Trolling across to Troon

Passage from Bangor to Troon: 64.3 miles in 10 hours and 35 minutes. A good fast passage. Wind very variable and light to start off with, but gradually rose to around a F5 just aft of the beam – lovely sailing with speeds often around 7-9 knots.

With the forecast looking OK for today, but fairly flaky in the coming days, we decided, after much deliberation to head straight in one passage to Troon rather than the long way round via Glenarm and Campbeltown. So, we set off at 05.15 to try and catch a fair tide setting us north up the coast. the tide is fairly strong in the North Channel and then weakens significantly on the Scottish Coast, so the first 5 hours or so of fair tide were the most crucial. Winds were fairly light to start off with and we managed to broad reach at around 5.5kts, but the wind was very variable and kept going directly aft and doing so by 07.45 the engine went on again.

From there, the engine was on and off every so often, but after around 11.00 it came back and shifted slightly to the NW, gradually increasing over the coming hours to around 20-22kts. This gave us speeds of 7-8.5kts – lovely sailing.

Ailsa Craig - dominating the entry to the Firth of Clyde

At midday we were level with Ailsa Craig. Ailsa Craig is around 220 acres and is now uninhabited. It is formed from a volcanic plug of an extinct volcano and was used for many years to quarry blue hone granite for curling stones. It is owned by the 8th Marquess of Ailsa (appropriately named) and she put it on the market in May 2011 for an asking price of something over £1,500,000. It is 2 miles across and rises spectacularly to 1,110 feet (340m). As a result, it is visible from many miles away. When it was still 18 miles away, I felt we were getting close! The island has a ruined keep on the east side which was built in the 1500s by the Hamilton family to protect the island from King Felipe of Spain. At the time the island was a haven for Catholics during the Scottish Reformation.

The island is now simply a haven for gannets and increasing numbers of puffins! The island is leased by the RSPB until 2050 and they undertook a project to rid the island of imported rats. Now that the rats are gone, the puffins are coming back.

The wind dropped off as we got close to Lady Isle off Troon, so we took the sails down and motored the last few miles, arriving at Troon at 15.50.

Entering Troon

Back in the water – Bangor

First thing this morning BJ Marine lifted the boat back in the water. The previous couple of days were spent dodging showers to try and antifoul the boat. We managed, but not without a fair amount of grief and impolite language! We also cleaned off the worst of the muck from the winter – mainly the port and starboard quarters where the rain and muck run down through the toerail from the dip on the deck. These areas were then polished to try and protect them a little. The rest of the hull was just wiped over.

Other work done was:

• Two new shaft anodes (inch and a quarter)
• Removing the main prop anode and cleaning the face and anode (it hadn’t eroded much at all)
• New cover for the wheel
• Engine service

A bit of a compromise all round, but she was looking nice again when lifted back in. Going back into the water was quite an experience at low water. We stepped back on board over the pulpit when they lowered her to that level and were then lowered down into a void about 15 feet below. Once in properly, we just reversed out of the dock and motored back round to our berth.

The rest of the day was spent putting sails back on, refitting the main cover, sprayhood and a few other bits and pieces ready for off.

Heading back down to the water

Beached in Bangor

We’re back on board in Bangor at last. The boat has survived the winter reasonably well and seems moderately dry despite the appalling weather they have had here. We had to throw away a few pillows that were not worth sleeping on, but generally the boat looks good.

Today saw her taken out of the water for the weekend. We  motored round to the dock at BJ Marine and into the slings. She was then hoisted straight out with us on board. When the pulpit reached the height of the concrete, we just stepped off!

The fouling was not too great and even the prop had only slight barnacle growth on it. The engineer suggested that the fouling might have been less because of the higher than usual rainfall and snow. In the corner of the marina are two large pipes which bring in fresh water from a local river, so the water may have been less saline than usual resulting in less growth.

While she is put of the water the prop will be cleaned, new shaft anodes and prop anodes put in place and we will clean and antifoul her. Tuesday morning she will go back in the water.

Berthed in Bangor

Summary: A quick final sail round Belfast Lough and then back into Bangor marina. 5.9 miles in 1hr 55 minutes.

After filling up with fuel and gas and pumping out the holding tank, we popped out today for a quick sail. In the sunshine, Belfast Lough was beautiful and though it was only blowing a light northeasterly 1-2, we had a relaxing couple of hours sailing – tacking down towards Donagdahee Sound. We then headed back into Bangor marina where we have decided to leave the boat for the winter. A good winter deal makes it reasonably good value and it is a very secure and sheltered harbour, so it seems like a good place to leave the boat. We are then only 40 miles away from the Mull of Kintyre for next season!

Bangor Marina

Nosing around Northern Ireland

The beautiful North Antrim coast

We have come back to the boat after heading home to go to the Olympic Park to watch the hockey and have decided to use the boat as a base for a week or two to explore Northern Ireland. We have hired a car and plan to head off in various directions each day and see what we can discover.

Follow the ‘Continue reading’ link below to see what we do each day.

See the Northern Ireland picture gallery for more photos.

Bumbling to Bangor

Strong tide through Donaghadee Sound

Summary: Ardglass to Bangor. 38.7 miles in 7 hours and 35 minutes. A lovely sail past Strangford Lough and into Belfast Lough through Donaghadee Sound and past Copeland Island.

A strange thing happened today – a golden orb mysteriously appeared in the sky. Some online research confirmed that it was the sun and that it had been spotted often prior to the 2012 sailing season. To compound the mystery the wind also blew a lovely force 3, though we were brought down to earth slightly by the fact that it blew from the NW which was exactly where we wanted to go. However, we managed to sail nearly all the way tacking up a beautiful section of coast. We had to turn the engine on briefly to get through the narrow Donaghadee Sound between the shore and Copeland Island. Trying to tack through this narrow passage with 2 knots of tide against us and the wind dead ahead might have been a little foolhardy, but after this we managed to sail again (albeit slowly) right up to the entrance to Bangor Marina.