Oban to Holyhead

Sat 20th Oban to Islay.

Ali and I got up at 4 am to catch the tide. We heard noises as we were setting off and this was the German’s setting off with their boat, guess where they were heading! We past the infamous Corrvvrekin on the way south but it was so murky we couldn’t really see it. There was a yacht heading into the sound to play we thought. Last time we were here we saw a yacht do a full 360 flip in the tide there!

Ali was complaining about the lack of wind when we set off - as usual he got his wish for much more wind. The coast guard forecast said force 5-6 easing to 3-4 well I can tell you there was no easing in fact we thought it could have been about a force 8 as we were approaching Port Ellen. Thank goodness the harbour is sheltered from the West! This all made for an ’exhilarating sail’ - Ali’s words, ‘hard sail’ - my words! As we were coming in towards Port Ellen the Germans were leading, I reminded Alistair that this was not a race but he had gone into ‘the zone’ by this point (any of you who race with Ali will know all about it!) and anyhow we banged about all over the place but got to the approach first!

We passed the infamous Corryvrekin on the way South but it was so murky we could not really see it. There was a yacht heading into the sound to play about. Last time we were here we saw a yacht do a full 360 flip in the tide there! The tide is always very impressive around that area and it carried us down the Sound of Luing at about 10 knots. Thankfully we have always had tide with us there I would think we would be going backwards if we didn’t!

Ali met a man called Shaun Milligan who was apparently a ‘yachty’ in Shetland a few years ago.
He was returning home to Orkney with a boat he had just bought.

The lasses got their bikes out and wore their new helmets that Granny and Pop bought them for the first time. We went around the bay us running alongside and then Ali took them up to the play park and whilst I made tea. It was early to bed as we were so tired!

Sun 21st Islay to Glenarm
We went to the cyber café to post the blog which is super as it is a café/youth club on one side and a bistro on the other so you can have a nice meal whilst you surf. The internet is really fast too. We left Islay at 3pm to catch the tide to Ireland. It was a really foggy day and so we were using the radar the whole way. We got the fog horn and flares out because we had to cross the Traffic Separation Scheme and we could only see as much as half a mile at the most at any time. Kaylee loved the foghorn when we tested it to see if it was working so we have hidden it somewhere she can’t find it as I don’t fancy being woken up at 6am with a foghorn! It is a bit spooky seeing ships on the radar and trying to figure out if you have to take avoiding action when you can’t see them. After a while a large shadow appeared on the radar which looked like a huge ship near us but it stayed on the radar the whole way to Glenarm and didn’t leave us which means that the radar is now playing up! At least it was also showing what was there as it showed the coast line perfectly. We didn’t really see much of the coast of Ireland on the way down but we made good time as we had a bit of a breeze and a lot of tide especially off Rathlin Island.

We got into Glenarm at about 9.30pm had our dinner and raced up to the pub to have a pint of Guinness. They were all shut! It must be 10pm closing on a Sunday - typical!

Mon 22nd Glenarm to Bangor
We left early in the morning to catch the tide as we had realised the night before there wasn’t that much to Glenarm. Thankfully the fog had cleared up and it was a lovely morning. Ali and I were debating whether the land we could see was Scotland or not but as it came closer we realised it was the Maidens a couple of rocks just off the coast of Ireland! Top navigators we are not!

We came into Belfast Lough in good time and wondered why this boat was speeding towards us it turned out to be the Belfast Water Police patrol boat just zooming around checking all the boats in the area. Alisha and Kaylee who had now decided to get up waved at them with their pyjamas still on.


As we came closer to Bangor we were looking around and saw something moving above the houses a great big wind turbine it was funny seeing one in the town. Maybe it is a tourist attraction…….

Bangor marina is huge but very well kept and organised. We tied up and organised someone to come and look at some of the electronics. He played around for a while and said they were all OK. Ali had seen some older guys that we had met in Oban trying to unstick their ‘in mast furling sail’ and saw that they were looking pretty knackered so he spent about two hours up the mast fixing it for them!

We went to town after that where there was a travelling fair the girls had spied from the marina. Of course that meant they wanted to go on all the rides and as they were too small so did we. The dodgems were the best fun. The attendant asked where we were form when we said Shetland and he said ‘Oh yes my mum lives near there in Hawick?!?!’ I don’t think he had the best grasp of geography.

A fishing trip charter boat came into the marina and they were throwing fish to a seal that was following them into the pontoon. When we walked past later then the seal was still hanging around and kept coming up to look at us. You could see him swimming around under the sea the lasses loved it.

The waterfront in Bangor has gardens and fountains all around and is really quite nice. There is an excellent play park and we were there until we got hungry. We had tea in a really nice place near the marina and finally had a pint of Guinness each it was worth the wait!

Tues 23rd Bangor to Ardglass

The girls had spied some pedal swans in the park the day before and so we had to go back in the morning when they were open. It was good fun, like dodgems on water but with a bit of exercise thrown in! Then we had to take a ride on the mini train that goes around the play park and lastly the girls tried out the paddling pool and had to run back to the marina just in their pants as they were soaking. When we went back to the boat one of the guys who was working with the sails the day before and gave us some short cuts and advice on marinas and tides etc. We were going to set off to the Isle of man the next day but decided on his advice to head down to Ardglass that afternoon. It was a flat calm all the way and a lovely journey down the coast. We got into Ardglass at around 10pm. It is a dredged marina with very precise instructions to get in through the lights., when we woke in the morning it was low tide and we realised why - the whole harbour dries except for the narrow channel and the fishing pier at the other side. You would never have known it the night before it looked like you could cross between the two - no way!

Wed 24th Ardglass
It was quite a windy morning with wind blowing from the East so we put off the trip to the Isle of Man and went to look around. First stop - play park! It is fairly new and an old man who lives next to it said that they had put down weed killer a couple of years ago to sow grass on the surrounding ground but the local kids have territorial spats and had been having stone fights every night so they let the weeds grow back! Alisha finally mastered the monkey bars on her own and was very proud of herself. We went for a walk around the village it is quite small jus a couple of grocery shops and a couple of cafes and butchers. It has a few tower houses dating back to the 14th to 16th centuries when it was a busy trading port. We went to look around one after tea the rest are private houses.

We spoke to a couple of Norwegian crews at the marina, one was a family returning from a year in the Caribbean (I really wish people would stop telling Ali how easy it is to cross the Atlantic!) The other crew were delivering a Family yacht to Cyprus but they planned to be there by the beginning of August! After a crew change in Dublin they were only planning to stop twice more in two thousand miles - thank goodness we are not tied to a schedule like that! We went for another pint of Guinness as we felt it was only right before we left Ireland the next day!

Thurs 25th Ardglass to Holyhead

We got up early as wherever we decided to go we had to get up to catch the tide. When we got out the harbour it was a very choppy sea and we were getting thrown around a lot. For some reason we thought since it was a good wind we should forget the Isle of Man and head straight over to Holyhead. The wind as usual didn’t die down and it ended up being ‘on the nose’ which resulted in all three of the ladies on board being sick. After a while I came at and did some steering which is always a good sea sickness cure. It was a really sunny day but I had been feeling too under the weather to remember the sun cream which means I look a little like a racoon now! The girls just lay on deck in their pyjamas and spewed every now and then. They really are quite amazing as they don’t complain and just lie there Kaylee only protested when I went to steer for a while as she doesn’t think I am as good as Ali in heavy seas! The sea calmed a bit when we got nearer to Holyhead the coastguard helicopter came in quite close, we think they were looking for someone to practice being a casualty but must have decided to look for another boat when they saw the lasses on deck.

We got tied up at about six and all headed up for a shower about seven so the lasses finally got out of their pyjamas. Ali took us out for an Indian meal to fill our empty bellies up again. If you are ever in Holyhead and fancy a curry Raja’s in the town centre is excellent.

Friday 26th Holyhead
The girls spent much of the morning ‘fishing’ off the pontoon. There are loads of little and big fish swimming around the pontoons and a local caught two fair sized lobsters with creels he had set at the end of the pontoon. Ali and I spent the morning cleaning around the boat as it was a bit of a state after yesterday. Once again the air vents on the girls cabin had been left open and their bed had been soaked with the sea crashing over the boat before we had realised yesterday.
We headed into town for a look around it is a nice place, a bit rundown but there is plenty to see here and in the surrounding area if you have a car! Now it is raining and so we are all in for the night. Tomorrow we are thinking to head over to Pwllheli - no idea how you pronounce that! We are in shock that Jacko is dead! And Farrah Fawcett!!