Largs to caernarvon

Lady Bay is good but suffers from the HSS wash - so make sure to anchor in a good depth to avoid bumping off the seabed after it passes! We were just about far enough out the first time we went in - we had not thought it through beforehand.
 
My turn

Ok I did this trip the other way round a couple of years ago so here's my tuppence worth.

Largs to Girvan

Girvan to Bangor

Bangor to Port Erin (Or Port St Mary if untenable) IOM

IOM to Moelfre (Or Holyhead if untenable) Anglesey

Anglesey to Caernarfon.

So there!

.

PS. Girvan is flexible but you will probably want to break the journey to Bangor somewhere.

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I am now back from my journey so thought I would update the thread.

My route was Largs - Port Patrick - Bangor (NI) - Peel - Holyhead.

We decided against Caernarvon having spoken to a few local folk, as the tide and wind were against us.

We had flat calm for the first two and a half days, and even got the spinnaker up for about 40 minutes before the wind died completely on the first day. Ailsa Creag looked tremendous almost like a Dali painting with glassy smooth sea and blue skies surrounding it. Port Patrick was lovely, arriving as we did at LW - 2.5 hrs and took great care not to deviate from the channel. You certainly need long warps to manage the harbour wall. The lack of shops meant a 15 minute bus ride to the supermarket. Refuelling and filling up with water had to be done at HW +/- 3hrs (ish) as we had to cross over to the other side of the harbour. But the pubs were very welcoming, and the harbour staff very helpful. Bangor Marina was excellent and right next to the main street, although it was raining when we arrived which put a dampener on things. A visit to the local pubs soon put things back into perspective though We made Peel just in time to get through the flapgate into the marina which was very nice and the HM very helpful. Leaving Peel was a different issue, as the wind had got up and was steady at between 24 - 27 kts behind the breakwater where we reefed in the mainsail! The transition from outer harbour to open sea was quite exciting, gusting to F7 with very confused (and large) seas. But we did see a shark, or was it two,about 20 minutes into our journey. I noticed the sea breaking against what I thought was a conical black rock and was concerned that I had not seen it on the chart, then realised what it was. The weather improved steadily throughout the day and we finally sailed into Holyhead and tied up having taken a little over 11 hrs. A total distance of 215 nm over the four days.
So many thanks for all the advice, and I would certainly recommend sailing around SW Scotland and the Irish sea to anyone. I must sail the area again as it has definitely given me a taste for it.

Best wishes to all,

SJK
 
Hi All,
I know this is a long time after the event, but the trip was quite epic for many reasons. The first day out from Largs was beautiful, with an early Force 3 which then died away. The sea was glassy smooth and the weather hot. We made for Portpatrick which was excellent. Of course there was no floating pontoon, so moored up to the wall which needed constant supervision. But what a pretty place. We then crossed to Belfast, but the weather closed in toward the final approach so quite wet and misty. The next day was a long day to Peel on the Isle of Man and that was interesting with the bar at the entrance. Leaving the next morning in a F6 was also interesting, especially as the triangular rock I thought I would crash into turned out to be the dorsal fin of a basking shark. The weather slowly cleared and we enjoyed a lovely run into Holyhead marina which is where we stopped. So thank you for all the advice, it was much appreciated.
 
Hmmm reminiscing are we?
Glad you did though as I am planning the same trip but in reverse and from piel barrow. Lots of useful advice.
 
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