Round Britain day 66

Concerto · 31 Jul 2022

This morning I managed to wake up 10 minutes before the alarm was due. The stiff breeze last night had abated and was about 10 knots from the SW, due to veer mid morning to W. As the wind was on the beam and pushing me on the pontoon, I walked Concerto forward about 2.5m to almost the stern of the boat in front and pulled the bow in to the pontoon. This pushed the stern out and as I have prop wash to port, it meant reversing out would claw the stern away from the boat astern. Simples really and I came out with no fuss and little noise, well it was 6.45 and I did not want to disturb anyone from their slumbers.

The morning was not particularly nice as there was a constant fine drizzle. The wind was on the nose to the southern tip of Gigha, so I raised the mainsail with a reef in. There was no way I could lay the course needed, so I started on port tack and unfurled the genoa before shaking the reef out of the main. This would mean I would be acquiring windward room and when the wind veered, my course would be lifted to where I wanted to go. Well that was the plan. In fact it worked almost too well as I slightly overstood and had to crack sheets. The drizzle came in fits and starts, but visibility was less than a mile at times, but as I approached the coast it was about 3 miles. There was at one time a large yacht to windward which I had never seen approach, then disappeared in the mist and reappeared 20 minutes later a lot further ahead.

As I approached Rathlin Island, the wind eased as the speed dropped for about 6½ knots to 4½ knots. Then the wind returned with a constant strong blast and the speed exceed 7 knot and reaching as high as 8.4 knots. The extra boat speed was useful as there was some dying tide against me of about 2 knots. Once I reached the southern tip of the island I found I now had 2 knots of tidal benefit. About a mile out from Ballycastle I furled the genoa away, started the engine, dropped the main and started rigging the fenders. I tried calling the marina on the VHF, but no reply. Then I decided to finish rigging the boat to moor port side. Motoring in to the harbour is quite tight, especially when a 45ft yacht is coming out. He had not started to move as I entered. Now, could I spot if my friends on Rococco we still here and to find an empty visitor's berth. I could moor to the same finger as Rococco, but they were not on board. The guy from the marina had seen me about to enter the harbour and helped with my lines. He gave me the gate code and told me where the showers and marina office was. All tied up by 1.30, so now for some lunch and a quiet reading session in the cockpit.

After paying the fees for 2 nights (£60), I went for a walk into town. There are some tourist shops plus a Spar close to the harbour, but the town centre is about ½ a mile walk away up a long incline. There were a couple of very nice looking butchers and a variety of independant shops selling a wide range of products. There was a Co op in the town centre and as I had just had a smell of garlic, I thought some garlic bread would go nice with the spaghetti bolognese I was going to cook tonight. There always a few extra bits you add to the basket. Back at the boat, my friends still had not appeared, so I put the shopping away and then tidied up one of my tool stores. Oops I had forgottem to connect the shore power. Whilst doing this the lady on the boat on the other side started laughing and kept laughing for some minutes. As I finished connecting the power, she explained a friend had just sent her a short clip from Father Ted. We then started chatting about where had started our trips and where we had been, then in the middle of this my friends appeared. They had been to the Giants Causeway, which is where I am going tomorrow. I invited them on board for a drink, but said a little later. Fine, I said I would make some Pimms, no slumming it on Concerto.

About an hour later they came aboard for the first time. They were keen to see how different Concerto is to their Jenneau 345. They were surprised as she felt almost as big inside and they like the wood interior. Now it was down to the serious business, Pimms and talking, not forgetting the cashew nuts. In their blog they say I am fearless and they are cautious, who cares about labels. They have sailed from Chichister up the East Coast to the Caledonian Canal and are now heading south.They are 58% the way to completing their adventure. They should be commended as relative newcomers to sailing to risk leaving Lake Solent and sailing in a wide range of different waters. Eventually the Pimms ran out but we could have chatted for hours. However they are leaving at 7.30 and I still need to cook my meal.

That is another story. I started cooking the mince, reached in the cupboard, only to find I had no bolognese sauce. Off went the gas and off I went to the Spar, only to return with not one jar of sauce but two. Ready now for the next time. Adding the garlic bread was a good idea, but eating a whole one does make me a bit of a pig. Best bit is I have some spaghetti bolognese and garlic bread for another night.

Land ahoy, Raithlin Island

Just passing the NE corner of the island

Passed the SE corner of the Island

The mainland cliffs to the east of Raithlin Island

Ballycastle harbour

Rococco and Concerto side by side

As the sun was setting it caught the top of the hills inland

Holy Trinity Church and O'Conner Monument

Looking up Castle Street

Looking along Ann Street

For anyone wanting to read the reports from the start, this is the link to first one.
Round Britian day 1

Concerto · 31 Jul 2022

Today started differently than normal. I brought out my portable washing machine and did 2 small loads. It washes fine but the spin program is rubbish, so I just wrung everything out. The lifelines were wiped down with damp kitchen paper for use as clothes lines, except for smalls as I have a drying rack I erected in the cockpit. Only 2 shirts were not fully dry by late this afternoon. It is surprising how much water is needed to wash and rinse one load, so I had to fill the water tank.

Then it was off to catch a bus to the Giant's Causeway. I did not cycle as it is 16 miles each way and the road also has lots of steep hills and is narrow. The bus ticket for all day travel was only £8, so not hard on the pocket. It gives an excellent view of the coast and some of the bays with sandy beaches. You can visit the Giant's Causeway for free, but I paid to go into the stunningly designed visitor centre. This is a UNESCO world heritage site run by the National Trust, so I have no objection to assisting in its upkeep and at £13.50, it did not break the bank.

After viewing the exhibition, I strolled down the roadway towards the main attraction, but even this walk had some stunning scenes of waves crashing on the rocks. It is quite a long walk, but if you are slightly infirm, or lazy, you can take a bus down for a £1 each way. Although I arrived fairly early, the site was quite busy with lots of people, many with foreign accents. Taking photos without people in was almost impossible, but I did with one shot. After clambering over the basalt columns for a while and taking lots of photos, I continued the walk to see the Giant's Boot. Rather than return, I continued and intending to walk the whole site. There is an inclined path up to the Giant's Organ and beyond. Little did I know that at the next headland the path has been closed for some years due to errosion and rock falls. Through the gate I was able to photograph the Giant's Chimneys before returning to the Organ. Then there was a choice of returning down the way I had come or to start climbing again on the Shepherd's Steps. I chose the steps, and there are 162 in total to climb. This is quite steep and narrow, plus some visitors prefer to go down them rather than climb them. By the time I reached the top, I was feeling a little puffed, but many had to stop a number of times on the way up. From the top of the cliffs, the views were spectacular and I hope my photos do real justice to this unique place. The though of a further long walk was not something I relished by now.

Back at the visitor centre, I grabbed a bite to eat and a quick look round the gift shop. Walking back to the bus stop I saw a sign for the Bushmills Historic Railway. As I was planning to have a look at Bushmill, it seemed like a good idea. It was 2.15 by this time and the nextr train was not until 3.00, but they would not sell a ticket until 2.55 to ensure all return ticket holders were carried and they knew how many vacant seats they had. I said I would wait and bought an ice cream. Whilst slurping on the cone, I decided I would be wasting too much time as the next bus would get me there before the train left, so I caught the bus. A stroll along the main street was all I needed as there was nothing I needed or wanted to buy. I could have travelled on to Coleraine, but this would only allow a maximum of an hour there before the last bus left being Sunday, so decided to return to the boat.

Walking along the pontoon I chatted with a couple of men who had just sailed up from near Dublin non stop in a Bavaria 31. Then across my bow was a large motor boat, correction a large rib with a cabin. It was 16.5m and was a one off built locally for a very wealthy person. The paid captain invited me onboard to have a look. She has twin 500Hp engines and can reach 40 knots. She is fitted with twin engine pods fitted with contra rotation twin propellers. These pods are controlled with a joy stick, either from the helmsmans seat or either side in the cockpit. Depending on how the pods are controlled, she can go forwards, backwards, sideways or spin in her own length. The real impressive thing is they can hold the boat steady within 50cm automatically. One day the skipper had to wait while a boat was moved from the berth reserved for him. He just moved to a safe place and left the controls to do their work. He then walked to the cockpit and sat down and waited until the berth was cleared, before moving alongside and mooring up by himself. Impressive. Returning to the interior, she has an owners suite in the bow and two twin cabins just aft of it. When the owner has guests on board, he uses the suite, but his guests check into a local hotel! Its their choice.