Saturday 4th September, 2021, Kinsale to Dale, Milford Haven
We woke up with thick heads! Both feeling hung over and had not slept well. So we headed in to Kinsale to get some supplies for the trip back and then pulled up the hook after some lunch and with a heavy heart (and head) started the long trip back to Wales.
The winds weren’t ideal for the trip back, but now we had no choice if we were to make it back in time for Vinnie to start college. Sailing on a schedule never works! It was a good start though, as we sailed out of Kinsale Harbour doing 8 knots on a beam reach. The forecast for the wind was from the South East and was due to veer further South later. That never happened! We had to fight our way across the Irish Sea. The sea state was not too bad, but the wind angle meant we could do one tack all the way up the coast to almost 15 miles from Dunmore East on the South East corner of Ireland. Then the wind completely died.
We motored for 6 hours directly towards Milford Haven towards the Traffic Separation Zone just off the first of the Smalls. Now the wind picked up again and we tacked our way across the TSS. Finally after waiting almost 24 hours, that Southerly wind kicked in. The last 25 miles were bliss with 6-8 knots at 60 degrees apparent which whisked us right round St Anne’s Head and into the entrance to Milford Haven. We motored the last couple of miles in to Dale and dropped the hook with a big sigh of relief.
165 miles in total; 28 Hours of sailing, and the 8th crossing of the Irish Sea! Arrived Sunday 5th August @ 1700.
Back in the anchorage at Dale
Monday 6th September, 2021, Dale to Portishead.
No rest for the wicked as they say. There was still 90 miles to go to get back to Portishead. In the end it was very easy. The wind gods decided to take a couple of days off. We were sad to be leaving and entering the muddy waters of the Bristol Channel once more, but we were looking forward to being re-united with Vinnie again!
We motored the whole way to Combe Martin, taking advantage of the strong tides. We saw a huge pod of dolphins, which is rare to see in the Bristol Channel in our experience. The the dreaded fog descended and we had to very slowly edge in to Combe Martin Bay to drop the hook for a 6 hour rest whilst we waited for the next tide.
Off again at 0100 to catch the tide….
It was a beautiful starry night as we motored back up the channel. We could clearly see the milky way, Jupiter and Saturn. It was a quick motor back on the Bristol Channel super highway, averaging 9 knots and as the sun came up, we were on the last leg up to Portishead. Finally we arrived at 0700 with an easy lock in and tied up at our old berth…. like we had never left!!!???
Monday 30th August 2021, Darrynane Bay to Crookhaven
Time was moving on! We had to be back in Portishead for early September in time for Vinnie to go back to college. Today we checked the longer term forecast, and saw that a big Atlantic low was expected to hit Southern Ireland next week, which could potentially trap us in the Green Isle. I can think of worst places to be stuck, but Vinnie would not have appreciated it. So we decided we needed to make some headway by getting round two major headlands, Dursey Head and Mizen Head and back in to familiar territory that we had already explored a couple of years ago. Unfortunately this meant that we would have to sail past the Kenmare River which we hadn’t visited before, and across Bantry Bay which we had already explored extensively, but which we had definitely fallen in love with.
So we pulled out of Darrynane bay that morning with a long sail ahead. It was a nice downwind sail down to Dursley Head with some great views of the Bull, Cow and Calf Rocks
Another sailboat on the Kenmare RiverLooking North Looking South At Dursey HeadSailing across the Kenmare EstuaryThe BullThe CowThe CalfIslands off Dursley Head
Once we rounded Dursley Head all hell broke loose. The sea state picked up and we experienced a 20 knot headwind. That made for long difficult tacks around Mizen head and finally we managed to sail round the headland in the dusk and make it in to Crookhaven anchorage just before it got completely dark. We were both completely exhausted!
Tuesday 31st August, 2021, Crookhaven to Baltimore
The next few days looked horrible on the South coast of Ireland with East headwinds up to Force 6 but the forecast look good for crossing the Irish sea once the low blows through. We had an easy sail past Cape Clear and the Fastnet, then all hell broke loose again! Baltimore Harbour offered some welcome protection, and we anchored off with the wind still blowing about 20 knots, but the sea flat.
Passing the Fastnet
Wednesday 1st September, 2021, Baltimore
The wind continued to blow with some strength along the south coast, so we decided to stop the day at anchor in Baltimore. Infact we ended up staying 2 nights. Annoyingly, we could see the pub, but because it was about half a mile to the shore, and we could only rown the dinghy, we didn’t feel confident enough to row to shore in the strong wind. So the time was passed reading and playing cards!
Friday 3rd September 2021, Baltimore to Kinsale
The wind had finally settled down, so we left Baltimore at 8 30 that morning and enjoyed NE winds for the first 3 hours which got us as far as the imposing stags further up the coast. These ship killer rocks, appear to change shape as you pass them.
Views of the Stags
After passing the stags, the wind swung more to the East, so we did some long tacks to make more progress up the coast. The conditions were really nice with light seas. We made the last tack past the Old head of Kinsale and all the way in to the entrance to Kinsale.
Passing Kinsale Head
We slowly made our way through a fleet of sailing boats racing, and made our way up the river through the town and dropped anchor in the river just south of the castle park marina. The plan was to head in to town for the evening, and get back for an early night as we planned to sail back across the Irish Sea to Milford Haven tomorrow. We headed in to town and ended up at Kitty O See’s for a lovely meal. You can’t go to any pub in Ireland without striking up a conversation! Same was the case here and we were soon chatting to the neighbouring tables, a couple on hols from the USA and a couple visiting Kinsale from Clifden in Connemara, whom it turned out lived 20 minutes drive from Leenane, where we had visited on the way down the West Coast. Several rounds of drinks later, we stager out of the pub at closing time! So much for the early night?!
Friday 27th August, 2021, Brandon Bay to Ventry Bay
The west coast of Ireland is certainly fickle and changeable! The previous day had been a cloudless blue sky and warm sunshine. Today we woke up to thick pea soup fog. We literally couldn’t see the nearest boat anchored 50 metres away. On days like this, nothing else to do than break out the cards and stare out the window in to the gloom, hoping it will lift. Ailsa beat me at Skipbo twice in a row! Unheard of. By 3 30 that afternoon we were getting bored of waiting for the fog to lift. It was a little better, so we pulled up the anchor, and headed out under engine pretty much relying on the instruments and radar. There was thick fog all the way around the headland, a real shame as we didn’t get to see any of the Blasket Islands that are supposed to be spectacular. They were just shapes in the fog.
Looking back to the Blasket Islands in the fog.
Once we were in Dingle Bay, we watched the fishing fleet leaving Dingle to head out in to the Atlantic and as we arrived in Ventry Bay miraculously the fog finally lifted, so we anchored off the pier and a huge sand beach.
Saturday 28th August, 2021, Ventry Bay to Valencia Island
That morning we rowed the dinghy in to the pier where the kids were jumping in the sea (they do that alot along the west coast and seem to be impervious to the cold water!). Then we took a long walk down the beach and people watched.
Azimuth at anchor way off shore
Ailsa on the beach
Views of Ventry Bay
We finally arrived at the little village at lunchtime. What do you know the pub was shut?! Seemed to be a theme for us! Thankfully the local post office store provided the means to make some sarnies which we ate on bench in the glorious hot sunshine.
We traced our steps back to Azimuth. Back on board, the heat must have played tricks with my mind. I had the urge to get rid of the beard I had been cultivating since the beginning of the trip! It was too bushy even for the trimmers, so Ailsa did the honours on deck with a pair of scissors, and the beard was consigned to the Atlantic Ocean! And before you ask, there was no taming of the head hair!
Before
After!
Feeling somewhat cooler (in the temperature sense), we pulled the anchor and sailed out of the bay in the late afternoon. We had a fantastic sail across Dingle bay over to Valencia Island, doing 7 knots on flat seas on a beam reach. We were accompanied by a large pod of dolphins for at least 30 minutes and enjoyed the scenery of the approach to Valencia.
Approaches to Valencia Island
We got to Valencia, where there is a partially built marina (just the outer pontoon) and we hoped to moor up for free for the night. However, everyone else had the same idea, and there was no room for Azimuth. The next alternative was the town anchorage. Yet again, the Irish had completely filled that with mooring buoys (with none occupied) and there was no space to actually anchor out of the tide! So we headed back to Glanleam Bay near the entrance to the protected Harbour. This proved to be a great choice. A really beautiful sheltered anchorage, out of the tide off a sandy beach.
Azimuth at anchor in Glanleam Bay.
We took the dinghy to the beach and walked to Knightstown on the Island. The Island is very green and luscious and has a tropical feel to it. We had a meal at the Valencia Royal Hotel and wandered around the town.
Sunday 29th August, 2021, Valencia Island to Darrynane Bay
Another fantastic day, so we decided to go and explore some more of Valencia Island. The previous evening we had seen a signpost to “The tetrapod dinosaur footprints”? So a quick search on the internet showed they were within walking distance of the anchorage. It turned out to be quite a hike up and over the mountain in the centre of the island and a walk all the way out to the Valentia coastguard station. Still it was a glorious day and the views were well worth the effort. The dinosaur prints were interesting too, discovered 20 years ago by a geology student who was wandering along the shoreline and noticed them. The picture below probably doesn’t do them justice!
Crows sat on the power lines round this house. Felt like a scene out of The Birds!
What a view!
You can imagine the tetrapod running across here right?
One dinosaur looking at the footprints of another?
We sailed out from Valencia Island at two that afternoon with the promise of wind. Just a few miles out, and the wind died! Oh and the fog descended! Really annoying as the coast here is spectacular, and the we were looking forward to views of the Skelligs (of Star Wars fame). Instead we ghosted along in the fog, with occasional glimpses of other boats and as we pulled in Darrynane bay for the night, the fog lifted again.
Ships passing in the fog
Darrynane Bay sunset
Darrynane Bay
The Abbey
Distant view of the Skelligs
Darrynane Bay turned out to be a spectacular anchorage with a gorgeous sunset, crystal clear green water and flat calm seas. The view was a white sand beach and an old ruined abbey. A great place to rest up for the night.
Tuesday 24th August, 2021, Inishboffin to Inishmore
After the embarrassment of keeling over in Inishboffin harbour (read about it in the previous post!) we made a quick exit from the anchorage at 0600 that morning, with a long sail planned down to Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands at the end of Galway Bay.
It was a glorious sunrise, with light winds from the South East that meant we were able to sail the entire way on a close hold and tacking down the coast. We were of course both completely exhausted, having been up most of the night, but the sun was shining, and the views were inviting.
Sunrise over the 12 Pins of Connemara
As we got close to Inishmore, we heard the rush of air as a whale surfaced about 100m from the boat, the second whale siting of the trip. And we were once again joined on the journey by a pod of dolphins, which was to become a daily occurrence on the rest of the trip
We anchored in a pretty bay off a white sand beach called Portmurvy on the North East side of the Island, 50NM from Inishboffin.
Looking back at the lighthouse on Slyne Head
Looking South towards Inishmore
Wednesday 25th August, 2021, Portmurvy to Shannon River
We woke to a reasonable size swell entering Portmurvy which meant meant we didnt want to chance rowing the dinghy in to shore on to the beach. Unfortunately that meant we couldn’t visit the iron age fort on Inishmore, so we weighed anchor and headed South again for Loop Head 36NM from the end of the Aran Islands.
We had fair winds for a couple of hours which got us away from the Aran Islands.
Erragh Lighthouse on Rock Island at the North end of Inishmore
Eventually the wind died and we had to motor for a bit until we got closer to Loop head where the wind picked up again and blew us around in to the Shannon Estuary. The cliffs around Loop Head were imposing with very interesting geology with layers twisted and contorted, and the cliffs peppered with caves.
The tortured cliffs of Loop Head
Once in the Shannon Estuary, we stuck our nose in to the first Anchorage option of Kilbaha Bay, but we didnt like the look of it as it felt very exposed and swelly. We were glad we carried on and rode the fast tide further up the estuary to the anchorage at Cariggaholt and anchored just off the end of the pier in the front of a tall castle tower. This was a much nicer and secure bay, especially as the wind started to pick up from the North East.
Azimuth at Anchor in the bay
We took the dinghy to shore and visited the little village. Couldn’t get in the restaurant, so settled for a takeaway from “Max Bites” and then an illicit visit to the the castle for a closer look.
Carrigaholt Castle
Views of the anchorage
Thursday 26th August, 2021, Carrigaholt to the Margharees and Brandon Bay
We left Carrigaholt Bay at 1130 when the tide turned to leave the Shannon Estuary and motored out of the Bay. The tide at the narrowing entrance gave us an SOG of 11 knots!
With the strong tide and the light winds, there was scope to sail, and we downwind sailed all the way to the Kerry head at the end of the estuary until the wind died.
Dolphin Fin in the Shannon Estuary
Approaching Kerry Head
On with the motor again and we transited the last 7 miles to the Margharee Islands and dropped the anchor next to Illauntannig. This tiny island hosts 6th century monastic remains with beehive huts made of stone, so we took the dinghy in to shore to go and visit.
6th century monastic remains on Illauntannig
Its an exposed spot, and when the wind picked up and the swell started to roll in, we decided it was not the best spot to anchor for the night. So we weighed anchor and headed a 6 miles further west down the coast to Brandon Bay protected by Sheveglass mountain and had a comfortable night.
Friday 20th August, 2021 Broadhaven Bay to Achill Sound
Another headland to go round … the west coast is littered with them and none of them are easy! Today was a drizzly rainy day with poor visibility. We sailed downwind to Eris Head after leaving Broadhaven Bay. As we rounded the head, the wind was now a close hold and Tacked down the coast. Further South, and the wind was kind, and swung us out past Achill head in the mist and the gloom. It rained hard most of the way. It was a shame the weather was so bad as the views along this coast are supposed to be some of the best coastline in Ireland! At one point the top of the mountain appeared from the cloud and I captured these…
Once we rounded Achill Head, we were hoping for a downwind sail to take is towards Clew Bay, but the wind was too light with the rough sea state, so we motored for two hours. We rounded Achillbeg Island and stuck our nose in to Achill sound to investigate an anchorage. It was way to shallow and not obvious where to go, so we chickened out and anchored off the beach on the East side of Achillbeg. It was a nice easy night until 6am the next morning when we started to drag anchor towards the beach and the rocks!
Saturday 21st August, Achillbeg to Killary Lough
We departed at 0900 and sailed due South to Killary Lough across the mouth of Clew Bay, past Claire Island and along the Connemara coastline. It was a fabulous sail with a beam reach up to 9 knots and then downwind in to the mouth of the Lough. The entrance is framed by mountains, and the heading is marked by some concrete pillars through the narrows
Entrance to Killary Lough
We motored through the narrows and down the long narrow loch avoiding the mussel farms all along the edge and anchored right at the end off the town of Leenaun.
Views of Killary Lough
Once we were anchored up, we rowed to shore (yep the outboard engine was still knackered!) and went to a bizzare shop inside the local pub, and had a great lunch at the blackberry cafe where we sampled the mussels from the Lough, and fish and chips … delicious. We rowed back to the boat and chilled out for the rest of the day enjoying the amazing scenery of the place. We were the only boat in the whole anchorage!
Sunday 22nd August, 2021, Leenaun to Inishbofin
We left the next morning and there was zero wind, so we motored back out of the Lough through the narrows and across the bay to Inishboffin through all the rocks and small isles. Inishboffin is recognised as being one of the finest all weather anchorages on the west coast and has a big maritime history. The entrance is very tricky with reefs and rocks, but the installation of a leading light makes it easier to navigate. Once inside, you are immediately greeted by the ruins of a Cromwellian fort on your starboard side, and the blue water and sandy bottom of the totally enclosed anchorage. Its a beautiful place. However, the anchorage is tricky, cause the Irish seem to love to fill all their most popular anchorages up with fixed moorings, so it took us some time to find a spot that we could fit in. Its really shallow too!
Azimuth in the anchorage
Ailsa at Cromwell’s Fort
We took the dinghy to shore and went and explored the fort which is still pretty intact even though it in places it overhangs the rocks and you look straight down in to the sea.
Then we went for a walk to explore the east side of the island past white sandy beaches and family holiday homes. It felt very much like the Scilly Isles, and was very popular with the locals arriving by ferry.
White sand beaches on east side of Inishboffin
We ended up at the Doonbar hotel for tea but had to sit outside in the chill. A few pints of the blackstuff provided some alcoholic insulation
The forecast was for no wind, and the sun was shining, so we decided to stay another day and walk more of the island. This time we headed west to take in the views of more sandy beaches, rocky coastline and peat bog paths.
Inishboffin and Inishshark views to the west.
We went to the pub for lunch and chilled out for the rest of the day on the boat. We decided on an early night cause we planned on an early start for the next leg South. We were both woken at 23 30 when we were tipped out of bed as the boat fell over! That was very disconcerting…. the anchorage was flat calm and there was no wind??? What the hell was happening? It turns out we had run aground. We had been in this anchorage for two days at this point, and the boat had been drifting around in an arc of about 270 degrees. Now it looked like the boat had drifted in to the final 90 degrees of the arc closest to the beach, and in conjunction with the low tide had come to rest on a sandbank at the back. She was still floating at the front.
Well there is not a lot you can do in this situation …. Azimuth weighs 31 tonnes. You can’t just get out and push her off! Checking the tide we still had another 80 cms to drop, so all we could do was check the bilge to make sure we weren’t taking on any water and then sit out the whole process for the next 4 hours! By 0100 in the morning, the boat was right over on her side… with the toe rail under water and fish swimming over the deck! The pub across the water was in full swing with music and laughter …. however maybe lucky for us the fog came in, so in the darkness no one could witness our embarrassing situation! Over the next three hours, Azimuth started to slowly right herself. Thankfully, there was still no waves or wind, and finally we lifted off at 4 in the morning. I pulled in some of the anchor chain and climbed in to bed. I think we survived!
Monday 16th August 2021, Rossillon Bay, Aran Island
We had a rough night at anchor. At high tide, the swell came over the reefs that protect this bay and the wind picked up from the North West. It was time to have a day off and relax with lots of reading, playing the Pearce Family favourite “Skipbo” and watching films.
Tuesday 17th August, 2021, Rossillon Bay to Teelin
The wind still remained strong from the North West and it was another rough night at anchor, but it still felt better than working for a living! The weather was being tricky, but it looked like the wind was set to drop later in the afternoon, and might allow us to sneak round the corner in to Donegal Bay, which would mean sailing around another of the big Atlantic headlands Malinmore head.
We left the anchorage out through the narrow channel and were met by big seas! 2 to 2.5m waves and a big swell from the North West which we had to take on the beam to head further South. Poor Azimuth was being thrown around a bit, and poor Ailsa didn’t fair well either! The wind was blowing about 25 knots from the W/NW so with two reefs in the main we tried to sail with the Staysail, but struggled to get any decent speed to cut through the swell and the wind angle was poor, which meant it would be difficult to get round Malinmore head. So, we furled out the genoa with two reefs, and Azimuth heeled over and started to dance through the waves, slicing at 8 knots. As we approached the headland, the seas grew , so I manoeuvred us further offshore.
Finally I could turn further south to round the island of Rathlin O’ Birne. We surfed down the swell on a beam reach and hit 12.7 knots! A new record for us in Azimuth. Eventually we could turn downwind in to Donegal Bay, and we had a great ride surfing down the waves, until eventually the headland sheltered us from the wind, and we found we didn’t have sufficient wind to stop the genoa from flogging in the swell. Time to motor the last few miles in to Teelin
Cliffs and waterfalls below Slieve League
It was an overcast and misty day, but even though the conditions were tough, the coastline here was majestic. Some of the biggest cliffs in Ireland, with cascading waterfalls. We were accompanied by dolphins too. Teelin harbour finally appeared ahead, and once inside, it provided great protection with no swell. We both slept for 10 hours!
The tower on Carrigan Head, near Teelin. Very cool geology!
Views of Teelin Harbour from the anchorage
Wednesday 18th August, 2021, Teelin Harbour to Killala Bay
The wind prediction for today was light winds up to Force 4. So we set off with trepidation to cross Donegal Bay! When we got out of Teeling Harbour, the swell picked up from the North West again. The sea state was not as bad as the day before, however, the wind was much stronger than predicted! So with 1 reef in the main and genoa we whisked across at 8 knots with 45-60 degree apparent. Ailsa was worried about feeling sick again, but she was absolutely fine. It turned out to be a really nice sail and we entered Kilalla Bay which is wide open to the North. However, we found a really comfortable anchorage behind St Patricks Rocks off Ross point outside of the Kilalla bar. We would have liked to cross the bar but we could only do that at high tide, and that would have restricted the times for departure again.
Thursday 19th August 2021, Kilalla Bay to Broadhaven
We left Kilalla Bay at about lunchtime, after a chat with some friendly local fisherman. The winds were forecast to be very light and the sun was shining. So motor sailing was the order of the day and we worked our way along the South coast of Donegal Bay, enjoying the scenery and the amazing geology.
Downpatrick Head was a real highlight along the coast with its flat limestone and shale strata and distinctive 50m high sea stack.
Views of Downpatrick Head
Further down the coast as we entered Broadhaven Bay the views of the coast and the Stags that guard the entrance were also breathtaking
The entrance to Broadhaven Bay & The Stags
The anchorage in Broadhaven Bay was on sand in crystal clear water. We had a really comfortable night.
We woke up to rain! The storm was starting to build, so it was good to be in a marina on the river Bann well away from the worst of it. We ordered the Irish West coast Pilot book from a local shop in Northern Island, so that we could get it delivered before we left the Marina. When the rain stopped we took a walk in to the town and went to the local Chinese restaurant called the Water Margin on the river.
Mojito
The calm before the storm
Thursday 12th August, 2021, A visit to the Giants Causeway
We took a taxi to the causeway visitors centre and fought the wind swept coastline to go and visit the Giants causeway. It was pretty busy with people, but well worth the effort. We couldn’t help comparing it to Staffa further North. The Giants causeway is actually an extension of the same bit of Geology.
Columnar Basalt
Wind swept!
The coastline along here is very spectacular. We decided to walk back to the little village of Bushmills to get some lunch. The path follows the Victorian steam train trainline which was not running due to covid. Bushmills was a popular place although most of the establisments were closed, and we couldn’t get in anywhere, so we had fish and chips and sat in the local park. Then we caught the bus back to Coleraine after a great day out exploring.
Friday 13th August, 2021, Coleraine Marina
We took the time whilst we waited to plan the trip down the West Coast of Ireland. The pilot book had turned up with the charts. Then we went and stocked up with essentials. We were not sure how remote the west coast would be and when we would have chance to get to shops. We kept checking the weather, and it looked like the storm would blow itself out by the next day.
Saturday 14th August, 2021, Coleraine to Ragerty Island, Mulroy Bay
We had been holed up for 4 days now so were itching to get going. The storm had finally blown itself out, so we left the marina and motored back up the River Bann to the sea. We needed to get the tide right to round the formidable Malin Head on the North coast of Ireland. We arrived at the sea and sailed very slowly with some tide still against us past the entrance to Loch Foyle and the river to Derry. We had now officially entered Ireland, and the start of our West Coast adventure. At this point the wind started to pick up a little and we tacked up towards Malin Head until it died again a couple of hours later. Now we had the tide though and with motor on again we were averaging 8.5 to 9 knots SOG.
Rounding Malin Head
As we rounded Malin Head the waves were HUGE! It was very uncomfortable, and we saw another fishing boat being thrown around like a cork. At least Azimuth is a big boat and she is very seaworthy. After the head, the waves subsided a little and we motored all the way in to Mulroy bay and anchored on the west shore out of the swell just behind Ragerty Island in sand. We arrived just after 9pm just as it was getting dark, we were both exhausted after a long day sailing.
Past Malin Head and heading for Mulroy Bay
Sunday 15th August, 2021, Mulroy Bay to Aran Island
After a peaceful night at anchor, we were up early and sailing by 8:30 for a fantastic sailing conditions averaging 7 to 9 knots with the sea state much improved from the previous day. The wind was perfect for a beam reach Force 4/5 from the North West.
The coastline was very dramatic, sailing past features like Horn Point, the Bloody Foreland and Gola Island until we reached and sailed around Aran Island, and anchored in Rossillon Bay off the beach in sand.
Views of Horn Head
Rounding the Bloody Foreland
Aran Island
Anchorage at Rossillon Bay, unfortunately the pub was shut!
We had been thinking about how to get back to Portishead for the last few days and we had a few options. However, we didn’t think that we would be up in this part of the world again for a long time, and we have a special love for Ireland. So we were considering going back to Portishead via the West coast of the Green Isle, sometimes known as the Wild Atlantic Way. It has a reputation amongst sailors as being challenging.
To make that leg of the journey happen, we would need to allow some time to explore, and potentially to have to wait for good weather too. We had been very lucky with the weather in Scotland, but now the entering August, it was more possible that we would get Atlantic Lows. So we made a plan to get back to Northern Ireland over the next few days and then turn West and take on the challenge.
We left Loch Scavaig that afternoon and had a downwind sail (finally!) going back south through the small Isles of Rum and Eigg and headed for the harbour on the East coast of Muck (Port Mhor). We dropped the hook, but there was not alot of room to swing, and a swell entering the harbour made it rolly. So we made a decision to move a few miles further South back to Sanna Bay on the end of Ardnamurchan peninsula, where we had stopped on the way up.
Heading South from Loch Scavaig
As we left Muck, a huge rain cloud, that was deep grey cut by a rainbow was moving slowly towards us. You could see the sheets of rain, even though we remained in sunshine. We just made it in to Sanna Bay before the rain hit. Of course, sods law …. the anchorage at Sanna was even more rolly than Muck. Oh well, it was an uncomfortable night … sometimes you have to take the rough with the smooth.
Squall on the way
Rainbow touches down over Sanna Bay
Saturday 7th August, 2021, Sound of Mull
We left Sanna Bay that morning, and no wind meant motoring around Ardnamurchan Point and in to the Sound of Mull. Once we entered the sound, we had 15 knots of wind on the nose again! It doesn’t seem to matter which direction you go, the wind is always on the nose! We headed for Loch Aline again for an easy night at anchor. We took the dinghy in to shore and walked to the farm shop on the estate to find it shut! Then defeated, we decided to relax for the rest of the day.
Sunday 8th August, 2021 Loch Aline to Loch Keils
We awoke to a still day and left Loch Aline at 0900am. Motored down the Sound of Mull out in to the Firth of Lorne and headed to Dunstaffnage Marina to take on some more fuel, and get rid of the mountain of rubbish we had accumulated. We still had to get rid of all the beer bottles from the visit by the lads! Dunstaffnage is a beautifully looked after marina with really friendly staff.
Leaving the marina at 1300 we were expecting to motor all the way down the Firth of Lorne, but thankfully the wind picked up and we tacked our way down the Firth in a fresh breeze and sailed in to the Sound of Luing through the pretty scary entrance strewn with rocks, islands, other boats and lobster pots!
Views of the Firth of Lorne
We had timed the tide really well for the entrance to Luing, and now we really picked up speed. The wind picked up too, or at least the apparent wind. As we crossed Corryvreckan we hit 10.7 knots as we were totally over sailed and were hit by 27knots of wind. The autopilot gave up, so I was hanging on the wheel for dear life, and managed to steer us through the worst of it. As quick as the gusts appeared, they dropped again. This is certainly a formidable stretch of water. Stress over the rest of the sail was nice and easy down the Sound of Jura and back to Loch Keils for the night.
Monday 9th August, 2021, Loch Keils to Port Ellen, Isle of Islay
One of the Isles that we hadn’t visited on the way up was Islay, famous for its whiskey distilleries. It had to be visited to complete our tour of the Hebrides. It was another day of motoring, with no wind as we pulled out in to the Sound of Jura from Loch Keils with the South going tide.
Joining other boats heading south down the Sound of Jura. Skipper on watch!
Ailsa skippered us all the way to Ardbeg distillery and we dropped the hook in the anchorage right outside. It looked very quiet…. we were the only boat there. So we went online to check, only to find that the distillery is closed on Mondays!!! Pearce organisation strikes again, couldn’t organise a piss up in a distillery?!
Turns out all of the distilleries were closed, so we took our tour from the sea! On the plus side we probably saved ourselves a fortune in specialist whiskeys
Our seagoing tour of whiskey distilleries!
Just round the corner is port Ellen Bay and we anchored off a white sand beach for the night, in prime position to head south again.
Tuesday 10th August, 2021, Port Ellen to Coleraine
We had an early start and was sailing by 0630. The wind was great for crossing the North channel to Northern Ireland until about 2/3rds of the way across and then it died. We were visited again by a huge pod of dolphins.
As we approached Northern Ireland, we started to fight the strong tide and because its shallow, the sea got really rough and choppy with short seas. We had to motor the last few hours to get close to the shore and our planned anchorage looked really rough. We decided to head for Coleraine and an anchorage on the river Bann.
The River Bann has a very strange entrance from the sea, where walls have been built out from the beach and a channel dredged to the entrance. Where the sea meets the river, the waves were short and sharp, but once through, we found ourselves pottering down a pretty river to the anchorage about 2 miles further down.
A check of the weather looked concerning, as there was a big Atlantic Low developing to the west which was due to bring 40 knot winds on to this North West coast of Ireland over the next few days. We both decided that we did not want to be tacking Malin Head and the North West corner of Ireland in those kind of conditions. The anchorage on the river was not very big and would not be sheltered from the coming storm, so we decided to get a spot in the local marina for a few nights and brave out the gale. It was a nice motor further up the river down a narrow dredged channel and we berthed up for the next few nights.
Our jaunt to the Outer Hebrides had been fun, but the lure of Skye in the distance was stronger and with the favourable winds we decided to sail back across the Minch and go and explore the west coast of Skye.
The Minch was flat calm and we sailed across on a close hold averaging 5 to 6 knots dodging the big ships sailing up the coast. On reaching Skye we sailed in to Loch Bay south of the Waternish Penisula. As we entered the Loch, the wind gusted and we found ourselves heeled over hard doing 9 knots even with the sails depowered. We decided to anchor at the end of Loch Bay where a stream reaches the loch. It was a spectacular place with a wooded shore and steep cliffs. Very sheltered too even though the wind was still gusting down the loch.
Views of Loch Bay
Wednesday 4th August, 2021, Dunvegan Castle
We left Loch Bay at 10 in the morning and sailed downwind until the wind fluked around the headland and on to the nose. The next section was tricky navigation with the chart showing a small channel between the island and a large reef in the main channel. We motored through, but unfortunately a boat called Amazing Grace hadn’t checked their charts carefully enough and had ended up on the reef. We called them up on the radio to offer some assistance, but they were OK and just had to wait a couple of hours for the tide to lift them off. We heard later on the radio that they had floated free later on.
Stuck on the rocks!
Once through the narrow channel, we entered Loch Dunvegan and faced 20 knots of headwinds, so motored down the loch and in to Castle Bay at the end. The anchorage is right in front of the castle. But now the wind was gusting force 7! We dropped the hook, and then proceed to drag towards the back of the bay where its very shallow. We reset again and stuck out 60 metres of chain. This time the anchor held.
Dunvegan Castle from castle bay anchorage
We tried to start the outboard and snapped the cord!
That’s not supposed to happen!
Doh! So now its a full strip down of the starter, find some compatible string, and we are up and running again in time to get to shore for some grub!
The castle has a dinghy dock, so we thought that would be an easy place to moor up? We had a pleasant walk through the castle grounds and got to the entrance gates to find we were locked in! So we quickly backtracked to the dinghy and trundled further up the loch towards the little village of Dunvegan. Time to stock up at the Spar and then join the huge queue with lots of people from the local campsite for the one takeaway restaurant, the Misty Cafe. We sat outside on a bench in the evening sunshine eating our pizza’s just as the midges came out, the first we had seen in Scotland so far this year. A quick retreat back to the dinghy and what do you know, the outboard wont start! A saga begins! It was a long row back to the boat, but with nice views. We even saw the former 18th century Dower House of Dunvegan Castle that we had stayed in with our friends Gill & Guy a few years back.
The Dower House
Thursday 5th August, Loch Scavaig & the Black Cullin
We left Dunvegan in the early afternoon and sailed out past the headland close to the huge cliffs and Neist Point lighthouse.
As we got further south, the views opened up of the Black Cullin on the horizon. Sea conditions and winds were perfect for a fast close hold sail towards Loch Scavaig which lies right at the foot of these mountains. On the way we were accompanied by a pod of Dolphins and we watched them play at the bow of the boat for at least 10 minutes. Quite amazing, as we were doing 7-8 knots at the time!
It definitely is one of Scotland’s finest anchorages, and we dropped the hook close to one of the rocks with lots of seals basking in the sunshine.
Friday 6th August, 2021
We took the canoe out to explore the loch, and after we had walked up to see Loch Coruisk which feeds on to Scavaig, we decided to drag the canoe up and take a paddle right up to the foot of the Cullin. Truly breath-taking views. it was a hard paddle in to the wind, and we got out at the beach right at the bottom of the caldera. Forgot to take the camera! But just so you get an idea of the place, I stole some pics of the internet below!
We drifted back down Loch Coruisk with the wind and then I paddled / pushed the canoe back along the shallow rapids that connects the two lochs together and relaunched the canoe via a slippery mountain of seaweed. As we were heading the 200m back to the yacht, we heard a hissing noise and thought we had punctured the canoe! Fortunately it was just one of the valves in the seats that had come loose, so crisis was averted. A very special place to visit
Loch Coruisk at the foot of the Cullin, connecting to Loch Scavaig
Today we planned to do a long sail across the Minch out to the Isle of Lewis. The wind was stronger today than it had been for a long time, finally blowing! As usual though it was on the nose, so we had to tack out of Loch Torridon. We found ourselves in a race with another yacht which was fun. We were both on a lean.
In a race.
Sailing a close hold in Loch Torridon
The Minch turned out to be quite rough, and we were a little over powered, hitting 10 knots but getting thrown around in the steep seas. The seas started to smooth out as we got in the lee of Lewis and it looked like we might make Stornaway on a single tack, but then the wind shifted and so we headed a little further South to Loch Bhrollium arriving at 1800. Its a narrow loch which is very sheltered and we anchored right at the end and shared the anchorage with a colony of seals.
Anchorage in Loch Bhrollium
Sunday 1st August, 2021, Loch Claidh
We had a very slow sail just round the corner to the Isle of Harris in the Loch Claidh and anchored behind Eilean Thingarstaigh, recommended by the excellent Antares anchorage charts we had been using alot. It certainly was a real pretty spot with great views over the mountains at the end of the Loch. Very sheltered too. We shared the anchorage with another yacht, as well as dolphins and some huge jelly fish … Ailsa’s favourites!
Killer Jellyfish
Anchorage
Monday 2nd August, South Harris
We left the anchorage at 12 30 after seeing a pod of dolphins swim past the boat. Another day of light airs saw us sail further south past Scalpaig lighthouse and West Loch Tarbet. The going was slow but it was nice just drifting our way down the coast of Harris. We made it as far as Lingara Bay in the end after tacking all afternoon. Lingara was a weird place to anchor. The weather dulled over and the tight anchorage with lots of broken rocks on the shore (from a quarry) made it feel inhospitable. It was a rolly night.
Shiant Islands
Downwind!
Loch Tarbet
Scalpaig Lighthouse
Light airs sailing along the coast of South Harris
