Technical downtime in Falmouth

We still have the Dock-And-Go fault whereby the power is low and erratic. The manufacturer of the stern drive system has been procrastinating and moaning about their part in this warranty issue. They like to blame Yanmar and Yanmar doesn't get active. A shambles and the only people to suffer are ourselves. The Dock-And-Go system would be very useful to us during marina berthing.

So we are staying here in Falmouth another coupl of days so that ZF engineer can visit and troubleshoot the fault.

We are biding our time watching the lovely sailing boats etc.

Helford River to Falmouth

Overnight in Helford then on to Falmouth on a bright sunny day. Falmouth is very crowded with all kinds of water craft. We picked a mooring outside the Visitors Yacht Haven. Since it was Heather's birthday we went ashore to buy some provisions and look for a restaurant to have a birthday dinner.

Penzance Bay to Helford River

The morning of the 24th was very quiet and we motored gently past the famous Saint Michael's Mount, which is a castle situated on a high island isolated from the mainland by a spit of land that floods at high tide. Very Impressive. Then we motored towards Lizards Point so as to reach it at slack tide because the overfalls and rough seas are reputably terrible. However the wind increased and we sailed on a close tack towards the headland and then because of the wind direction we had great difficulty rounding the head, and of course the sea was very rough.

Saint Ives to Penzance

After a detailed calculation of tides around the extreme South West point of UK, namely Lands End, we left Saint Ives against the tide and motored for four hours until we got into the East going tide just South of Lands End. This then helped us to sail to Penzance Bay. We thought about stopping in Mousehole but it look a bit bleak so we passed Newlin and dropped the anchor off Penzance harbour for the night of 23rd July. This area is very crowded compared to our Hebrides cruising. Polution in the air and sea, and the noise of traffic coming from the shore. Also there are a lot of ships and sailing boats. Sure to get worse as we work our way further East towards Southampton.

Saint Ives in Corwall

Leaving Dale Bay in Milford Haven at 07.00 on Monday 21st July, we ventured out into the wide Bristol Channel. It was calm and virtually no wind initially. We were amazed and amused by the large number of Dolphin that we encountered and that 'buzzed' the boat. We felt privileged !

The distance to St Ives was 90 N miles almost due South. After two hours we got enough wind (SW) to sail for 10 hours, then we motor-sailed for the final 3 hours and anchored in the bay at sunset. A good trip.

Rounding Saint David's Head

The far Western tip of Wales is called St David's Head and is famous for its treacherous sea conditions because it juts out into Saint George's Channel which is the narrow southern entrance to the Irish Sea. Luckily it was a very calm day and we even ventured into the tidal gate between Ramsey Island and the Head. An eight hour motor took us to our next destination of Dales Bay in Milford Haven. A days rest to do some washing and we are planning our next stop.

Gale force in Fishguard

The 17th of July was meant to be the hottest day this year in uk. For us it was just about good as we gently motored in still conditions down the Welsh coast to Fishguard. The wind was forecast to reach Force 8 in the evening so we carefully chose an anchorage on the East side of Fishguard bay under the headland.

Holyhead to Porth Dinllaen and New Quai

From Holyhead we caught the South going tide to Dinllaen which is a sheltered bay 5 hours away on the North side of the Lleyn Peninsula. Then we took one of our most strenuous trips out across Cardigan Bay towards Fishguard our planned destination. For this crossing we had to leave at night so as to get the tide and wind. It was indeed a tough night!! The wind was force 5 and 6 and right on our nose. We tacked out into St George's Channel into rough seas, then tacked back and ended up in New Quai just East of Fishguard. This was the best we could do in the terrible conditions. Anyway we relaxed in New Quai for the night.

Next stop Holyhead

We departed on Sunday 13th heading due South. Wind was on our tail and we made good time however as we approached Holyhead we had to cross the TSS which was a bit difficult due to shipping traffic. We turned East a bit late and nearly overshot the Holyhead entrance and ended up in some over falls . This headland can be very stressful when wind and tide are flowing. Just about all the water that fills the Liverpool bay passes this headland!

So we stayed at anchor in Holyhead for a day and a half. Wind was terrible and we had a dragged anchor situation.

Arrived in Saint Mary's on the I of M

Isle of Man with the three legged flag.! Enjoying a day in the capital of Douglas on the Eastcoast. Kwanza is moored on a buoy in St Mary's bay, and our tender (rubber dinghy) is on the beach. It's a warm balmy 20 degrees ! A new experience.. All this warmth..

Titanic museum in Belfast

We caught the train from Bangor to Belfast, getting off at the Titanic Quarter stop. From here a short 15 minute walk to the dockside and hence to the famous Titanic museum.
The museum commemorates the city of Belfast as being a huge centre of the 'linen' trade and then because of its large working population, became a centre of ship building. The constructor Harland and Wolf had a huge design and building business that lasted for many years until after the second world war. Their most famous ship was the Titanic.
The museum is in a modern building set on the side of the Lagan river which blends into the Belfast Lough. Set over five floors you can see all aspects of the ship being built until the aftermath investigations of the disastrous sinking.

mini Titanic built to ferry passengers
from Cherbourg to the ship at anchor

 

outside the museum

From Rathlin Island to Bangor (Belfast)

After a days rest in Church Bay Rathlin, we ventured out into the Rathlin Sound on our way south. The Sound is renown for its tidal vortexes and we got the whole works. The waves were fierce probably because the wind was from the East and the tide was flowing towards the East, so where the two forces met head to head the waves were extra high.
We were swept along with a reefed genoa, aided by the tide, all the way to the entrance of the Belfast Lough, then motored the final half hour into Bangor Marina. Unfortunately an RNLI life boat had taken our booked pontoon so we were assigned H4. This proved slightly difficult because of a brisk wind blowing us off the pontoon. Luckily a lady in a nearby yacht helped us secure our ropes.
All was fine and we made lots of new friends in wonderful Bangor. Wifi was great, pontoons new, facilities well looked after, and the town has most of the shops including some coffee hangouts.