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
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!
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.
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 anchorage in Broadhaven Bay was on sand in crystal clear water. We had a really comfortable night.