Monday - Aberdaron to Holyhead

Bardsey Sound was well behaved, and give me quite a tidal lift. I left Aberdaron about 6am and was in Holyhead about lunchtime

Holyhead was about groceries and doing a washing. It would also have been about fuel, but their pump broke down ...

I managed to get 20 litres in cans from a petrol station. They had to fit in my bicycle panniers.

Sunday - Fishguard to Aberdaron

A long, hot day - I tried hard to sail in the light winds at the beginning, but as the tide turned against me I gave up and motored most of the rest of the way. I managed to get sunburned.

Aberdaron is very pretty, but I didn't go ashore.

Dale to Fishguard, Friday 21st July.

The wind had dropped a good deal by later today, but there was still a swell running from the SW when I left Dale at about 3:30 pm. I should have left a little earlier, as there was a strong north running tide in both Jack Sound and Ramsay Sound, which, combined with the swell, made both more interesting than I'd have preferred.

I also found myself fighting the tide off Strumble Head as the light failed. The worst was off the headland itself, where the adverse tide reached about 2.5 knots, but it eased a bit as I got nearer Fishguard.

I'm now anchored off the Old Town, in a little over four metres. I should have at least two at the bottom of the tide (1:30 am).

I won't be making an early start tomorrow.

Starting Homewards ...

After a very pleasant holiday harbour-caravanning in Watchet, I'm on my way north again.

I fought the last hour of the flood tide on Tuesday afternoon before the ebb helped me across to Rhossili Bay in Wales, which gave shelter from the easterly breeze. I crossed the Hellwick sands without any problem - one chart warns that these move around, and that soundings may not be reliable, but there was little sea running and I thought between the echo sounder and keeping my eyes open I should be OK.

In the morning, the wind had shifted (as expected) and I took the last of the early tide across to Tenby. I took a bit of a detour to get out of the Pendine Range area, after hearing an incomprehensible exchange between Range Control and Milford Haven Coastguard. I tried calling Range Control without success, and then MHCG called me to say that the range was in use and that they would get Range Control to call me, which they did. MHCG also suggested calling Triton, the range patrol vessel, but I got no reply from them. This was all a bit puzzling - I would have thought Range Control would have made a point of having good VHF communications with anyone in their vicinity.

There are a few firing ranges along this coast, and the chart says you can cross them at any time but to watch out for signals - such as red flags (!) - that they are in use. Maybe the risks are small ...

The visitors mooring at Tenby was fairly bouncy, from the earlier east wind, but I waited out the flood and had a run ashore before taking the afternoon ebb further West to Dale. The wind was a solid four or so from the West (maybe five on occasion), so I was motoring. There were some uncomfortable wind-over-tide conditions off headlands, but only for half an hour or so at a time.

And now I'm in Dale, where I will stay until Friday afternoon when the weather will be less breezy and the tide will take me round St. David's head - possibly to Fishguard.

Track from Findhorn to Watchet

Here is my/our track south:

605 miles through the water and 562 over the ground, although I suspect my log of over-reading about 10%, so that should probably be something like 540 through the water.

Strangford Lough to Dublin, F6 downwind

Not in any order...

On Thursday I had a 13 hour run from Strangford Lough down to Dublin, at an average speed of 7.3 knots over the ground. With a bit of tidal help...

Porlock Post

I'm anchored off Porlock, and will pootle along to Watchet in three or four hours to go into the Marina.

Almost exactly two weeks ago - 21st June - Angus and I left Findhorn on a late tide (nearly midnight), to get into the Caledonian Canal the following morning. We did a quick transit (always a waste, but ...) and were in the Corpach Basin on Saturday, where we got ready for sea, bunkered, and thought about the weather.

The weather was moderately vile - West or North West 6, and it looked as though it was funneling up the loch. I spoke to a yacht that had just come in who they reckoned they didn't want to go out again. And they were going down wind...

But the forecast said it would ease a bit, and the prospect of getting down the loch on Saturday night was too tempting. We anchored in Shuna Sound.

On Sunday we took the best of the tide and had a bracing reach down the Sound of Jura to Lowlandman's Bay, where we anchored for a few hours to rest and wait out the flood. That evening we made Kilnaughton Bay (Port Ellen) on Islay.

We spent Monday and Tuesday night on Rathlan Island, visiting the East Light on our bikes, and the North Light on the bus (!). Fog made the North Light visit very atmospheric, but we'd have seen more on a clearer day.

On Wednesday we motored (upwind) to PortPatrick, where Angus got the bus home. I carried on to Strangford Lough, anchoring in the early hours. (Flying by wire: Two devices running chart plotters, plus radar).

Thursday was a long downwind run to Dublin. Force 6, Aries, rain, and motion. Not an advertisement for the delights of sailing.

I spent a lot of time with the washboards in, poking my head out of the hatch. Raasay did most of it without human intervention ...

I spent two nights in Dublin (Poolbeg Marina, right in the docks) so that I could visit friends on the Friday, and so that they could visit me on Saturday morning. I left at lunchtime after they left, and sailed overnight towards St. David's head, anchoring in Skomer South Haven for a few hours to rest on Sunday before carrying on to a more secure anchorage behind Caldey Island.

Yesterday took me from Caldey Island to here, where I'm hanging on a huge length of anchor chain (tidal range in the Severn), waiting for the tide again...

I have a manual windlass.

I have loads of photos to follow. Once I get a faster internet access ...

New Triradial Genoa

So. There are some things I do spend money on:



Raasay's old sails set well, and I was spoiled.

Harbour Double

Raasay has a fairly primitive layout. Only pipe cots in the main saloon, quite a cramped fo'c'sle, and a very tiny pipe-cot in the quarter berth space behind the chart table.

Without doing a lot of remodelling, or incurring a lot of expense, I wanted to create a temporary double in the main saloon, but wanted the bits to be easy to stow.

This is the result - it uses the port side settee cushions plus a squab from a cockpit cushion to make the additional mattress. The long support by the table can be stowed in the quarter berth space, and the slats roll up quite neatly with their webbing.

Raasay in the yard, near launch ...

Last tasks before being lifted. Angus touching up the touching up ...

Catching up ...

I should know better than to think I should try to catch up in a sort of ordered way before posting current events - it just leads to bloggers block ...

I had an interesting sail in The Clyde and the South West this year. The canal trips were a bit expensive - a return trip through the Caledonian, and one through the Crinan - which I hadn't tried before. It's very pretty, and more like a narrow boat trip.

Here are some photos:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajax_pc/albums/72157673466872866

I was mostly on my own but sometimes had one or two crew. I spend a nostalgic few days in The Clyde, where I had haven't sailed since I was last on a sailing course there in 1992 (John Major's re-election was a notable event of that week - the somewhat left wing crew and the ex RN skipper both displaying a good deal of tact and consideration). I also visited some relatives I haven't seen for far too long.

Other highlights included Arran, Islay, Colonsay, Jura, Staffa, Tiree, Sound of Iona, Mull, Loch Etive, and Loch Eil.

This is one of my favourite photos:



It was taken from two or three hundred metres up a hillside on south side of Loch Etive. Raasay is a visible speck, and you can pick out the dinghy on the near shore with some patience. Follow the link to the full size file on flickr if you have nothing better to do!

I got a fright on my way back down, because a breeze started to come up the loch and Raasay was dragging as I was motoring back across. The tide was still rising, fortunately ...

The charts show an anchorage, but I think it's mostly rock and weed. I had spent the night there before going for my walk, so things could have been worse. I'm sure I'd have wakened up if I had dragged earlier, but I'd rather not think about it.

Connell Bridge was interesting - it's pretty swirly there even at neeps. I think I had about a metre or two clearance - the calculations seemed as dreams and illusions when I was watching the mast go under. It was a little after HW Springs, which gave me some leeway and also meant I had a chance of turning round ...

The loch and the glen were stunning. It would be worth spending a few days there and taking the opportunity to walk up towards Glen Coe. If I could get safely anchored ...