Jun. 6, 2009 - Short Cruise

Because we need to be home next week, Pat and I decided to make a pilot cruise to Ireland. If all goes well we will set off again after completing essential business. Plans will be revised because of loss of time, so a full circumnavigation will have to be put off until 2010.

1st June:    Departed Whitehaven at 0500 for first leg was to Strangford Lough in glorious sunshine. A good sail initially, reduced to motor sail to arrive at narrows HW-2hours to catch the last of the flood.  Stopped first night in Portaferry. Cost us £20 for an alongside berth, and water top-up.

2nd June:   Quiet day visiting the town. We took the ferry to Strangford (free with bus pass - £1.80 otherwise), had coffee and back to Portaferry for Fish and Chips before leaving for a swinging mooring at Killeyleagh. 

3rd June:  A short motor up to East Down Yacht club to pick up a visitor mooring close to the pontoon. Witnessed a surprising turn-out of Cruisers, Lightnings, Toppers and Lasers for club race night. To make use of hot showers and toilet facilities, I warped off the mooring and onto the pontoon, while Pat rested her eyes.

4th June:   Cruised around the lough, visiting Down Cruising Club, Kirkcubbin and the river Quoile, before picking up a mooring again at Killyleagh. After leaving Kirkcubbin we picked up a PANPAN from a yacht with engine failure and which was drifting onto rocksoff Rainey Island, where we had been two hours ealier. Two local boats and the Portaferry LIfeboat resolved the problem.   The weather, which has been fantastic up to now was beginning to deteriorate with the promise of strong winds and rain. We have decided to move to Belfast tommorrow where we could rest out the bad weather before our temporary return to Whitehaven.

5th June: After a leisurely breakfast, we, set off  at 1130 to catch the last 1/2 hour of the flood in Strangford narrows and to take full advantage of slack water.   With two reefs in the main and full jib we screamed down the narrows and out into an increasingly lumpy sea. Soon I decided to put the third reef in the main as we made 6 knots to windward.  The conditions fluctuated between 25kt winds on the nose with an overcast sky and then sunny with little wind and an "oily" sea, when the engine had to be started.  We fought through Donaghadee Sound at 1.5 kts at 1800 rpm on the engine and 23kt wind on the nose, to arrive at Bangor Marina at 2100. Our trepidation about dropping sail in 25kt wind and choppy sea was unfounded as we reached more sheltered water just outside the marina. It transpired that we could have done this in the large open sheltered area inside the breakwater.  No rain yet so we tried out Pats boom tent ( more like a marquee) to keep the cockpit dry.  A late dinner and off to bed to recharge our batteries for planned sightseeing in Belfast.