Bangor to Ardglass

I am back on board Cervisia now, aiming to take her back from Bangor in Northern Ireland to Portishead. I am a little nervous about what the weather has in store for us over the coming week, but so far things are looking quite positive. I have scrapped the initial pan to go back along the welsh coast and am now planning on sailing down the east side or Ireland and then crossing the bottom of the Irish Sea on either Thursday or Friday.

Today I have had a bit of a mixed sail from Bangor to Ardglass. We started off in nice sunshine and ok winds. There was some interesting navigation between some islands and the mainland at Donagnadee Sound. We did this passage against the tide and in light winds. It took quite a lot of time.

The wind has been a bit odd all day really. It has shifted massively in direction throughout the day over short periods of time and has also changed in strength. Towards the end of the day the wind died completely and we had to motor for the last three hours. We got an absolute drenching just before that in quite an intensive rain shower.

What has been quite nice all day has been the views of the Mourne mountains. They started out just popping up behind lower hills closer by, but now in Ardglass they look pretty close and large. I think I will see them all day tomorrow as long as the weather holds out.

I am going to have to get up early tomorrow to make the most of the day. I am hoping to get somewhere near Dublin but I suspect that I won't get quite that far. I just have to hope that the wind behaves.

I might find it difficult to update the blog when in the Republic due to roaming charges. I should be back in the uk on Friday night. Whether I land somewhere with coverage is not totally clear. There might be somewhere in the republic with wifi where I can update the blog instead.

Stranraer to Bangor

I really couldn't get up that early this morning after a really late night yesterday. When I got up, the wind was whistling through the marina and the sun was out. In fact the wind was blowing cervisia onto the pontoon so hard that I thought I wasn't going to get her off. With a lot of brute force, I pushed her out, jumped into the cockpit, put the engine on full revs and got out before we got blown back in.

When we got out into Loch Ryan, it was really windy. We didn't have much sail up at all, but were going really quickly. The anemometer said 30 knots at times and that was a tail wind. It must have been force 7 at times or more. I suspect that southerlies get funnelled down Loch Ryan to strengthen them. It was interesting to see where I had been last night in the daylight. What I had thought were buoys looked like War of the Worlds tripod like things sitting out of the water. It was also interesting to see the, building a new ferry terminal further up the loch on the Cairnryan side. I don't know whether cutting 4 miles out of the sea crossing is something that the customers want or whether cutting that much off the voyage saves sufficient fuel for it to be worth building a brand new terminal and jetty. I guess someone has done all the sums.

Passing Lady Bay (where we anchored on the way north), things looked really choppy. I think it was a good idea to do the extra 5 miles down to Stranraer, even if it did prolong things last night and this morning.

As I had to dodge some ferries at the head of Loch Ryan, I decided to heave to as I was out of the way and sailing north was going to get me nowhere. I did this by reefing the genoa fully and pushing the rudder to leeward. This is how the Pardeys reckon it should be done. When I did the sailing school thing, I was told to leave the genoa up and let it back. The Pardey way is definitely the way to do it. Cervisia adopted exactly the right attitude to the sea and everything went really calm. I had never tried this in strong winds before and I was really impressed by how it worked. Backing the genoa always seemed to cause her to sit at right angles to the sea and that never seemed right to me.

Once out of Loch Ryan, we had a good beam reach, steered by the Sea Feather all the way to Belfast Lough. The wind abated more and more the further we went and by the time we sighted Northern Ireland (at a lighthouse called Black Head on the north side of Belfast Lough), it was time to put the engine on and motor the last five miles into Bangor. I didn't actually see much on the crossing over: it was just really grey and the visibility was poor. I think we were only a couple of miles from the land before we saw it. Bangor is a really huge marina protected by a really impressive geometric breakwater. There are loads of boats in it and some of them are pretty impressive. Unusually for me, we got there before it got dark and before the restaurants had closed. I went up into town and enjoyed a pizza then went to bed.

Bangor marina from the North Down coast path

This morning I prepared Cervisia for three weeks without me! I've washed a big pile of clothes and they are now drying inside her. I've also got the sails out inside drying too (we let the cruising chute fall into the water at the time of the Sound of Luing: it was incompetence on my behalf. I then bought a map and walked the North Down coast path to Belfast City Airport. The path passed some lovely little sandy bays that look out over Belfast Lough and went through some nice little bluebell woods. It's not quite as pleasant at the Belfast end where you walk past a sewage works and military barracks (with one of those checkpoints you see on the telly).

I'm now on the plane back to Bristol. I've seen some of the places that we've sailed past on the way up, like the Mull of Galloway and the Isle of Man. The sea looks pretty choppy down there. I think it will be windy and choppy for the next few days (and blowing straight up the Irish Sea). It's probably quite a good thing that I'm going home now. It would be nice to think that there'll be westerlies when I return in three weeks time, but somehow I doubt that the prevailing winds will prevail. They haven't this past two weeks!

Dark approach to Stranraer

I am on my own again now. I left Royston in Troon on Friday morning. We had a great meal last night at Scotties above the Marina in Troon. Stone packed his bags and then left this morning. I took the opportunity to walk to Morrisons with him and stock up on some food and fuel for the next stage of the voyage.

The basic goal now is to get to Bangor in Northern Ireland. I have free berthing there for a few weeks so I plan to leave her there and then pick her up at the start of June for another week's holiday and to bring her back to Portoshead. The first stage of this plan was to get her to Loch Ryan. It is then nominally a short hop across to Bangor.

The problem I had getting to Stranraer was the wind. Initially there was insufficient wind and I had to take cervisia back into the marina to change the headsail for a bigger one. For the first couple of hours at sea, this seemed like it had been a good idea. It was when I was off the Heads of Ayr wishing for stronger winds that it became apparent that the opposite was true.

The wind suddenly picked up to above 20 knots and it stayed that way, or stronger, all the way to Loch Ryan. I had big reefs in both sails and it was hard work tacking into this wind. The sea state also got up and there were waves around that were exactly the wrong size for Cervisia. We didn't make good progress into these seas but had to keep going. I think there was probably something wrong with the way we were sailing. Either we had too much sail up or we were trying to go too close to the wind. I'm going to have to sort this out.

The weather was nothing special either. As well as the strong winds, it started to rain. When the wind gets up towards 30 knots and it is raining, you need to show stoicism and zeal to keep going. What helps on Cervisia is that she had a Sea Feather self steering gear. I attached this and tried to get as much shelter in the cockpit or cabin as possible.

There was a tantalising time when we were off Girvan. This place has a little marina and would have been a really well positioned place - given that I was outside it at about 8pm. The problem was that there were waves around and it was low tide. I don't know if the waves would have been onshore, bit I didn't want to risk it. We pressed on towards Loch Ryan and the darkness.

We had a long night in the dark. It is nice to see the lighthouses as they give you an indication of where the coast is and they make you feel that you are not alone out there. It was even better when I could see some of the Loch Ryan buoys flashing: this meant that I was close.

The dodgy thing about entering Loch Ryan was that there are lots of ferries coming in and out. You get a warning as they announce the ferry movements on the VHF. I don't know if this makes things better or worse. When you hear that there is a ferry, you have to really look round to try and identify it by it's lights against the background street lights. We dodged about 3 of them, tacking in the dark.

I had hoped to use an anchorage at the north of Loch Ryan, but there was a strong onshore wind there and it seemed like a bad idea. We had to go another 5 miles to Stranraer at the south end of the loch where there is a little marina that is sheltered from the winds. We had to tack down the channel into Stranraer at nigh, avoiding the shoal patches to the side and the ferries. It was a bit nerve wracking. On the final approach, we could stop tacking and the sea state subsided. We then had a really nice little close reach sail into Stranraer at 1am.

I got cervisia tied up in the marina, then got the electricity and the heater on to dry my clothes, ready for the next day. It was 2am before we were properly sorted out and nearly 3am before I got to bed.
All in all it was a hard day. I think I learnt a lot and know what I need to improve on. It was the first time i'd been out tacking into a force 6. It is nice to know that it works. The good thing I'd that by doing this long hard day, I have broken the back of the voyage to Bangor and can look forward to a more comfortable, if no less windy sail on Saturday (we will not have to go straight into the wind).

Cervisia in Stranraer marina on Saturday morning: a big Stena ferry worth dodging in the background

Lochranza to Troon

When we got up this morning it was really wet and pretty windy. It was such a huge contrast to yesterday which was a really beautiful day.

Following breakfast the first thing we did was to go to the Lochranza pontoon in order to change the genoa to the small jib. This was a much easier job with two people (I usually have to do it myself). Once the jib was on the roller furler and we'd bought some of the lovely Arran oatcakes from the butcher (which is bizarrely the only shop in Lochranza!), we were off.

We had a really wet and windy sail to start with. Visibility was also pretty poor although we could always see land. We sailed really well with the little job up, even when going to windward close hauled. It was actually pretty exhilarating sailing despite being ostensibly pretty miserable. The thing I really like about sailing in the rain is that the rain pours off the end of the boom: so much of it falls on the sail and it all collects in the furled mainsail and then discharges from the end. As long as you are not sitting underneath it, it is quite an interesting sight. On the first tack we ended up somewhere near Bute, on the second tack we got to just north of Brodick. The wind then abated. We firstly changed the genoa at sea to the large genoa and then had to motor towards Troon.

Royston steering in the rain around the north of Arran

We were pretty wet, cold and bearded when we got to Troon. A hot shower and shave were true bliss. We set up a clothes line back and forth inside Cervisia and got the fan heater on. This dried our stuff pretty quickly.

For the final night we went to Scotties restaurant above the marina building in Troon. This is a great place and we had a great final meal together (washed down with lager of course). I had the seafood gratin which was really fantastic. The vegetable tempura for starters were also great. It was a nice end to the week that I'd spent with Royston on board.

All that's left now is to get Cervisia to Bangor marina in Northern Ireland where I'll leave her for 3 weeks. 

Raising the anchor at Jura Loch Tarbert

Raising the anchor at our beautiful anchorage that we had to ourselves at Jura Loch Tarbert.

Sailing in the Sound of Luing

Happy days!

Sailing photos: Crinan and Fladda

The sight that greeted us on our return from epidiorite climbing: the sun setting over the Crinan harbour moorings with Jura and Scarba behind.

Climbing photos

Creag nan Fitheach was an excellent crag. We'd been joking about the epidiorite before we got there, but once we were on it, it was no joke. Epidiorite is a truly fine medium to climb on. It is difficult to think of a better rock. If only there was more of it!

Czechmate: a deceptively tricky and good route on Creag nan Fitheach. Check out the perfect unclimbed epidiorite wall to the right. That's me up there!

The day on Creag nan Fitheach was really windy. After our first route (The Razor's Edge), we realised that we would have to temper our ambitions as the wind would not have been very clever on a delicate route. This was a bit of a shame as there were two E1s that looked absolutely fantastic. We had a great time on the VS routes anyway, so who cares?

Royston on The Razor's Edge. The wind is really taking the rope on this shot. 

South Ridge Direct is in Hard Rock. There are usually long queues on it. We had it to ourselves on an absolutely perfect day. There are a couple of hard-ish pitches (which we dispatched really swiftly) and the rest of it is alpine style mountaineering. The photo below is on the final mountaineering pitch. The position and the views down Glen Rosa to the south are really pretty breathtaking. I was well impressed with the Arran granite. I think it stands comparison with the best that Idyllwild has to offer (Tahquitz and Suicide Rocks). It is a really fine rough medium and forms some great slabs. I would like to do a lot more climbing on Arran granite. Come to think of it, I'd like to do a lot more climbing on epidiorite too.

The final pitch of South Ridge Direct on Arran with Glen Rosa in the background. Royston climbs.

Jura Loch Tarbet to Arran

We are very tired tonight having had two really long days. The first long day entailed sailing from Loch Tarbet round the Mull of Kintyre to Campbeltown. Today we sailed from Campbeltown to Lochranza on the north west tip of Arran.

The high point of Tuesday was tacking our way through the Sound of Islay with our little Sanders jib up. It was really pretty windy and we sailed so nicely in the strong winds, under clear skies. We got to Campbeltown at midnight after a 7am start!

I got up at 6am in order to get Cervisia moving on the way to Arran. We were blessed with some really good winds and made really quick progress, getting here a couple of hours earlier than I had expected. W caught the bus at about 1pm over to the east side of the island. From there we walked up into the mountains and climbed the classic route South Ridge Direct. It was fantastic. We then had a long walk back to Lochranza along the Arran ridge with views out across thus Mull of Kintyre to Jura and beyond in the setting sun. We could also see the really interesting glaciated valleys of Arran, beautiful craggy granite peaks on the islands and the islands of the Firth of Clyde. The day was finished with a dodgy row back to Cervisia in the dinghy followed by a dinner a Arran scrambled eggs washed down with Arran beer that we have carried in my rucksack for 12 miles over the hills.

We are unsure what will happen to the weather tomorrow. We will head for Brodick on the east of Arran and then decide whether we can climb again or whether we should just sail back to Troon. We'll see in the morning. The wind is howling tonight as cervisia lies on her mooring buoy.

Crinan to Jura Loch Tarbet

While we were climbing yesterday, I had the distinct impression that we could actually have gone sailing if we had applied sufficient yoor to the problem. The seas had looked fairly benign despite it being quite windy. We hd met a couple who had sailed through the Sound Of Luing that day in a small boat and although they looked like they had had a wild experience, I think that was probably more due to wind speed than it was due to sea state. If they could handle those conditions in their boat, there was no doubt that we could handle more in a Contessa 26. This brave talk was all a bit irrelevant anyway as the wind had moderated by Monday.

We left the mooring at about 9am and set off round some little islands into the
Sound of Luing. There was a good wind, but it was by no means a problem, indeed it gave very nice sailing. It was an absolutely beautiful day with blue skies and far reaching views. These views started with the Paps of Jura in the south west, Knapdale in the east and Scarba to the north. We then had great clear views of all the islands round the Sound of Luing and eventually of the hills of Mull. The view of Ben More on Mull brought back memories of the Scottish Islands Peaks Race and a very dodgy traverse of a scree slope onto the slopes of Ben More proper.

There were quite a few other sailing boats around. We were the only boat out with our spinnaker up. This felt quite exciting at times as we were pulling nicely up through the islands of Fladda etc. at the very northern end of the Sound of Luing. This is an amazing stretch of water that you have to navigate carefully. There are whirlpools and rocks around. You can see the water swirling around underwater rocks that you know are only metres away. It was up here that we saw the yacht Drum sailing the other way. This is a very impressive and very big yacht. It is also a very famous yacht as it used to belong to Simon Le Bon. It was beautiful.

The Sound of Luing was the northernmost point of the voyage and we then headed west and south around the outside of the Garvellach islands to the west coast of Jura. The wind died a bit here and we had to motor for about an hour (I was mindful that getting sucked into the Gulf of Corryvreckan was a poor idea). Once the wind returned we had a cracking sail down to Loch Tarbet on Jura. The scenery on the west side of Jura is really cool. There are all these raised beaches. In fact there is a whole raised coastline with beached sea stacks and caves. These features are criss crossed with natural dykes. The whole coastline has the backdrop of the Paps of Jura. It is a special place.

The wind really picked up when we entered Loch Tarbet. We had been hoping to find a sheltered spot where we could anchor and go ashore. We settled for a sheltered spot where we could anchor. Royston found an excellent little spot at the east end of Glenbatrick Bay. The chart marked this as having a rocky bottom (bad for anchoring), but we could see the sand beneath us in one spot so we just went for it and anchored there. We were behind a little hill with a beautiful white sand bay behind us. To our left were views of one of the Paps of Jura and out to sea was the island of Colonsay. In the evening, the sun set over Colonsay and the sky was really red. We could then see loads of stars above us and the shapes of the Paps before we turned in for the night. A perfect end to a fantastic day.

Hanging out in Crinan

We went through the Crinan canal on Saturday. We met my nieces, brother and Alison the night before and had a nice barbecue on the beach. We got up early on Saturday ready to catch the first lock of the day.

We weren't particularly good at operating the locks to start with, but after 4 or 5 of them we seemed to be getting into the swing of things. We did the first couple of locked together and were then joined by a 15 foot boat and a Contessa 32. Having a bigger team made things work better although the locks were a bit small for all three boats. This issue was resolved when the contessa 32 decided to hold back as they were concerned that one of the other boats were going to scratch their paint work. I can only assume that they were not concerned about Cervisia as our boat handling was pretty exemplary. We worked really well as a team with the small boat, basically having a boat crew and a land crew with the land crew running ahead to prepare the locks. It was all a hive of activity. The girls did really well sorting out the lines, throwing lines ashore, throwing them back aboard and securing them to the boat. It was a real team effort.

One thing that seemed strange about our passage was that the wind really picked up. It was a steady force 6 and gusted up to force 8. This made getting into the locks quite exciting but also raised questions about what we would do at the other end. We were a bit worried that we wouldn't even make it out of the canal before it closed, but we achieved this with about 30 minutes to spare. We said our goodbyes to our helpers at the Crinan sea lock (they then walked back to the start of the canal) and we motored out into strong winds and a choppy sea. We had decided we weren't going to get anywhere that night and just picked up a mooring buoy round the corner at Crinan boatyard. We spent the night watching a climbing video and listening to the coastguard organising lifeboats for yachts and kayakers that had got into difficulty in the conditions. Based on this and the forecast for further strong winds, we decided that Sunday might be a good day to go climbing.

On Sunday we rowed ashore in the inflatable dinghy and then set off on the pretty long trek to Creag nam Fitheach which sits in forests to the south of Crinan. We were successful with hitch hiking both there and back for some of the way. This was really kind of the drivers and was a huge help. They couldn't help us with the final stiff climb to the crag.

The crag was a windy little spot. This made climbing a little tricky and meant we had to moderate our ambitions. The crag was made of epidiorite which is an amazing rough rock with sharp cut features. It was a joy to climb on, with fatastic views over Loch Sween out towards Jura. The best route we did was the first one we did called The Razor's Edge. Royston led it in the strong winds. It was a really exciting route in a really exposed position. Oveall we climbed 4 VS routes before it was time to head back. We were really happy with our day.

Part of the way back we walked along the Crinan canal with views out towards Jura and the lovely local rolling hills of the Crinan area. Once in Crinan itself, we went to the hotel for a beer and inner before rowing the dinghy back to Cervisia. We have watched an amazing sunset over the mountains of Jura and Mull and have made plans for tomorrow. We're aiming to go up through the Sound of Luing and then into Loch Tarbet on the west side of Jura. If we do this, it should be a really stunning day. Fingers crossed.