Fair winds and good sailing

The weather in Scotland had been perfect, and as we left Tighnabruaich to sail around the other side of Bute, the sun shone again and we were treated to calm, still conditions. 

We motored through the narrow channel around Burnt Islands on the Northern side of Bute, looking out for the ferry from Colintraive (remembering the last frantic journey I had taken on it with my sister, Judy, a few years earlier…. But that’s another story!) and past Sir Richard Attenborough’s old house (my sister Lynn will appreciate this, as we used to make a point of commenting on the house each time we saw it, and seeing if we could spot its famous resident!).  We continued motoring down the East Kyle until the wind had increased and as the islands main town of Rothesay came into view, we unfurled the sails and turned the engine off for a lovely sail east to Largs on the mainland.

An old friend from Cambridge had moved to Glasgow many years ago and each time I visited my parents, we would arrange to meet.   A trip to Scotland would not have been the same if I hadn’t been able to catch up with Tracey, so we had arranged to spend a night in Largs marina to meet Tracey and her partner, Jim, for a few hours.   One of the standouts about this marina was the impressive boat handling skills we witnessed as large yachts successfully negotiated very tight spaces and I could only watch in awe as they expertly berthed their boats at speeds that made my toes curl.  I covert their confidence as I tend to approach cautiously and slowly, which sometimes is to my detriment as with a bit of speed, boats tend to be more responsive.

The next day we left early, just after low tide.  The wind was light and behind us, so we decided to test out our cruising chute – a large, lightweight (usually colourful) sail which flies from the front of the boat.   This was the first time we had attempted to fly the sail, and were pleased with how easy it was to set up and trim.   With the sun shining and the sails set, we relaxed in the sunshine, reading and enjoying the peace and quiet as we gently made our way down wind.   A submarine appeared on the horizon and we watched the large vessel continue at high speed above water, around the south side of Arran.  We have seen a lot of military exercises and vessels, ships and aircraft, since being on the boat.

After spending our last night in Scotland on anchor we continued the next day to sail 30 miles back to Bangor in Northern Ireland.   With a close eye on the weather, the next evening we left at 7pm for a night sail to Wales.  Steve had been keeping track of a big low that was approaching but we felt there was time for us to sail the 100 miles to Holyhead before the big winds were due to hit the next day in the early evening.   He was right, we had a great passage although neither of us slept much, and we arrived in Holyhead as the winds were starting to increase.

Holyhead marina was destroyed in a storm in 2018 when 80 boats sank, and today all that remains of the marina is one pontoon that can accommodate about 10 boats.  Although the Victorian breakwater is the longest in the UK at 2.7km, the pontoon is still very exposed and we were concerned about the safety of Cerulean in the coming winds.    We shared the pontoon with three other boats including a family of 4 and dog on a 28ft yacht and a 47ft Swan – a privately owned training yacht called Saga adventure sailing with the very experienced owner, Christian, and two lovely guests on board.

The winds arrived later that day so we doubled up our mooring lines and fenders as Cerulean strained, bounced and was thrown against the lines and pontoon.  The mooring lines creaked under the pressure as we hunkered below deck sheltering from the wind and rain. 

Holyhead is the largest town in Anglesey and has the appearance of a forgotten settlement with large derelict buildings on the headland and tired looking houses in the narrow streets leading to a small, unattractive town centre. The only saving grace of Holyhead, in my humble opinion, is the beautiful surrounding countryside.

After four days in Holyhead, thankfully a weather window appeared.   We were concerned about the sea state and watching a boat try to leave the marina and being thrown around in the heavy seas and wind, it was a valid concern.   We intended to leave for Milford Haven in the morning but on waking up to heavy rain and the sound of wind whistling through the rigging, we stayed inour warm bed and reconsidered our departure.   Two of our mooring lines had broken during the night and we soon learned that the other boats had lines that had suffered the same fate.  The boat next to us, Saga, was also heading south and had delayed their departure until early evening so, after reviewing the weather again, we decided to leave with them and buddy sail through the night.

At 5pm we followed Saga out of Holyhead harbour and into the rolling sea which was slowly calming down.  Earlier we had walked along the seawall and had waves crashing over our heads, but fortunately the winds had eased and with it, the waves were smaller.   We had raised the reefed  main in the shelter of the harbour and as soon as we were clear of the wall, we unfurled the smaller of our two headsails, our staysail, and once we felt confident the boat would cope with the bigger yankee sail, unfurled that too and the boat settled into a comfortable speed.

This was the start of one of the most memorable sails I have had to date.   The conditions were perfect – beautiful sunset, full moon, steady wind, following seas, favourable tide when it counted, wind in the right direction and the benefit of company as we watched shooting stars in the clear skies.   A Swan yacht is a beautiful design, considered to be the ultimate oceangoing cruising and performance boat.  We had expected that Saga would quickly  leave us behind but much to our delight, we were able to keep pace with them.  I took the first four hour watch from 10pm – 2am and opted to hand steer the whole time as I was loving the conditions under the bright starry sky, keeping an eye on Saga’s red mast light about a mile out to sea.  If I could see their white light, I’d know they were ahead of us, so I was focused on making sure we kept their red light in view.   At 2.30am we put the autohelm on and I went below to try to sleep but the adrenalin rush, noises from above and rolling of the boat, kept me awake most of the four hours, wrapped in warm blankets in our snug berth.  I rejoined Steve on deck at 7.00am as the sun was about to come up, and was surprised to see Saga right beside us.  Very impressive after 12hours of sailing to be less than half a mile from each other.

The wind had dropped and with a tide against us, our speed had slowed from the 6-8knots we had been achieving, to less than 4knots.  During the night our top speed had been 12.2knots and we were averaging between 6.5 – 7.2knots per hour – doesn’t sound fast when compared to America Cup boats, but considering we estimate on 5knots being our average speed, an increase of 2knots per hour means over a 12 hour period, we can reduce our journey time by nearly 5hrs.  

Saga took a different course to us – a much better decision than mine, and one I punished myself for afterwards as they beat us into Milford Haven by a considerable time!   We remained on our course and enjoyed the company of a very large pod of playful dolphins who remained with us for over an hour.   We could see dolphins all around us and more seemed to be rushing towards Cerulean to play in our bow wave or weave in our wake before we altered course and headed towards Milford Haven.    

The brilliance of the night sail was enhanced by a beautiful day with clear blue skies and a lovely sail into the large protected harbour, completing 140 miles in 23hours.  We were tired, but very happy as we dropped the anchor in a quiet, sheltered bay where we rested before preparing for another long sail the next day which, although we didn’t know it at the time, would become equally memorable for very different reasons!