Last time we left you in Baiona. It was time to head head further South and explore the Portuguese coastline. First stop Porto! We were excited about seeing this place and we were not disappointed. In fact we liked it so much we stayed for a week and were sad to leave. That in case I thought Porto was worth a post all of its own….
The sail down from Baiona to Porto was pretty easy. Another downwind sail which we are now getting better at. The sea was rolly but we made great time, and our first stop was the little port of Laxioes about 2 miles North of Porto. What a dump! It was a proper working port, so maybe to be expected. However, they were in the process of dredging the harbour. We spent a very unpleasant night expecting to have our anchored sucked up at any moment by a 150m long dredge we will call the green dredging machine. At one point it came within 20 metres of us at anchor. Its somewhat disconcerting to say the least!
Attacked by the Big Green Dredging Machine!
The next day we made a quick exit even though we found ourselves in thick fog and headed in to the Douro River to drop our anchor in Foz, about 2 miles from Porto centre.
Now this was more like it! A superb anchorage with easy access to the shore and a walk to get right in to the centre of Porto. Palm trees swaying in the breeze and insane jet boats bombing past throwing tourists around…
Views of the anchorage and Foz shoreline
We settled in for the night, and then took our first trip in to town with no idea where we were going! Sometimes that’s the best way to just go and explore. The walk down the river was spectacular and we soon found ourselves climbing steep hills through winding narrow streets in to what we thought was the historic old town (apparently not!) and found ourselves in a square with a market, an old church and several restaurants. Time for a spot of lunch…
Portuguese Hotdog in Gravy anyone?
We had a wonderful first day and walked about 9 miles in total in the heat. And managed to eventually pub crawl our way back to the boat!
Railway stationMan playing inflatable bed?!Superbock with a shot of martini?!Roof top barPorto town hallPorto commercial centreRiver viewsA great day out in Porto
After a wonderful day of exploring, something still didn’t feel quite right? The pilot book described the historic old centre of Porto as medieval narrow street clinging to the edge of a steep hillside. Maybe we hadn’t actually visited this yet? The next outing then we took along John from Rival Spirit in an attempt to find the true centre of Porto. Turns out we just needed to walk a little further down the river! Here we found exactly what was described. A really stunning place all based around the river where you could get totally lost in the winding little streets and then at the top of the climb find yourself looking out over the rooftops of the whole city
Another great day out in Porto!
No trip to Porto is complete though without sampling the delights of the local Port wines. This was to be our third mission… Ourselves and John set out to explore the port houses on the south side of the river. We chose the oldest port house in Porto for our sampling session , Kopje. We were not disappointed. Myself and John chose to try the sublime menu that included 5 glasses of Port including two white ports, and two ‘single harvest ‘ ports one of which was aged 1978. What a pleasant way to spend an afternoon, drinking fine ports and eating the accompanying chocolate. Highly recommended!
When in Porto ….
Slightly worst for the wear we eventually stumbled out of the Port house and there was still more to see on this interesting side of the river. It has a great atmosphere.
In the end we stayed in Port for a week. We could have stayed longer, so we were a little sad when the threat of some bad weather moved us on. Join us next time as we head South again towards Lisbon.
We last left you in Muros, having survived the coast of death. Since then we have continued to move ever southwards and taken in a couple more of the Spanish Ria’s. The Rias truly are safe havens from the might of the Atlantic Ocean and we have really enjoyed visiting them.
From Muros we enjoyed another downwind sail, past the Ria Arousa and through the gap between the mainland and Isla Ons and in to much more populous Ria De Pontevedra where we anchored at the top outside the old town of Combarro
Views between Muros and Cambarro
John on Rival Spirit was already anchored there and it was great to meet up with him again after leaving A Coruna.
AzimuthRival Spirit
The Ria itself was quite different to the others we had visited. It was much more populated, and the banks were lined with beaches and hotels. It looked much more touristy. In contrast, the busy little own of Combarro was picturesque and the old town was well worth a visit. The wind in the anchorage was pretty crazy in the afternoons, blowing in at 30 knots. Its when you need your dinghy to work well, so we were a bit annoyed with ours when the engine battery went flat! Out with the charger, and we were soon up and running again.
We visited the town and took a walk around the old town. Lots of narrow street and old grain stores on stilts.
The rest of the time we enjoyed the views from the anchorage and watched the kite surfers…. I need to get me one of those!
Dinghy works again!Cambarro in the mist
A couple of days later we moved South again this time to the Ria de Vigo, which would be our last Galician Ria before we move to Portugal.
To split up the journey we stopped the first night in the North of the Ria entrance at a pretty beach called Ensenada de Barra, and then headed down towards the city of Baiona where we anchored for several days.
Sunset over the beachView towards Baiona
Baiona was a great place to visit. A bustling town with lots to offer the cruising sailor and plenty of history to absorb. Baiona was was Columbus’ first mainland landfall in 1493 after returning from his masacre of the people of the New World! They have commemorated this with a replica of his ship ‘Pinta’ permanently berthed in the harbour which we took the chance to visit
Given the choice of crossing the Atlantic in Azimuth or Pinta, we firmly decided that Azimuth would be more preferable!
The town is dominated by the medieval walls surrounding the Parador Conde do Gondomar on the northern headland which is a huge and still complete fortification commanding the harbour and its approaches. A visit is well worth the effort and we walked right round the wall with views in all directions
Views over Baiona
Baiona also has a superb old town where you can get lost in the narrow streets and we stopped for lunch at a great restaurant.
And then heading back to the anchorage later we wonder why its a bit smoky in the bay only to spot a forest fire developing on the slope! It seemed to have gone out by the next morning we think.
Apparently this coast earned its name from the hundreds of shipwrecks on the sharp jagged headlands pounded by the Atlantic Ocean ….. throw in the modern phenomena of sailboats being attacked by Orcas round here and we think the name does this area of Galicia in Spain justice!
We start in A Coruna. You will recall that is where we arrived after our Biscay crossing. It took a few days to recover and catch up on the sleep and that gave us a chance to meet up with John from Portishead, who was recuperating in the local marina after his crossing of Biscay.
John was our local guide, since he had been through the arrivals process already! So he showed us to the customs office, where we checked in to Spain. This was the first time we had actually checked in to another country. The Irish didn’t show any interest in us at all! In the end the process was very simple, fill out a form and have your passport stamped.
After that we spent the day exploring A Coruna. Its a modern city wrapped around a really old port town. The modern port gets a visit every day from a huge cruise ship which discharges a few thousand tourists and makes the place vibrant and multicultural.
We visited the Tower of Hercules, the worlds oldest lighthouse that dates back to Roman times stands over the whole city on a rocky promontory. This light had guided us in to A Coruna, and we could see it from our anchorage.
Torre de Hercules Lighthouse
On the way back we went up in to the Old Citadel and wandered around the narrow streets with lots of little plaza’s. Some of the churches dated back to the 14th century.
Church of Sailors and A Coruna Townhall
A good deal of our time in A Coruna was actually taken up with fixing stuff! The genoa took a battering on the way across Biscay and the UV strip that protects the sail when furled away was looking worse for the wear. So we spent 3 days sat on deck stitching seams! Its looking good again now and was well tested on the next couple of legs….
Bizarrely the weather was not what we expected for Spain. It was certainly not as hot as the UK, and the wind patterns were all over the place. Eventually we were getting a little stir crazy of our current anchorage, and decided it was time to move on. The talk in the marina and of all the sailors around the area was of Orca’s! Everyday on the coast around A Coruna, at least 4 to 5 sailboats were being attacked. The attacks consisted of the Orca’s biting on to the rudders of the boats and in some cases damaging them badly enough that the boat was incapacitated and had to be towed to port! Its a scary prospect. There are a number of websites that track these attacks and A Coruna was a high risk. Our friend John had done his research and managed to obtain some ‘flashbangs’. These are underwater bangers that divers use to scare off unwanted visitors. He very kindly gave us a few in case the worst happened. Apparently, they do scare away the Orcas that are currently hanging on to your rudder, but they don’t harm them.
So armed with our explosives we set out to explore the coast of death!
Orcas!!!!
The weather didn’t play fair. First day we had 20 knots of wind on the nose, and short seas. It was like being in the Bristol Channel again! So we fought our way south. All of a sudden on the radio is a ‘Pan Pan’! A boat called Selma that we had been tracking on AIS about 2 miles from us was being attacked by Orca’s! That really focussed the mind for us. We listened for about 30 minutes as it unfolded and a rescue boat was sent to intercept poor Selma. The woman on the radio genuinely sounded terrified. In the end though they followed the instructions from the coastguard and the orcas departed, leaving them unscathed. Where had the Orcas gone though? They can move fast and were still only a few miles away … so we spent the rest of that day with eyes peeled looking for large fins! Nothing appeared and we pulled in to a little anchorage off the town of Laxe.
The book described Laxe as a small quiet fishing village with delightful beaches. That was not entirely our experience! That weekend was the celebration of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary. So a potentially cultural religious festival experience? However, we had no idea that the Virgin Mary was actually big in to Spanish Rave music?? The speakers were already blasting this out when we arrived, and continued to do so until 5am the next morning. This was interspersed with some crazy bloke on the Quay launching bangers at regular intervals. Add to that a rolly sea and death rolls onboard Azimuth and we didn’t get a lot of sleep!
The weather still wasn’t playing fair, but a rolly anchorage can be worse, so by the next afternoon with the music starting up again, we decided enough was enough and time to move on. Another upwind sail took us further South. The sea state was again like the Bristol Channel, and gusts up to 30 knots lashed us. Then the heavens opened as we were trying to negotiate the narrow entrance to the Ria. It was a little scary…. the fishing fleet was just leaving port. We were ripping along at about 9 to 10 knots. The visibility was a hundred metres in sheet rain. Azimuth was heeled over hard. But somehow we managed to negotiate our way in dodging between the fishing boats. We both got soaked to the skin dropping the anchor with the wind still howling, and then proceeded to drag towards the shore. Two further attempts later and like drowned rats we managed to find a spot that held…. phew. Time to collapse! Peace and quiet … except for the howl of the wind and the sound of lashing rain!
The next morning, in bright sunshine, it couldn’t feel like a more different place. The little port of Camarinas and its surrounding Ria is a beautiful spot.
Azimuth at anchor off Camarinas
We visited the town for a wander, and the next day we went for a walk and explored the local area around the anchorage. Here’s some pics. Two river estuaries, pine and eucalyptus forest and big vistas
Feeling re-invigorated then we set off to conquer the rest of this coast, and round Cape Finisterre which along with Cabo Tourinan marks Spain’s most western point.
It was a perfect sail…. direct downwind, 20 knots behind us, and surfing down the waves at about 8 knots. The sun shining, and the amazing scenery going on by …
Views of the coast of death!
That afternoon we dropped the hook in Muros and enjoyed a meal out and the next day we went out for lunch to enjoy the delicious Zamberlains (Galicia Scallops) cooked in garlic oil, and battered Calamari. The Spanish know how to enjoy their seafood!
Scallops for lunch
Muros is definitely a hit and well worth a visit. A delightful town with very old stone houses, narrow cobbled streets, not big enough for cars.
Muros StreetsMuros from the anchorage
The coast of death almost feels like a distant memory now… we made it through certain death!
Adios amigos, see you next time as we continue our journey South
It was one of the passages that we were nervous about. The good old Bay of Biscay, which has a fearsome reputation amongst sailors, and it was to be our first proper ocean voyage in Azimuth. Forget crossing the Irish Sea a few times, this was gonna be significantly longer, and we would be going offshore much further than we ever had been before.
We had been sat in Kinsale for a while, enjoying our time with Caleb. Everyday we had been watching the weather. It had been pretty much perfect all the way from Kinsale to A Coruna, apart from the last 50 miles, where a nasty acceleration zone rushes the wind around the northern corner of Spain, driven by a low inland. So it was a judgment call on when to go. This zone at times was predicted to low up to 40 knots (Force 9) and we did not want any of that thanks very much. Eventually, the wind gods started to look in our favour, and predicted a strong North Easterly for pretty much the entire journey, and this would remain steady for at least 4 to 5 days.
Time to go….
We had to say a sad farewell to Caleb as we put him on the bus to Cork, and a quick visit to the shop for supplies and the long trek with full rucksacks back to the boat. Six o’clock that evening it was time to pull up the hook and join the flotilla of sailing boats that also looked to be leaving Kinsale at the same time (for a race we think).
Leaving Ireland, Old Man of Kinsale
The first few hours were great, flat seas, and 7 to 9 knots on a broad reach as we headed out west to join the 10th Parallel about in line with the west coast of Ireland. Why go all the way out there I hear you ask? Well the Bay of Biscay is defined by the continental shelf off the west side of Europe. This shelf drops very steeply. Near France, it drops from 120m to about 4500 in the space of 10 miles. This natural underwater cliff face is what causes the horrible sea patterns in the bay itself, and can lead to very unpredictable wave patterns, and an uncomfortable ride. To avoid this then, you head west. Further west the continental cliff face is much shallower in gradient, and hence the sea state in principle should be less affected. Similarly, you spend more time in the deeper waters of the North Atlantic rather than in the Bay of Biscay, and the wave patterns should be more Ocean roller in nature with nice long wavelengths.
That’s the theory out of the way, so what was it really like? So we sailed through that first night, and unfortunately the wind dropped and swung more to the North (behind us). That morning we were eventually completely becalmed. It was a lovely sunny day, but we weren’t going anywhere faster than about 3 knots. Eventually, we had to fire up the engine, and we don’t do that lightly these days given the price of diesel! But we needed to get South because we were sure that there was wind there that would get us to Spain. 8 hours later, and it started to appear from the North East as predicted.
Off went the engine, out went the Spinnaker pole (the first time we had used this!) and the Genoa, and off we sailed. The wind built slowly throughout the day, as did our speed, 4 knots, up to about 6 knots. That night, the North Easterly’s kicked in, so we changed the sail plan, and now we were sailing on a port broad reach. The seas started to build ….
Sunset at sea
Over the next two days, that wind got stronger, until it was averaging over 25 knots. And the seas were around 3 metres on the port quarter. Time to surf! We battled our way through the fleet of French Fishing boats on the Great Sole Bank. We were entertained by pods of dolphins leaping out of the water in the sunshine. And we surfed our way down the waves as we crossed over the continental shelf and in to the Biscay Abyss.
By now, after 56 hours at sea, it was just a case of hanging on! Azimuth was in her element it would seem. Force 6 at times touching 7, and she danced and surfed through the waves, averaging 8.5 knots and on one huge surf, hitting 12.9! Both Ailsa and I were quite tired by this point, but definitely not dismayed, just hanging on!
Frothy Seas!
That final day we negotiated Tanker Alley, the AIS screen at one point showed two lines of Tankers about 60 in total all heading to or from the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) off the North end of Spain. It didn’t really matter though, as we just straight lined through then all at 9 knots without incident. The worry now was that we were actually going to fast. We didn’t want to arrive at A Coruna in the dark, a place that we had never been to before. About 40 miles from the coast, bolts of lightening from a thunder storm inland dramatically lit up the sky and the Torre de Hercules (Hercules lighthouse) sent out its bean to guide us to the entrance to A Coruna. It wasn’t until we were with 10 miles of the coast that the wind eventually started to drop and we coasted in at a casual 6 knots towards the narrow entrance. The sky was just starting to lighten as we negotiated a fleet of tiny fishing dinghies and dropped our hook just off the beach in A Coruna bay. Of course we felt exhausted by this point, but we also felt a great sense of achievement at completing our first ocean passage.
Anchorage at Mesa in A Coruna Bay
Total Distance
609 NM
Total Time
84 Hours
Average Speed
7.25 Knots
Max Speed
12.9 Knots (Surfing!)
Max Wind Speed
30 knots (Force 7)
Max Wave Height
4 Metres (we think!)
Fastest Day
200 miles / 8.5 knots
Top Trump Azimuth Statistics!
Our route across Biscay
So was their Biscay Dismay? No! It was a very satisfying experience, and a massive confidence builder. Roll on the next stage!
Well it’s been alot of fun revisiting Ireland again. Its getting close to the time to move and head South towards Spain. We are now back in Kinsale, and spending our time fixing bits and pieces, checking the weather daily to see how it develops in the Bay of Biscay and generally getting nervous about the next leg!
But hey what the hell, here’s what we have been up to since the last time we posted…
We left you last time in Crookhaven, and we decided we had to pay one last visit to another favourite, Bantry Bay. This in the first big Lough (Loch) that you come to once you round the headland on the South West Corner of Ireland, the mighty Mizen Head. Its a fearsome one too, were the Atlantic ocean crashes in to Ireland and splits, one half of the current travelling up the South coast, and the other half heading North West. This can lead to some confused seas, and you have to get the tide right for a comfortable passage. The day we did it was actually rather nice. We had North Westerly winds, and with this wind going with the tide, the sea was relatively calm for these parts.
Rounding Mizen Head
We surfed our way up Bantry Bay itself, with the wind on a broad reach, and the seas running straight up the bay. The weather was pretty murky though and as we got deeper in to bay the winds were fickle. Still it was a very nice sail, and we rolled in to the spectacular anchorage outside of Glengarriff that evening.
The rain descended! For two days it barely stopped. No wonder this place is so green, but we didn’t fancy braving the rain and the wind in the dinghy, so we played alot of Skibbo and stared out of the window at the murk. Our friends on Zora, Sam and Rosie were anchored just next to us. They didn’t do much either!
By Sunday afternoon, it started to brighten, and we all felt the need to get off the boat, stretch our legs, and go see the town. Its a one street wonder of a place, with plenty of pubs and restaurants and a local Spar for some very expensive essentials. The pubs were packed! Turns out it was the grand final of the Irish football league, so we found a table in the “Blue Loo”, ordered the usual Guinness and white wine (not in the same glass) and sat down to watch the footie. Being completely clueless about the game, it appeared to be a hybrid between football and rugby. Entertaining none the less, and we found ourselves getting in to the swing of things, unsure of which team to support though in case we offended the locals!
Dinner at another local and back to the boat ready for some better weather the next day.
We have been to Glengarriff before, and the thing that struck us last time was a spectacular forest walk that we found. So the next day, with the sky looking much bluer, we decided to take Caleb on the same walk we did about 3 years ago to explore Glengarriffs ‘temperate rainforest’. A short track outside the edge of the town takes you deep in to ancient woodland, where the air is thick with humidity, and all the trees are covered in a thick green moss.
The name Glengarriff is derived from the Irish Gleann Gairbh which translates as the rough or rugged glen. The setting of Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve is spectacular, with the woods nestled in the sheltered glen opening out into Glengarriff Harbour. Above the woods rise the Caha Mountains, with their dramatic layers of sheer rock.
We did several of the trails that day and walked about 10 miles around the glen. Here’s a taste of the scenery
We sat on this rock for lunch soaking up the views!
The woodland feels very ancient
And here’s some panorama’s we took after a very step climb to the top of Lady Bantry’s Lookout. You can see the anchorage where Azimuth and Zora were anchored
Azimuth is in the background anchored next to Zora
It was a memorable day!
We found a market still open on the way back to the boat and had some street food for tea. Ailsa disappeared for a bit and turned up with a stick of candyfloss that was arguably larger than her!
Finally before we bore you to death with Glengarriff, here are some pictures taken from the boat in the anchorage. We think it has a distinctly Caribbean feel to it? We will let you know hopefully later this year about that opinion!
We had one eye on the weather, you can see about 7 days in advance, and there was a glimmer of an opportunity for a crossing of the Bay of Biscay ahead. So we decided to head back towards Kinsale where we could sit and wait in comfort to see if it developed. Still time though to take in a couple of places on the way back. What turned out to be some glorious sailing too, mostly downwind for a change.
Leaving Bantry Bay behind, we rounded Mizen head again, whisked past the fastnet, and dropped the hook off Sherkin Island for a what turned out to be a rolly night at anchor.
Bantry Bay BeautyBeautiful Bantry Bay
One of those annoying nights where there is no wind, and only a slight swell on the sea surface, and your boat aligns itself at right angles to the swell and gets in to a ‘death roll’. Uncomfortable sleeping, but a first world problem at best when you look out the window at the view!
FastnetSherkin Sunset
Another anchorage is never far away in these parts, so we moved about 2 miles round the corner just North of Baltimore and had a much more comfortable night. The groaning seals kept us entertained!
Our final stop on route to Kinsale was at Glandore for a must visit pub meal. The weather wasn’t the best, but the grub and Guinness were great and we played at sailing with the Saturday racing locals
in the pub again…misty Glandore
So maybe you are wondering what the title of this blog entry actually means? Well according to Google (and I accept no responsibility for accuracy!) it means “farewell Ireland”.
We have to say another farewell to Caleb too. Its been a joy to have him onboard for so long sharing our journey. He is off to see his big brother in Belfast and will then wend his way back to Stirling via Nottingham to start his third year at Uni. Good luck Caleb!
Kinsale must have known something big was happening soon … last night they even put on fireworks for us in the anchorage!
We’ll see you all again soon, fingers crossed next time from Spain. Adios!
Its a great name isn’t it? And we will tell anyone who will listen what an awesome place this part of Southern Ireland is! You have scenery to die for. Little villages and towns that line the shores and welcome you in. Fantastic anchorages, great Guinness and the worlds friendliest people. What’s not to like?
So we sailed out of Kinsale on a slow breeze and a perfect summers evening to explore this great area and found the perfect anchorage for the night in a place called Broadstrand just south of CourtMacSherry.
The next day we set sail again and entered the narrow entrance of Castle Haven 35 miles down the coast. It was a brilliant sail, force 4 with flat seas and us tacking past the large headlands that jut out from the coast. You can hardly see the entrance to Castle Haven as you approach the coast, but then its entrance widens and round a dogleg lies the town of CastleTownshend, a sleepy pretty little place packed full of history. We anchored in the river outside the town and took a trip in the next day to see possibly the worlds strangest round-about, a bronze age fort and a delightful pub for the obligatory pint of Guinness.
Galley HeadCastletownsend Castle Haven Entranceroundabout???Great Pub Iron Age Fort
A short sail up the coast took us to a spectacular spot to see the rapids at Lough Hyde. We anchored just outside the rapids at Barloge Creek nestled between cliffs with barely any room to swing. The anchorage was busy too. Lough Hyde is connected to Barloge Creek by a narrow channel which has an underwater sill. The tide flows in and out of the lough, but because the entrance is so narrow, not enough water can get through, and this forms a step in the sea and rapids between the Lough and the creek. Caleb and I took the dinghy and navigated the rapids when the two water levels were almost equal. We could only stay a short while in the lough before we had to get out again to avoid being trapped. It was a fun ride in the dinghy through the narrows going with the flow and getting spun about in the strong stream.
Another short sail up the coast took us to an anchorage just off the town of Baltimore. This place is a mecca for boating. Anchorage etiquette is clearly not observed here though and we were buzzed all day by all manner of high speed ribs and speedboats tearing there way to the dock to take advantage of the numerous bars and restaurants. Speaking of which, not wanting to be left out, we braved the melee too and visited a great pub called the Algerian for burgers and beer and took a hike up the striking navigation mark that guards the entrance to Baltimore Bay
Views around Baltimore Bay and Harbour
Two nights of Baltimore bay speed boat madness was enough for us and we decided to seek solitude in an anchorage just round the corner off Hare Island. The heat hit us, but not as fiercely as that experienced in the UK. We took the dinghy to shore to enjoy the white sand beaches and have a walk around this pretty island.
Helen of Troy?
With a blow predicted for the next evening, we made sail for an old favourite anchorage with more protection at Schull Harbour. (pronounced Skull). Another sailing mecca in the area and full of boats, many more than we had seen last time. Infact trying to get a space here on the dinghy dock was chaos involving pushing aside many of those ribs we had seen flying around in Baltimore. Our dingy ‘Danny Boy’ just about managed to squeeze in, and the reward for the passengers was fish and chips at the pier and a pint in town at the Bonratty Inn. Our friends Sam and Rosie from Zora were also in the anchorage for the night, so we paid them a visit for another great evening of sunset beers and wine. Thanks guys!
Schull Harbour … spot Azimuth competition?
The next day, we took a walk round the headland from Schull via a small hamlet of Colla. It turned out to be a fantastic walk with stunning views of the area. The reward at the end was a visit to ‘Crepe Paradise’
Walk around Schull headland
That evening we took advantage of the wind angle and sailed down to another favourite anchorage at Crookhaven with a fine sail down Long Island sound and through Man of War Pass. All names that invoke the history of the area with Spanish Galleons and Pirates. Infact we saw a beautiful tallship pass us on the way.
Crookhaven is a superb all weather anchorage and almost completely enclosed. The place has a lovely feel to it, very relaxed although this time the shore was teeming with holiday makers. Don’t these land lubbers just get in the way?! Ailsa and I decided to try and walk to Mizen head. It proved to be a little too far on a hot day, but we did make it to Barley Cove and sat on the beach enjoying the views before returning to Crookhaven for a well earned ice cream.
Barley Cove
Hopefully you get a feel for this area and why we love it so much!
The journey so far from Portishead to Kinsale has been a lot of fun. I think we are getting in to the swing of things and the nerves of leaving the UK have diminished over the last week. Its dawning on us now that the boat is truly home for the foreseeable future and the whole world lies ahead. Its been lovely too to have Ethan and Caleb on board, although they are already eating us out of house and home!
The day we left Portishead, the weather wasn’t very nice. The Bristol channel was putting up a fight as usual, with the wind on the nose gusting up to 30 knots and a short sea. Not to be daunted, we were prepared to put up the fight when with 2 hours our new furler that had been put on during the re-rig at great expense decided to start chafing through the furler control rope. Unable to fix this at sea, we were forced to turn on the engine and motor the rest of the way round to anchor in Swansea Bay off Mumbles Head. Not a great start!
The same day we left, our good friend John also sailed out of Portishead on his mission to cross the atlantic too!
John on Rival Spirit fighting his way down the Bristol Chanel to Barry.
Safely at anchor the next day in the Mumbles and with the furler issue fixed (fingers crossed) imagine our surprise when the red arrows suddenly flew across the bay over the top of Azimuth?! They really didn’t need to put on such a show just for us as we set off on our journey! Turns out that this was the weekend of the Swansea Air Show, unknown to us! And here we were in the bay with ring side seats to the whole event. In the right place at the right time? That never happens to us. That would explain why there were also so many other boats in the anchorage, where previously we had never seen anyone anchored here before We decided to stay, especially as it was still blowing hard out in the channel, and enjoy the show.
plane spotting in slippers!red arrowsAzimuth at anchor next to mumbles
After a great weekend, we left the mumbles and set sail for Dale in Milford Haven. The Bristol channel other ideas, so after 6 hours of tacking, we gave up and went to Caldey Island just off Tenby instead! The next day we tried again, and had a great sail in to Dale dodgy the two firing ranges on the way.
Dale is a great place to anchor and we stayed for a couple of nights looking for a weather opportunity to cross the Irish Sea. At 130 miles, you need the right wind, and definitely not on the nose. Given the price of diesel these days, we don’t want to motor anywhere anymore, and now we have all the time in the world we don’t have to!
Ethan declared he was desperate to go to a pub! So we decided to take a visit to shore in Dale and visit the local shop and pub. We also went for a walk along the coast path which turned out to be very picturesque and well worth a visit if you are ever in the area.
The beer tasted really good after the walk, and so did the pizza takeaway from Dale Yacht Club!
So we were sat in Dale, looking at the weather for the crossing, and it didn’t look very promising, nothing consistent for days. What appeared was some short bursts of Northerly winds the next day interspersed with patches on no wind. So we decided, what the hell, lets just go for it. The crossing turned out to be a long one. The wind was actually as predicted, so we had periods of sailing at 9 knots interspersed with hours of being totally becalmed in flat seas in the middle of the Irish sea buzzed by fishing vessels and passenger ferries.
Finally we arrived in Kinsale about 8pm in the evening and motored in to the spectacular entrance of this vibrant town.
Arriving in Kinsale
We have had a great time in Kinsale and were there for nearly a week. This little town is steeped in history. The Spanish invaded in 1601 and held the town for a month until they were kicked out again by James 1st. He built a fort at the entrance to the harbour to protect it. The spanish left their mark though with countless references throughout the town. In 1682 Charles 2nd built a much bigger fort that dominates the entrance to Kinsale which is shown in the picture above, and you sail in past it.
We had a chance to meet up with our freinds Niall and Bernadette whom we purchased Azimuth from on that fateful day 4 years ago, where a deal was struck in the pub! We have never regretted it since, and it was great to see them again and share sailing stories, and talk about all our plans ahead. It was also a great treat to see Zora sail in to Kinsale the day after we arrived and anchor up in the river right next to us. Sam and Rosie joined us for a raucous evening hosted by Niall and Bernadette on their fabulous boat La Courette in castle marina. Many thanks to them and we look forward to seeing you again before we depart Ireland!
La CouretteZora
Here’s some more pictures of us enjoying the delights of Kinsale!
Pub visits to Kitty o’ see’s, the Spaniard & the Greyhound
A few days in to the stay we were delighted to welcome Ethan’s friend Joe back on board Azimuth for a couple of nights. The lads went out for a big session in Kinsale one evening!
Ethan & Joe
Despite Ethan’s hangover, the next day we talk a walk round the harbour and visited Charles Fort which was a great afternoon out.
I tried to recreate a moment in the Pearce family history involving our kids sat on cannons…. Not sure it worked that well?!
Finally we had to say goodbye to Joe and Ethan. Ethan is off to start a new working life in Belfast. We wish him all the best of luck and we shall miss him! STAY IN TOUCH ETHAN!!
Time to move on down the coast and revisit some more of our fave anchorages and explore some new ones ….
Its been a rollercoaster ride getting to the 1st of July, when we left the dock for the final time from our berth in Portishead and headed out through the lock. All the years of preparation, planning dreaming and scheming had come to this defining point in our lives.
Despite what anyone says, leaving is never easy. Yes, we have the excitement ahead of what’s to come, but we have had to say goodbye to so many family and friends, and its been tough! Of course this is not the end my friend, and we look forward to seeing many of you again in far flung and exotic places onboard azimuth.
Here’s some galleries of a few of the people we have seen over the last few weeks. Please send us any more pictures you want to share, and we will add them here
A few weeks ago, we had a farewell bash with Dom’s band Fat Digester at the Yard Party at the Castle Rock Brewery in Nottingham where we caught up with some of our friends from West Bridgford. Here was Dom thinking this would be the first time he would actually see Fat Digester from in front of the stage! However, they dragged him on stage, and he has been buzzing for weeks after the chance to play with them again. Thanks guys!
Listen to Fat Digester Here (sorry for the plug!)
We celebrated the wedding of Ailsa’s cousin Laura to Ben at an amazing venue near Bolton Abbey. It was a fantastic weekend and a great chance to see the whole of Ailsa’s family. Many thanks to Laura for inviting us!
We celebrated Vinnies 18th birthday. Well done mate! He bought his first round of drinks and they didn’t even ID him. He was well annoyed!
Ailsa’s oldest friends from school came to visit Azimuth for a boozy night even though Ian was supposed to be “taking it easy”! Well done Ian for still managing to get your second black belt the next day!
Dom caught up with Matt & Martin for lunch and reminisced about the “Pink Palace” . They know what I mean!
We had a lovely weekend in Notts visiting family, went out for Sunday lunch and had afternoon tea at Dom’s parents, with enough cakes to sink a small battleship (or even Azimuth!). Thanks guys, we love you all!
That evening we caught some more West Bridgford friends and celebrated another 18th birthday … Well done Arthur!
… And in the last week before we left, we caught up with all our friends in the marina at the Plough in Portishead, where apparently they didn’t have any beer for sale? It was still a lovely evening!
Emotionally exhausted I think is the expression after so many goodbyes!
So finally, the day arrived and away we went. It was awesome to have all the family here and Ethan and Caleb are joining us for the trip to Ireland. Saying goodbye to Vinnie was the hardest of all the goodbyes … we love you mate. We tried to capture the moment on video and with a few pictures!
Stay in touch everyone, and come and visit us anytime!
The standing rigging on Azimuth was about 15 years old. This is all the stainless steel wires that hold the mast up and take the strain when she is sailing and heeled hard over. We always had it in the back of our minds that this rigging would probably be need to be replaced before we set off, but that always felt like a long way off and so we put it off! We started talking to boat insurers late last year (2021) about the boat and our planned passage across the Atlantic in 2022. It was a good job we did, as all of them pointed out that the standing rigging was now past its sell by date and needed to be replaced, and by the way they wouldn’t insure us until it was done. That kind of forced our hand then!
Getting the rigging changed is easy on a small boat. You just drop the mast, change the wires and off you go. This is not the case for Azimuth. She’s a big old girl, and the rigging is very heavy duty, some would say over engineered. But then, that’s a good thing right? … until you decide to get the rigging changed, then you realise the cost and the time its going to take!
There are quite a few companies that will change your standing for you. They are all congregated on the south coast of the UK. No good when you need your boat to live on and your son is at college in Bristol. Fortunately, there is a great rigger based in Cardiff Bay, about 20 miles from Portishead by sea, close enough for us to get to relatively easily to have the work done.
The whole process took about 6 weeks, and man it was hard work! My advise when buying a boat is never get one with a painted mast. It took me at least a month to patch the paint. Sanding, undercoat, primer and top coat. 6 coats in all on your hands and knees on a windswept crane dock…. hopefully never again!
I tried to capture the moments in video. This video shows we are no good at filming or editing! Sorry if it makes you feel a bit ill!
Ailsa and I were over the moon to be asked to go on a cruise from Portishead to Plymouth to help out our friends Harriet and Dom move their boat Budge to their new home to Kings Point marina in Plymouth.
The timing had to be right … any trip down the west coast of Cornwall can be tricky but to do it at the end of march?? Surely a little insane?! As it happens though the ideal weather forecast appeared with unseasonal warm and settled weather predicted for at least 6 days before the weather was to change to a howling gale. Just enough time for a leisurely cruise around Lands End?
We set off on the Friday with great frivolity. A mad dash to try and catch the lock at high tide, with all the last minute preparations and loading of supplies. It’s always a little stressful to leave Portishead, but all that was quickly forgotten as we got out in to a windless but sunny Bristol Channel. Everyone soon settled in to the trip and we headed for Dom & Harriet’s first night at anchor on Budge on the North coast of Devon at Porlock. No wind at all meant a comfortable night which was cold as soon as the sun dropped below the horizon, reminding us that this was still March.
The next day was a leisurely start to catch the tide out of the Bristol Channel, around the corner with a planned stop at Clovelly. Skipper Dom did his tidal planning well and we were blessed with a force 5 blow from the East and downwind surfing all the way out of the channel. Truly unheard of sailing in this part of the world!
The tide helped us too and we quickly sailed past Combe Martin and Illfracombe, around Morte point and down towards Clovelly where Our good friend Charlie had provided some useful information for the best place to anchor in this remote spot. Thankfully we arrived before dark, as none of us knew this anchorage. It was a little rolly, but the wind soon died away and the sea flattened out. Getting to shore proved to be a little tricky though. At low tide, all we were presented with was a steeply shelved rocky beach and no access to the inner harbour. We four intrepid sailors loaded ourselves in to Budge’s dinghy and skipper Dom rowed us to shore heading for a large concrete structure that looked like a likely landing place. It proved to be somewhat different, slippery as hell and in fact useless for access to the beach, so much to the amusement of anyone watching we fought our way up the rocky beach and tied the long painter to a large rock.
At Anchor in Clovelly
The next part of the battle to conquer Clovelly was the need to feed hungry sailors and Charlie had already determined that the pub at the bottom of the hill was not serving food that night, so we set off on the steep climb through the pretty town on the hope that the only other pub in town would be open and have a table. Charlie and Jen had agreed to drive down and meet us. So it was with relief that the friendly landlord went out of his way to sort us out with a table for 6 in what turned out to be our own private room for a delicious meal and a few local beers / gins. Highly recommended.
Leaving a boat in daylight is all well and good, but forgetting a torch as well as forgetting to put the anchor light on on Budge meant that on our return to the beach, we were met with pitch blackness and the trip back to the boat looked to be very difficult! Charlie ‘never without a torch’ Phillips came to the rescue again, producing a torch capable of lighting up the entire boat from a distance of 300m! The beer definitely helped the scramble back down the beach and the launch of the dinghy in fits of giggles from all involved and Charlie’s torch guided us back to Budge in style. Such was the power of the beam, we felt we were being pushed along by the photons! All arrived back at Budge without incident, well maybe some wet feet.
Another comfortable night at anchor, and we set off again for the trip down the coast to to Padstow. It was another sunny day and the sea state was flat with a gentle swell. It was a bonus to see a pod of dolphins.
Yet again we were blessed with ideal sailing conditions with 15 knots on the beam all the way down the coast. The wind picked up to force 5 as we approached the entrance to Padstow and skipper Dom expertly helmed us over the doom bar without breaking a sweat an hour after high tide. Time was pressing though and a call to Padstow Harbour Master confirmed fears that the inner harbour was about to close. Harriet and Ailsa had been promised the possibility of a shower …. a dangerous precedent had been set, and skipper Dom was not about to let them down, so he decided there was no way we were not getting in. Engine revs were set to max, forget the 5 knots speed limit, Dom helmed us through the narrow channel with skill and got us in to the inner harbour just in time before the gate was shut. A 180 degree spin later and we were moored up on the wall in front of an enormous crowd of onlookers. The shower was secured and Dom had saved the day!
Arrival in Padstow!
The town of Padstow (or should we call it Rick’s town?) was very accommodating. The showers were hot. Ricks fish and chips were palatable and filling. However, the supreme effort of getting here had caught up with the skipper, he hadn’t slept well on the trip so far, and the safety of the inner harbour led to his collapse in to bed and 14 hours of sleep. All that sea air is definitely good for the soul. Also, now we were in the harbour there was no way if getting out again until high tide at 3pm the next day. We were all pretty knackered, so enjoyed the break and took the chance to spend the next morning perusing the shops and enjoying a pasty for lunch.
No rest for the wicked. Tide and time wait for no one, so 10 minutes after the harbour master opened the gate, we were on our way following the inward track back over the doombar and out to sea on our way to St Ives. We wanted to get to arrive before dark but it was a tough call. No wind meant the motor all the way, and the tide was against us. The daylight eventually ran out and we edged in to the anchorage under darkness. Harriet was posted at the front of the boat with the torch checking for lobster pots. Last time we were in St Ives, Ailsa and I had had to weave in and out of them on our approach. As it turned out, this time there weren’t any, sorry Harriet!
We dropped the hook 200m off the pier and then realised that even though there was no wind, and virtually no swell all the way down, Sod’s law had decided that a really annoying swell was entering the anchorage from the North West and Budge was flopping from side to side. A decision had to be made…. stay here or press on round lands end in the dark. In the end, we decided to stay, but all experienced a rough night of rolling and listening to all the creeks and groans of Budge. You have it take the rough tank the smooth with sailing!
Bleary eyed the next morning, everyone eventually surfaced and off we set again to take on the challenge of rounding Lands End. Accompanied by more sunny weather but with an ominous mist hanging over the coast. The sea state was flat again though, and Budge motored round the coast as we waited for some expected wind to pick up. The conditions were perfect to go through the inside passage at Lands End, so skipper Dom took the helm from Fred (recently named autopilot) after the Brisons and took us through the gap between Longships and Lands End. The mist cleared and Harriet produced cold beers to help us celebrate the moment!
The plan was to make it all the way to Falmouth (another shower had been promised!) and having rounded Lands End, there was still a good distance to go across the bay and around the Lizard. We are still not sure what sacrifice Dom and Harriet must have made to the wind gods before we left, but it must have been considerable …. the wind picked up to Force 4/5 on the beam and pushed Budge onwards to her destination at a great speed.
Skipper concentrating hard on the sailing….
We entered Falmouth harbour at dusk just as the sun set below the horizon and pulled up to the dock at Pendennis Marina. A wonderful sail!
We woke the next day to a grey sky and cold. It looked like the spell of good weather was coming to an end? However, after leaving Falmouth, once again the skies cleared, the sea went glassy smooth, and Budge motored on towards Plymouth under blue skies. 6 hours later and Skipper Dom navigated us carefully in to Plymouth, dodging various fishing and pilot boats and large ferries all the way in to Kings Point Marina, their new home for the year. It’s not the easiest place to get in to as you have to navigate past a line of 72 foot multi million pound princess motor boats, but we pulled up at the dock (with a little help from Dom and Harriets new neighbours) and sat in the cockpit enjoying the moment with a cold beer.
Arrived in Plymouth!
All good things come to an end. It had been a wonderful trip, but there was just enough time to explore Plymouth and enjoy a farewell meal and beers before we had to leave the next day. A walk from the Marina past the Plymouth Hoe took us to the Barbican district where we ended up in the Dolphin pub and met an old friend from Portishead as well as met a new one, a local shipwright called Reece who regalled us with his sailing stories. Hunger finally forced us to seek out a curry house and we enjoyed some great food, slightly inebriated and bizarrely entertained by our persistent waiter Callum who proceeded to tell us his life story and philosophies whilst we pretended we were interested? It looks to us as though Plymouth will provide plenty of evening entertainment and interesting people for Dom and Harriet in the months to come as they settle in to their new home!
The evening descended in to Drunken banter as we discussed the possibility that Dom, if he gets too drunk, could maybe miss the entrance to his marina on the long walk home and possibly find himself in Roscoff the next morning courtesy of the ferry terminal right next door!
The next day, we eventually emerged from the cabins and all felt a little tired and emotional from the excesses of the previous evening. Big thanks to Charlie who had offered to pick us up and whisk us back to Portishead in his comfortable Jag! He saved the day as the prospect of several hours on trains and buses was not appealing!
We want to say a huge thank you to Dom and Harriet for taking us on this adventure and looking after us so well! We had a wonderful time, and felt like we were waited on hand and foot at Budge Hotel! Well done Dom and Harriet for all your efforts in getting Budge ready to go, and feel confident that you are great sailors and able to take on the challenges of sailing in the UK. We wish Dom and Harriet all the best in their new Marina and hope they really get to enjoy the new sailing opportunities the south coast has to offer. We would be jealous, except we are off to a better place too! Adios Portishead!
