ENDURANCE 40
CLASSIC WAVE
A Yacht with Power Style & Grace
Voyages of Classic Wave 1
Irish Sea
CRUISING from ‘HOME PORT’ to the I.O.M. & IRELAND
WEDNESDAY 31st MAY TO FRIDAY 9th JUNE 2000.
CREW:. BOB Skipper/Owner
MICHAEL
KEVAN
I met up with Bob and Michael in the Waterfront pub by Preston Marina on the evening of Wednesday 30th May 2000. They were having a drink with John and Claus two boat owners who keep their boats at Preston Marina. The rest of the evening was spent telling sailing stories, and the pro’s and con’s of various harbours and anchorages.
Preston to Douglas (Isle of Man)
We left Preston Marina at ten o’clock the next morning. The journey down river was uneventful in calm conditions and our passage through the shallows at the Ribble estuary went without a hitch. The depth sounder alarm, which is set at three metres, did not sound once. We must be getting better at this!
We heard a gale warning, for the Irish Sea. Bob informed Liverpool Coastguard of our intention to sail to Douglas on the Isle of Man, The Coastguard asked, “Have you heard the gale warning?” Bob replied yes, but we expected to reach Douglas before it arrived. A discussion followed. Should we turn and run for Barrow or continue on to The Isle of Man? Bob phoned Marinecall on his mobile but it did not mention a gale warning. We decided to stay on course for Douglas. The sea state was calm and the wind dropped from eight, to ten knots to practically nothing. We motor sailed on for about six hours until at about twenty miles off Douglas the wind started to pick up. Fearing the worst we all put wet weather gear on, and reefed down all three sails. The wind continued to increase until, at about ten miles off, it started to rain, visibility dropped. and we could barely see the island. The wind had strengthened and the sea had become quite rough.
As we approached the entrance to Douglas Harbour we called on the radio. We were told to wait outside as a ferry was about to leave. We dropped the sails and waited ten minutes, bouncing around in the swell. The Harbour master was again called and told we were just outside the harbour entrance. We were told that if we hurried up we could enter. No problem, we rafted up to a motorboat on the visitor’s pontoon and again called to ask when we could get passed the sill and bridge in to the inner harbour. Fifteen minutes later we were rafted up to another motorboat in the inner harbour. A quick meal onboard followed and then out to ‘The Bridge Inn’ by the quay. We awoke the next morning to find it still raining. We stayed put. After a walk round Douglas and a quiet but wet afternoon, we spent the evening at “The British”, a dockside pub.
Douglas to Peel (I.O.M.)
We left Douglas at ten o’clock the next morning (Friday). The bridge was lifted and we made our way out to Douglas Bay. The wind was from the northeast, force three so we motored up to The Point of Ayre, which is the most northern point of The Isle of Man. The sea state was calm and on reaching the Point of Ayre, we made the decision to head down to Peel rather than Portpatrick as it was the best direction to sail. We sailed in light winds with a knot of tide pushing us along. At least we saw an hour’s sunshine, the first we had seen since Wednesday morning. We pulled into Peel’s outer harbour and tied up against the wall. There was a swell running in, but it was not going
to keep us awake. We went ashore and spent a pleasant evening in “The Creek”, “The Royal” and “The Whitehouse”. The T.T. was to start that weekend so the whole island was full of bikers. Inevitably, we got in to conversation with a number of them. Why do they always talk about “someone coming off”?
Peel to Ardglass (Northern Ireland)
We awoke to find it raining, had breakfast and then decided to give it an hour, rather than get wet. The rain stopped and we made ready for sea. The Harbour master let our lines go and we motored out. The wind was force three from the north. We hoisted the sails and stopped the engine and were soon doing six and a half knots. For the next three hours it remained fairly calm, but we were making a fast passage. We were ten miles off the Irish coast when the wind increased to force six. The sails were reefed down and we spent an uncomfortable two hours sailing as, together with the strong winds a sea swell had developed. The inevitable comment followed “Flaming June”. As we approached the Northern Ireland coast, we dropped the mainsail and sailed with the wind behind us, finally dropping the mizzen and then the foresail.
We motored in to Ardglass harbour, and through to the marina. Our allocated berth caused us some problems as the wind was blowing us off. A man from the marina and two fellow yachtsmen finally took our lines and we berthed. After a shower we went to the Burford Lodge for a meal, but were told that they were fully booked . We moved on to “The Moorings” a pub/restaurant. The meal was excellent, and we spent the rest of the evening by the fire (yes, Flaming June). In the Moorings, we met up with a fellow yachtsman who was fetching a Moody 39 up from Spain. He recounted the experience of his Biscay crossing, which sounded horrendous. He told us that he had seen , dolphins swimming in massive waves and the cockpit was underwater as the waves broke over them. The yacht was knocked down twice.
We awoke the next morning to find it raining yet again, but the wind had eased. We spent the day in Ardglass shopping and doing some minor repairs to Classic Wave. In the evening we had a meal in The Burford Lodge guesthouse. Good food and good value and then returned to The Moorings for the rest of the evening.
Ardglass to Howth (Republic of Ireland)
We awoke to find an overcast sky and light winds. We slipped our mooring lines and left Ardglass. Our intention was that if we could sail then we would sail to Howth. If not motor in to Calingford. Once out at sea the wind was a northeasterly force two, the clouds moved north and we motor sailed south in fairly calm seas. We passed Rockabil lighthouse and Lambay Island in the company of three other yachts. On arriving at Howth after rounding Irelands Eye, we moored up in the marina. We had a pleasant evening in Howth visiting The Abbey Inn and The Lighthouse Inn before returning to The Yacht Club bar. The topic of conversation got round to political philosophy which is far too heavy after several pints.
The following morning there was a strong westerly blowing, So it was decided to have a day out in Dublin. We caught the D.A.R.T. ( Dublin Area Rapid Transport ) to Connerly Station and spent the day wandering round Dublin, mainly in The Temple Bar area. Michael found a “Patagonia” shop, which sells outdoor clothing. He was in his element. So Bob and myself left him to it, and went to a local cafe. We had lunch in “The Bad Ass Cafe” and ended up in The Temple Bar Inn where we listened to a folk band. We moved on to The Oliver St John Cogarty for food. The Temple Bar area of Dublin was the student area. It is now very tourist-orientated and the prices prove it, the meal was good but expensive. We headed back towards the D.A.R.T. station and dropped in at Lanigans Bar under The Clifton Court hotel, where the T.V. was on. We watched ‘the weather, forecast. It showed a chart, with gales in the St Georges Channel. We returned to Howth and checked the forecast at the yacht club office. The gale was due to arrive the following evening ( Wednesday ).
Howth to Holyhead (Wales)
A yacht from Southampton had rafted up to us. So our activities in leaving put paid to their lie in. Bob backed Classic Wave out and Michael pulled our temporary neighbours to the pontoon. We then picked Michael up from the end of the pontoon and left Howth at 7.45am. We soon had the sails up and once clear of the lee of Ireland, we were doing seven knots. We sailed in fairly calm seas and for a while in sunshine, but the wind was still cold considering we were in June. After a fast passage, we arrived at the entrance to Holyhead at 4.45pm.. We picked up a mooring. After a meal on board we launched the dinghy and headed for The Cruising Club’s bar. We had a couple of pints in the Boathouse a nearby pub / restaurant before returning to The Cruising Club for a last one before closing.
Holyhead to Conwy
We slipped our mooring at eleven o’clock the next morning. The wind was from the south and gusting to about thirty knots as we left the harbour. It was a struggle to raise the sails in these conditions and took us about twenty minutes. All sails were of course reefed down. We passed inside the Skerries rocks and outside the West Mouse. It then started to rain. We made good time as the tide was with us until we rounded the point of Lynas. Where the tidal eddies gave us some rough seas. We sailed on past Puffin Island and in to Conwy Bay. The weather moderated and the wind dropped. Then we experienced a rare phenomenon at this time of year: the sun came out. We entered The Conwy river and passed the marina entrance where they appear to be building a sill to retain water. We heard that they were having problems with silting up. We rafted up to a yacht on the town quay.
One of the North Wales Cruising Club members called Colin was doing a repair to the club launch. When he had finished, he took us ashore, and told us it was quiz night in the club. We first went to a pub, the name of which escapes me, and then on to The Cruising Club in time for the quiz. Two fellow yachtsmen Chris and his mate ( whose name I can not remember ) Joined us to form “Classic Waves Motley Crew”. We won and after several pints and sailing stories, or I should say disaster stories, Colin took us back to the pontoon at 12.30.
Conwy to Preston
When we awoke the following morning surprisingly it was raining, a fitting end to our cruise. Michael was not feeling well. So we left him in bed. We motored out of Conwy in the mist. On reaching open water, the sea was calm and the wind was five knots from the north. It was of course still raining: and cold, in fact a typical day in our climate. We raised the mizzen for stability and motored round The Great Orme. Once round we set course for The Gut buoy, which marks the entrance to the Ribble. The wind increased and we arrived at the Gut buoy about an hour before we could enter the river. We entered the Ribble by The South Gut and motor sailed up river to Preston. After mooring up we cleared up the yacht and left for home.
Kevan
WED 30th Preston to Douglas 63 mls / 9.30hrs
FRI 2nd Douglas to Peel 32 mls / 7.00hrs
SAT 3rd Peel to Ardglass 31mls / 7.00hrs
MON 5th Ardglass to Howth 55mls / 9.15hrs
WED 7th Howth to Holyhead 52 mls / 9.00hrs
THU 8th Holyhead to Conwy 35 mls / 5.30hrs
FRI 9th Conwy to Preston 56 mls /11.30hrs
TOTAL: 324mls / 58.15hrs
