Holyhead and Pwllheli

Sat 26th

Holyhead to Pwllheli

The rain stopped in the morning and we waited for high tide to leave Holyhead hoping we would catch it the whole way down the coast to Pwllheli. We went for a wander around Holyhead and had lunch in a cafe. When I was paying the marina lady said, "Oh we had another boat from Shetland here earlier this year with two couples on board, they seemed to really enjoy the night life especially the older brother!" I wonder who that could have been?!?!?

We set off at about 2 and had a very calm motor down the coast in very sunny weather. The only drawback being that the auto pilot is definitely not working at all so one of us had to be at the wheel all the time. We passed the South Stack Light at Holy island it has a little bridge going to it. Then we headed across the bay to Bardsey Island and in around the corner to Pwllheli.

We have been away for four weeks now and all that time we have had an unusual item on deck that has been a cause for 'animated discussion' - a plastic bread basket. Alistair is very sure that it is going to come in useful for something someday. After one rough trip Ali was amazed that the bread basket was still there, he thinks it is a sign it will definitely have a purpose yet! I think we must be the only yacht we have seen so far that has a kitchen bin tied to the railings as an anchor chain store and a bread basket on top. Posh yachties must grimace as they walk past us!

The only cause for alarm was the entrance to Pwllheli harbour. It is on a river and dries out too much for the likes of our boat at low tide. We had timed it all right for the tides but not for the lack of light! It was really very confusing and there was a lot of changing courses. The harbour is marked by lit and unlit buoys, some of which are on the chart and some of which are not! The depth meter was at one point reading as low as we could go - eeek! (This of course is nothing compared to what we went through two years ago going into Bunbeg harbour in Ireland but that’s another story lets just say thank goodness that a local fisherman came past and saved our bacon!! ) We eventually made it into the harbour, a great sigh of relief, got the girls to bed and rewarded ourselves with some beer.

Sun 27th to Wed 1st July Pwllheli

When we got up in the morning we were amazed by how many motor boats were going past. We found out from the couple next to us that this is a very busy place at the weekend as they all drive down from Chester and Manchester which is only a couple of hours away by car and spend the weekend roaring around the bay then getting plastered. There are a lot of people who have their boats on pontoons and all the rest have them on trailers in boat parks and about ten tractors spend the whole of Saturday and Sunday morning putting boats into the water and then the whole of the afternoon/evening taking them back out again. We were berthed alongside the slip where all the boats launch from and it was unbelievable how quickly the tractors were putting boats into the water!

We got a lift over the bay to the town from the couple next to us as it is a ten minute walk around the swamp so they always wait for high tide and go to the coop. The town is quite a busy little place and has quite a few shops, cafes, pubs etc. We walked over to the South beach and it was getting too hot! Yes we were over heating and wondering exactly why we were heading to the Med if we can’t even handle Wales! We went to a play park and met an extremely polite little boy who was thanking Kaylee for stopping the roundabout for him. We got talking to what we thought was his granny but she turned out to be his foster carer and she told us that he was four but didn’t look it as until she took over his care last year he could hardly talk or walk and hadn’t been fed very well at all. Poor peerie thing at least he is being looked after properly now.

When we got back to the marina there was a queue of boats besides ours waiting for their tractors to pull them back to the yard. It was a bit of a scrum!

On Monday morning we booked the boat in to be lifted out on Tuesday night - a special deal meaning you get it cheaper (that appealed to Ali immensely) and the boat stays in the slings and you have until the next morning to do get everything done. Sounds like a lot of work to me! We got a guy to look at the auto pilot for us and we went out into the bay and he did some tests then re calibrated it. Fingers crossed it actually works this time! I am slightly more hopeful as this man actually lives on his boat and the last guy in Ireland that looked at it said he hated boats! As we were leaving the harbour he was guiding us out the way we should have come through the channel which apparently is all new as much of it has silted up over the last year or so, lets just say we were really very lucky we didn’t get stuck in the mud on Sat night!!

The marina was a completely different place on Monday as all the weekenders were gone and it was just a handful of people on long weekends and others like us in the middle of a trip left. This was great as we basically had all the amenities to ourselves, no queues for the showers or sneaking ahead in the washing machine queue!

It was so hot in the afternoon we decided to go to the other beach and test out Alisha and Kaylee’s new neoprene suits. Ali and the girls had a great time in the water and I sat and read my book ready with the towels to dry them off. It was so warm we could hardly bear to leave the beach and go home for tea.

We all got showered and cycled off to a Chinese restaurant as they were selling dim sum and we had never tried them before. It was really yummy and the lasses found two little girls to play with too which always means a more relaxed meal for us! We cycled back along the promenade where the pool dries completely and all the birds come to pick amongst the mud. Alisha likes the herons and we sat and watched them standing still then quickly jabbing at fish.

Tues 30th
On Tuesday we had a big cleaning day I gutted the boat and cleaned all the floors, windows cupboards etc. Ali kept the girls out of the way and took them into town to get some bits and pieces for lifting the boat out of the water at night. At four we went over to get lifted out us girls just tried to stay out of the way. Once she was finally out the work could really start! The marina workers were really helpful and left us tools ladders and the pressure washer over night. We got a free kit with the paint which contained a fetching outfit of a paper overall goggles and a mask which I put on to scour the bottom of the boat. It was still hot and what a difference washing and painting the boat in about 25 degrees centigrade than in March in Shetland with hailstones bouncing off your head! We were glad we had gone for the night option as we would have collapsed with the heat during the day. We worked until midnight and got most of it done with a little bit left to do in the morning.

Wed 1st

We had to wait until half past eleven to put the boat back in for the tide to be high enough. Then we grounded on the way back to our berth……. Typical. Then I had my first fall as I was jumping ashore to tie up I didn’t get wet but I landed on the pontoon and my glasses fell in the water, luckily I got a spare pair before I left Shetland.

Ali spent the rest of the day washing the deck of the boat and it is now gleaming. We are thinking to set off tomorrow but the forecast is for rain and lots of it. We will have to set off at about 3am to catch the tide or wait for the afternoon as we are definitely leaving at high tide!