that I would pick up between 14:00 and 15:00 would compensate for the south going tide as I headed NE.

This almost worked but because I was motoring at 5.4 knots rather than sailing at a planned speed of 4 knots I would have come in a mile or so south of the turning point and rather close to over-falls, although these would have been slight, so with a couple of miles to run I set the autopilot to track to the SE corner of the TSS which I reached easily across the 2 knot north going tide and then I had a favourable tide all the way to Port Ellen where I anchored for the night in Kilnaughton Bay.

I don't know how much time this saved but it was substantial, another 9 metre boat left a few minutes after me and headed straight out, by the time she reached the corner of the TSS I was 8 miles further on but a chunk of this was probably down to me motoring faster.

The next day I moved into the small marina for a welcome shower and revictualling at a much better shop than within walking distance at Howth. 

I also got 28 litres of diesel by porterage, as much as I can comfortably carry on the trolley, but on a second trip for a final 20 litres I came away disappointed as they had run out, the planned delivery having failed to arrive and they were closed for diesel. I was also unable to replace an empty Camping Gaz cylinder but I have one and some left and they are normally available at Tobermory where I plan to be on Sunday or Monday when the wind could be rather strong.

As an aside; why do gas cylinders always seem to run out just after you leave dinner to cook in the oven, rather than when you are boiling water or cooking on the hob and would spot it? 

Past the Mull of Kintyre with 2 knots of favourable tide.

Port Ellen from Kilnaughton Bay.

White Cloud, seen for a third time this trip, in Kilnaughton Bay

White Cloud followed me into the Marina and we had drinks together in a local bar and a decent takeaway Chinese on board her.

57 miles in twelve and a quarter hours including the lunch stop.

Click here for Port Ellen to Loch Tarbert.

2023 May 8th, Day 24 Ballyholme Bay to Browns Bay (Larne)

Light and very variable winds turning to nothing before I cleared Belfast Loch then returning at F4-5 an hour south of Browns Bay so I called it a day, I might have gone further but residual waves from the SE might have made the anchorages further north, that I have not visited uncomfortable. Islay tomorrow.

White Cloud in Browns Bay, last seen at Milford.

14 miles in four and a quarter hours. 

Click here for the trip to Islay.

2023 May 6, Days 22 & 23 Howth to Ballyholme Bay, Bangor.

On Friday forecasts were still equivocal with F7 in one of them for Sunday so I decided on a dash to Bangor on Saturday with the option of anchoring in Ballyholme Bay, as good an anchorage as you are likely to find along this coast in a strong southerly or going into Bangor Marina. 

Its a long way with complicated tides (explained here, opening in a new window) and I was recommended not to leave an hour either side of low water because of shallows in the fairway to the marina, having seen the area round the pontoons at low water I added on half an hour so that that there would be 1.8 metres (the boats draft rounded up) of water above chart datum if in the dark I went a little outside of the dredged area I would still be floating. So departure was set for 03:45, in the event I left 10 minutes early, did a 3 point turn to head out and was on my way,

Lambay Island from Seaward, previously I have always gone
the other side.

Some wind set in a little after 05:00 and the cruising chute went up in 11 knots from the SSE which was to be pretty steady until 14:00 when it died and the engine went on so that I would past Strangford before the tied turned foul.

At 10:15 the wind lightened to 8 knots and  went round to the SE so up went the spinnaker, typically 45 minutes later and before I had put the camera away from taking the above video, the wind returned to the SSE so the cruising chute went back up to replace it.

With 5 knots of wind or less the engine stayed on and I reached Donaghadee Sound  a couple of hours ahead of schedule, with very light winds and a "smooth" sea I decided to press on through even though it was only a day before springs which would have 2.8 knots of adverse tide in the narrow channel with over-falls and a bit more further north, both predictions that the Admiralties "Total Tide" app nailed. 

In the event the passage was uneventful but interesting with rapidly changing tidal flows, especially entering Donaghadee Sound going from a back eddy running northerly at 1.5 knots to a southerly flow at over 2 knots in a couple of boat lengths.

Once through the narrows the engine went off at 19:30 and I anchored at Ballyholme Bay, just east of Bangor at 22:10. 

90 miles in 19 hours.

The forecasts are still inconsistent with each other but all have dialled back on the F7 (Edit: the F7 reappeared in the mid day forecast on Sunday) and it should be possible to move north on Monday afternoons ebb tide to get into position to strike out for Islay or Ghia on Tuesday or Wednesday before the wind turns northerly. 

Update: I have (Sunday morning) given up thinking about that and will work out a plan when I see the forecasts tomorrow morning. In the mean time the flat calm this morning has been replaced with a fresh southerly wind that promises to get stronger overnight with the possibility of thunder storms tomorrow.

Approaching Donaghadee.

Ballyholme Bay (Bangor) Sunday morning.

Also Sunday morning: the ship at anchor had been clearly visible
5 minutes previously as this fog bank appeared from nowhere

A ferry coming down Belfast Loch entering the new fog bank,
it is likely that a small yacht ahead would not be visible from
the bridge, radar and AIS on both sides makes a huge difference.

Click here for the next leg.

2023 May 2nd, Days 18 - 21 Wicklow to Howth.

Another change of plan due to the weather, I had planned to go to the Skerries today (Tuesday) and Ardglass tomorrow to shelter from strong easterly or south easterly winds arriving Thursday evening but the system is arriving early (and much earlier than forecast a few days ago) and that makes entry to Ardglass problematic, even dangerous, even before the strongest winds arrive.

I didn’t want to be at anchor at the Skerries which would be uncomfortable in an easterly and possibly untenable if the wind was north of east so I will divert to Howth, just north of Dublin, which is safe from winds from any direction. I’ll probably be here until Friday but a move to an anchorage might be practical late Thursday.

The view from my berth on the hammerhead, the island known
as Ireland's Eye in the distance.

The rebuilt breakwater protecting the marina, the Pilot says
this was broken down and at best awash at HW.

The view back to the huge club house.

Thursday mid day and the wind was still increasing. If I had
continued to Ardglass I would be arriving in stronger winds
blowing straight down a narrower channel than this. 

Spray from waves breaking on the other side of the island
sometimes went higher than the Martello tower, this pic was
taken about half an hour before the yacht in the next pic arrived.

If going for shelter in Howth in a strong wind from the east you
need to get there before it arrives, although it should be doable,
this boat was coming from Malahide and through Howth Sound
rather than from the east, south of Ireland's Eye.

The view out to sea from the club house.

26 miles in five and a quarter hours.

Thursday, day 20:

Ideally I would leave tomorrow at  04:30 to Dundalk Bay or Ardglass then on to Bangor then Larne but looking at the models downloaded this morning I suspect I’ll not get way until later in the day and will do a short hop to the Skerries for Friday night then head north on Saturday, possibly going direct to Bangor, if I leave at 04:30 and can make 4 knots I can get to the tidal gate at Donaghadee as the tide turns favourable at 23:00 on Saturday and into Bangor a couple of hours later to anchor or if the weather looks threatening to go into the marina later on Sunday.

However Ardglass is a distinct possibility for Saturday night  as the tides are then good to get from there through the Sound at the end of a N going tide on Sunday afternoon.

The American model is showing very strong winds early on Monday, the others show brisk to strong winds, either way I need to plan to be somewhere secure on Sunday.

I’ll have to make decisions every 12 hours when I get the detailed models to supplement the met office forecasts . 

Friday a.m. day 21:

Thursday's plan didn't survive very long, three models downloaded at 08:30 show winds at the Skerries gusting 25 to 30 knots so I'll be here another night, or at least part thereof, this mornings plan is to leave about 03:30 on Saturday morning (there is insufficient water for me to leave between 05:00 and 07:00 and I would like bit in hand), accepting a couple of hours of foul tide, heading either for Ardglass or more likely, if the wind holds (the ECMWF says it will the UKMO says it will not), direct to Bangor. Strong winds  are likely to be arriving late Sunday so if I don't get to Bangor on Saturday night I may be at Ardglass until Tuesday.

Click on the pic above for an expanded view in Flickr, otherwise click

on the arrows to view the slide show.

Click her for Howth to Bangor.

2023 May 1st, Day 17 Carnsore to Wicklow

10 hours of very good sailing reaching in F3-4 occasionally 5, then the W - NW wind died and switched to the east so on went the iron topsail c 6 miles short of Wicklow head fighting 1.7 knots of tide.

The north side of  Wicklow Head.

Wicklow and the Harbour.

Not so attractive in the other direction.

52 miles in 12 hours and 450 miles from the Hamble.

Click here for an unplanned visit to Howth.