Last sail of 09 08/11/09

Well for the first time I got Holly out on the boat and she loved it. A natural sailor for sure!
We only tacked against the wind out to Church bay but it was great for blowing the cobwebs away and getting Lady Ash and Holly acquainted. We had a quick bite of lunch at Church bay and then a sail down wind back to the marina. Holly quite fancies going to Ireland 2010 to test the guinness, I hope we can get the right crew!









I went down some weeks later to strip all the sails and gear off for the haul out.
As I write this (rather late) Lady Ash is out of the water and dismasted. I am going to renew the standing rigging this year and have to do some woodwork. So a bit more TLC needed this winter. The season will start all too soon, I had better get my act together!
Who knows what 2010 will hold.

the straights 18/10/09

I awoke to a grey day compared to the previously clear skies, but the island was impressive and after a wash and breakfast it was time to get on with the rest of the journey, I decided to try and circumnavigate the island as it seemed a bit wimpy to go back the way I always do. So off I went into the straights. There is a lot to see along the way, there was Beaumaris pier, I once pulled in here to pick up a crew member who couldn't get away early and had to catch us up after we left Felin Heli (that was on a charter boat called Bonnie Penny).
There was a boat mussel fishing, a beautiful gaf rigged boat, plenty of ribs running up and down, Bangor pier. Then of course the bridges and the swellies, there was plenty of water under me and I was conscious of time so I gunned it though. I was doing 8 knots under the bridges. For those of you who don't know the Swellies they can be very dangerous with strong currents and plenty of rocks. Next came Felin Heli which is a very sheltered harbour with a lock to keep her in water when the tide is out. Then comes Caernarvon which is dominated by the castle and has a dock and the river for boats. The direction of buoyage changes at the castle. Next I was on course for the exit to the sea. I had set off a little late and with 3 knots of tide pouring out into the sea there were very large standing waves. As Lady Ash went down she scooped up a lot of water which then raced back towards the cockpit, I have never had so much water on the boat! I was calf deep in the cockpit and it took a bit to clear. I got out and navigated the sand bar (that can have it's moments) out to the open water. I did think about stopping for lunch at Llanddwyn Island but the onshore wind was giving quite a bit of chop so I raised the sails and set off for home. A breezy return F5 home was good after all the motoring and I soon neared South Stack and holyhead. I arrived at 5.00 so it was 24 hours for the whole trip, really exciting and well worth doing. I think it will be the next "Plain Sailing" video I make.

Solo circumnavigation 17/10/09

Well I had a rush of blood to the head and although I didn't get to Holyhead until 3.30 I decided to go off and see how far I could get. As usual a great sunset and I used the auto helm "Jeff" to get me along the North coast. When I got to Lynas I set a bearing to take me to Puffin Island, the wind was forecast to be a southerly which may have been an issue but the wind strength was very low so I figured it wouldn't matter. I ended up sailing past 4 large vessels two on one side and two on the other, they were all at anchor and lit up like christmas trees with their deck lights. Quite errie motoring past them at night.
Eventually I neared Puffin Island and approached it from the North end. At this point I decided to see what maps on my iphone would make of it, I was amazed it tracked my turns around the island and helped me drop the anchor right on the mark, nice to have the reassurance of a colour plotter at night!
The sky was clear and after some pasta for dinner I sat on deck with my sleeping bag around my shoulders watching shooting stars, this is what it is all about (beats the x factor!). What would I do tomorrow? 18nm

sail day 27/09/09 Holyhead

So I awoke to see just how many other craft I had anchored next to! Not only that but some people on a yacht nearby decided to go for a swim... After breakfast I decided to get cracking, some wind had picked up and so after setting sail I set the boat up on the auto helm for the return trip. There were some interesting moments through the overfalls at south stack but a pretty good, enjoyable sail home. A cat that had been moored at Pilot cove had been following me all the way back and overtook me in the harbour, drat. I would have liked to have seen how his hull coped with the overfalls. 16nm

sail day 26/09/09 Llanddwyn Island

I set off down the West coast at 1630, there was fantastically beautiful clear views and skies. There was a bit of lively seascape with the overfalls but there wasn't much wind so I motored down on Jeff the auto helm (yes he now has a name). The most lovely sunsets preceded the darkness of night. When I arrived so I worked out a bearing and gently motored in towards pilot cove, I could see other boats moored up. I dropped anchor and had dinner while I listened to the errie snuffly cries of the (I presume) seals. 15nm

sail day 20/09/09

A great sun rise, picture doesn't do it justice, cormorants fishing round the boat, a seal swam nearby and just on the way out of the bay three porpoises, great morning. I set off back after breakfast about 10.00 just before the tide turned. I wanted to get passed the Carmel head over falls before they got to frisky.
I motored until I saw the porpoises and then hung around until they disappeared, why are they so coy?
As usual the wind was on the nose but it was great to be sailing, on the way back, just 2.5 knots down the coast line, I decided to have lunch at Church bay, it was gorgeous. Anchored there was another boat from Holyhead, Time Out, great name. I sailed a way but eventually got fed up with the tacking and motor sailed back to harbour. Why can't more weekends be like this (but with just a little more wind). 14nm

Fab sail weekend 19/09/09

Well a late set off on the saturday was justified with the tide not turning until about mid day, so guess what? a plan involving a trip down to the brickworks and an overnight stay was hatched.
On the way down there wasn't much wind but after motoring to carmel head and through some small overfalls a little sailing was done. What a fantastic sunset though over the skerries, best ever.

A nice supper and then the sky cleared to reveal a great star gazing opportunity, what a day!

The wind was forecast to go northerly but apart from a small swell the gamble paid off as there wasn't really any wind to speak of.

sail day 5/09/09 Gaffers

As too often happens set off to go west and big seas sapped my resolve and I decided to go back to port. F5/6 cut out of the tide and used the engine to cheat the corner, waves and over falls so big it forced me to gybe, not clever when North stack is beconing! a swift controlled gybe got me on an exit course into the calmer water. 17nm The gaffer weekend was on so here are some pics.

Well worth a watch as the display they put on is amazing, pirates and canons and lots of playing up to the crowd.

The lifeboat led a flotilla round the bay.

Sail day 30/8/09

The forecast was for F6/7 maybe 8. Time to hightail it back to the safety of Holyhead. I motored most of the way back and as often is the case as I rounded Carmel head the wind was on the nose the swell was up and the buckets of water came. It seems to be some form of ritual, always the last leg home...
Anyhow the misery of a long wet haul home (must get a spray hood) was broken by seeing 5 porpoises surfing and jumping on the wave ahead of me, they saw the boat and dived not to be seen again, first time I have seen them in the bay. 24nm.

sail day 29/8/09

Wondered about going to the isle of man but the weather would have been rough on return!
Off to molfre instead, nice sail round F3/5 gusts of 6.
Weather moody on the way but great sunset.










Moored up and had dinner then met friends Greg and Adam in the pub after rowing ashore, it's amazing how quick you can pump up a dinghy when a pint is on the bar!
24nm.