Ballycastle or Glenarm?

After my chat yesterday with Billy, I decided to cross the North Channel to Scotland from Glenarm instead of going future north to Ballycastle. That meant I didn't have to leave Bangor as early as originally planned.

I had set the alarm for 06.00 but turned over then it went off and didn't get up till 07.00. I have no idea why I had it on that early?

The gas lighter wouldn't work for my breakfast so I had to go up the town for a replacement. Then I suddenly realised I had no charts for Scotland.
Well, why would I? I was only going as far as Dun Laoghaire.
I did have electronic charts on the chartplotter but I wanted paper ones for an overall view and in case anything went wrong with the plotter.
Luckily I knew that there was a major chart supplier in Bangor so when the staff came to open up, they found they already had a customer waiting.
Great!, they had a leisure folio which covered the whole of the area I would be sailing in.

I left the marina at 09.40 and hoisted the sails outside. The winds were light from the north east so it was a beat out of Belfast Lough but I was just happy to be sailing again, no matter how slowly.
Unfortunally soon after I had left the lough the wind died when I was still south of Larne. It came back about an hour later but this time from the south. I continued heading north with the sails goose winged on a run.

Once I reached the Maiden Rocks, north west of Larne, I was able to change course into Glenarm bay and I gybed to go on a reach.
Seeing that it was going to be windless night and I was leaving early, I decided not to bother going into the marina and instead anchored off in 6 meters near the entrance at 17.00.

Once anchored I did some laundry and other domestic duties. I really enjoyed the peace and quite of this anchorage.
After a late dinner I put some of the leftovers in a container for tomorrow and fed the rest to the fishes.

I was feeling homesick after being on the phone to Maeve and knowing if I continued on to Scotland I was added to the days that it would take to get home again. I was wondering should I turn around and head home.
We'll see how I feel in the morning.
Just thinking of the song, "Is it left or right for . . . . . . .?"Read more