Kilmore Fleet in Harbour We whiled away a couple of days in Kilmore Quay as the strong winds blew through, reckoning that if the fishing fleet had decided to stay in port, we would as well!  We took the bus to Wexford and enjoyed a few hours walking round the town, reading the history plaques about the dastardly deeds carried out by Cromwell in the past (don't mention that we're British). Then on Wednesday 28th August, we put to sea at 08:00 to start our long beat south towards the Scillies, 135 miles away. We were unable to make directly for the Scillies, due to a SSW F3-4 headwind at first but this later lifted to a more reasonable direction as it turned SW, then W.  However, the strength rose to F6 at times, giving us an uncomfortable passage and we were concerned not to arrive in Scilly during the dark. Closing the Scillies under a wonderful sky However, the wind moderated overnight and with the help of an adverse tide (thankfully slowing us down :) we happily made ...

At first glance, the local Greystones coastal footpath looks rather unwelcoming.  However, someone has left a useful gap in the barrier and I decided to investigate further.  I soon discovered that many local people ignore the signs too and are simply a little careful where the path is in danger of crumbling down a small cliff. Greystones Coastal Footpath The path developed into a beautiful walk and the local footpath commission should really do a local repair rather than erecting several barriers (which have been there a long time and all of which have been circumnavigated).  When I reached the cliffs proper, I struck off left, up more well made paths, to the local peak for great views all around. View Inland - Wicklow Mountains The weather continues to create an exceptional summer, with Storm Lilian, the 12th of the season. Storm Lilian However, our 25 miles close reach, Southwards to Arklow, was no problem, keeping reasonably inshore in moderate waves and up to force 6...

With a gale forecast for the Irish Sea next day, the 20th August, we gave up on my cunning passage plan and went to bed, reluctantly giving up on a Westerly wind.  It looked as if we would be spending several more days in the rustic Carlingford Marina. I liked it in Carlingford Marina, it is a quirky place, including the way ashore via an ancient (originally steam powered) concrete tugboat, built in the first world war.  The harbour walls are also a bit rough, much of it founded on two sunken concrete barges.  The approach is circuitous, and needs some local knowledge to avoid a large mud bank.  One in the marina, don't turn to starboard, where the keel soon touches the soft ooze (we did this, at slow speed, but easily got off again).  Our pilot book needs updating on that subject. Carlingford Marina Concrete Tugboat "Cretegaff" At about 02:00 hrs next morning, we got up for a call of nature, and Rosie, as is her wont, checked the weather forecast.  The gal...

At the moment the weather is always against us - very strong winds in the wrong directions!   So it was a wonderful relief to be able to sample some "proper" (i.e. Irish) Guinness in Carlingford last night after a long, trying week battling the elements. The Antidote In the last post, we were in Dunstaffnage Marina, waiting 2 days for the weather to improve. A Lovely Backdrop It's a good time to show you this special delivery we received from 5yr old Thomas, travelling with his parents on their 21'-9" Drascombe Cruiser, moored just ahead of us on the Caledonian Canal.  This was a thank-you to us after we charged his iPad. "Rapport" by Thomas At 06:15 on Wednesday 14th August, we finally cast off from Dunstaffnage and headed off to catch a fair tide through the maze of islands guarding the route south towards the Irish Sea. We were trying to time our journey to reach the entrance to Cuan Sound, where the fierce tide would start to flow south after 10:30....

The rain lashed the deck and I was happy to be cosy in our bunk.  The great thing about mooring bow to wind is that you can leave the top hatch board out, for ventilation.  The rain was so ferocious that I got up to admire it.  Yes, the wind was now astern and the galley surfaces and local sole were awash with water.  The top hatch board was in the cockpit locker so I threw off my pyjama trousers before thinking 'we're in a marina' and pulled them on again.  I dashed out and was instantly soaked through.  I should have taken the shampoo with me. I know what you are thinking:  Pyjama trousers?  Please remember that, while you Southerners bask in temperatures of 30 degrees, we up here are still waiting for summer to start. Yesterday we left the Caledonian Canal by the Corpach Lock and headed back to sea.  The weather was strangely peaceful.  Yes it was a headwind but very gentle, dying to nothing.  And it was sunny! Corpach Basin We t...

Loch Ness to Windward After our struggle against the wind in Loch Ness, the rugged mountains growing around us, we were lucky to run out of gas in Fort Augustus.  This needs an explanation!  I switched over to the spare bottle of Camping Gaz, bought in the Shetland Isles (standard sealed bottle, reputable supplier) and it was filled with a semi-flammable gas that hardly burnt and produced a strange, bad smell.  The lucky part was that the local hardware shop supplied replacements and I left them with the dodgy bottle, note attached, asking the refilling plant for my money back.  I doubt that I'll hear from them.  Very strange but both new bottles have been tested and work fine. Good news:  It seems that Calor have reversed their decision to stop supplying 4.5 kg refills, so we can go back to them again (Camping Gaz are only 2.7 kg, don't last as long and cost much more). Top of the Lock Staircase, Fort Augustus After impressing the tourists by the locks in ...

There is plenty of weather around at the moment and it leads to some dramatic skies. Cromarty Firth Sunset These beautiful views come associated with the low pressure system to the NW of us, so, once again, we are heading for the Caledonian Canal to avoid strong headwinds and those nasty waves.  In the canal there might be gentler headwinds and much smaller waves, although the Great Glen has its own reputation! Our first port back on the Scottish mainland was Wick, an old favourite.  From there it was hard on the wind South to Cromarty.  Conditions varied from gentle motor-sailing to a stiff breeze and lumpy head seas.  Our 60 mile sail, beating South, took us 12 hours and we arrived before dusk.  We are not sailing as fast as I'd like at the moment.  The slime (and perhaps some animal life) is beginning to coat our hull.  Perhaps it's time to replace the Coppercoat with some slippery new paint.  A thought for the winter...... Tacking South Cromar...

On Thursday 1st August, the storm winds had relented and we moved to the fuelling berth to fill up before setting off northwards through Eynhallow Sound to eventually turn west and south round the top of Mainland Orkney. Kirkwall Marina - waiting for fuel Eynhallow is a place where it pays to attend to your navigation, as it has a fearsome reputation for extreme waves and overfalls under wind over tide conditions and the flow needs to be with you or you'll make no progress! Approaching Eynhallow Narrows in the beautiful sunshine This route is well-known to us and has some lovely views to the other Orkney islands.  It is likely to be our last visit here by yacht and although it was great to see it looking so fine, it was also sad to be leaving all this behind. At 4:20pm, we had reached Hoy Sound and turned east towards Scapa Flow.  We had considered stopping at Stromness for a final time but as the forecast was for very strong headwinds tomorrow, we decided to push on to Longho...