Nardini’s lived up to it’s reputation the food and surroundings were great. The waiting staff resplendent in their formal black and white uniforms including collar and black tie. It was like stepping back in time to a 1930s Italian cafe. After our fish and chips, and bottle of wine, we had our choice of all manner of ice creams, but we all took the safe options!
Up at 7am to get the boat refuelled at 8am, before the rush of boats and potential long wait for fuel. Paul took us down to the fuel jetty and 54ish litres of fuel later, off we go.
The plan is to go down the Eastern Kyle of Bute to a very pretty anchorage at the northern tip called Caladh Harbour. To get there we have to navigate a small channel immediately after a ferry crossing, great scenery and light winds have given us a relaxed and enjoyable day.
Overnighting as planned in Caladh and Paul is making a Chicken Curry for dinner.
Day 8 is our rest day in Largs and a chance to reflect upon the journey. Then to decide where next and our route out to the Western Isles. Once of course we have got the boat back to pristine condition. So washing decks with fresh water, filling tanks with water and general cleaning.
Tonight we are off to Nardini’s in Largs for our evening meal, a must visit on any trip to Largs, the ice cream is amazing.
Our trip so far has totalled 585 nautical miles, our original passage plans expected 569 miles the main difference being attributed to the course change to Ireland mentioned previously. So the winds and tides and our timing has been pretty good so far.
On the evening of day 6 we had to make our decision to cross the Irish Sea to Scotland or go for cover in Bangor.
We had a fantastic evening meal cooked by Paul in very difficult rolling sea conditions. A yacht cooker is only 2 rings and a small oven on a gimble that moves around a lot in a big sea, so not easy to produce his great food. So bolstered by our hot food and having had an updated weather forecast, that said the wind would drop and sea conditions calm a bit by 11pm, we decided to turn East for Largs.
The crossing to Stranraer was approx 21 miles and should have taken about 3.5 to 4 hours. But the wind and tide were so good we did it in just over 3. Visibility was very good, we could see the Irish lighthouses from the Scottish coast.
At about 1 am off the Stranraer Harbour entrance we were playing tag simultaneously with 4 fishing boats and 2 ferries that couldn’t make up their mind what direction they were going in. Including a full 360 degree turn by a Stena ferry behind us.
By 2.30 am we were along side the Ailsa Craig that even in the darkness looks very dramatic. The photo below gives an idea of how unusual this island is, in the middle of nowhere. By 6am, the South of Arran popped into view and then into Largs at almost 9am on the dot. So 48 hours exactly for 288 miles,that averages 6 nautical miles per hour, that is really flying for such a long trip.
To watch the video please click or press READ MORE below.
Overnight was a bit of a challenge as we progressed up the Bristol Channel and in particular the St George’s channel. The main challenge being fog banks. Or should I say FOG BANKS! If you have never sailed a small craft in fog, it is difficult to understand the difficulty of trying to see any potential hazards, such as container ships, ferries and fishing boats in time to avoid them. Visibility was coming and going, we are doing 6 to 7 knots and they can be doing 20+ knots. So closure speed can be akin to a fast speedboat and with limited vision they can appear very close out of the bank. So you need to keep a close and continual watch on the horizon that you can see all around, and also on your instruments. We are fortunate that Wind Singer is equipped with AIS which is similar in use to radar, but easier to use. So not much sleep was had this night.
The morning brought us the Irish Sea and a very confused and lumpy sea state with pretty high winds. All well within the boat’s capability but at times the motion of a following sea, on a straight downwind run can be a bit unpleasant. Particularly if it lasts for hours and when you have the wind coming in the opposite direction from the tide, known as wind over tide. Fortunately non of the crew suffer from seasickness and we soldiered on. Our original intention was to pass close to the Isle of Man entering into the middle of the Northern Channel, before crossing to Scotland, but the conditions made us rethink. The new plan Nick (The Englishman) hatched was to head for the East coast of Ireland and run up to the tip of Belfast Lough. This new course gave 2 options that we could consider at the top of our run North. We could make a decision on conditions around 9pm and either turn East for Scotland if all was okay, or West for Bangor and overnight out of what would then be the bad weather.
Always difficult to photograph waves that do justice to them, but here goes, the images are from mid morning worsening later….
I am not being lazy putting 2 days together in one post here, day 4 was our recuperation and rest day in Milford Haven. Nothing of note happened except we had a very nice meal in the yacht club restaurant . I have spared you the pictures of our food as I am trying to avoid this becoming like a typical Facebook post. However, Paul (The Irishman), took off for a run, looking for and finding a path that follows Brunel’s Great Western Railway. Neyland where the marina is situated was originally the Western Terminus of his railway and rails from the railway are still present on the quayside beside the marina today. http://www.ikbrunel.org.uk/neyland
On day 5 after refuelling, we cast off at 9am. Next planned stop Largs, some 288 nautical miles North. The weather forecast looks like it could potentially be challenging coming up the Irish Sea, but nothing the boat or the crew can’t handle.
Photo 1. Neyland the pretty part of Milford Haven. Yacht club restaurant on the left at the top of the slip.
After rounding Lands End in the late afternoon of Day 2 it was a very quiet crossing of the Bristol Channel. The sea conditions were good overnight and we didn’t see many other boats at all, until we approached the entrance to Milford Haven. We did have some common dolphins alongside just after dawn but unfortunately they were too quick to photograph. We arrived in Milford Haven almost exactly 50 hours after leaving Lymington some 297 miles behind. We will rest here until Wednesday morning and then weather permitting next stop Largs by Friday, some 275 miles from here.
Having decided to keep going overnight, the morning sun was spectacular. As daylight approaches we have made great progress and are just off Plymouth. Spotted some very fast navigation lights coming up behind us and shortly after, we were visited by 3 racing yachts going maybe 3 times our speed racing into Plymouth. Click READ MORE to see.
